i have a problem

When I started the blog I wondered if yarn addict was a silly name but today I realize that it is the truth. I am a yarn addict. I don't know if it is the winter blues or spring fever but I have made alot of purchases this week and I have an almost overwhelming amount of WIPs. I just received a box of Noro Kochoran I bought on ebay today and have already casted on for an afghan I am going to make by mixing two colorways. I have no idea how they will look together, as with Noro it is hard to tell until you knit it up, but I am looking foward to snuggling up in a blanket so soft. These are the colors.
I have had some finished projects though. I finished the purple silk scarf and made a second which I am wearing and I have gone a little crazy with the washcloths. They are really fun and fast to make and I think I just needed something like that. I am trying to make a set for each teacher I work with for an end of the year gift. I will be leaving my job at the end of the school year to go to nursing school full time. I am looking foward to the school experience but I will miss all my colleagues and students.
I am going to work hard to finish my research paper tonight so I can spend the next snow storm doing nothing but enjoying my knitting. A big one is coming Sunday so wish all of us New Englanders happy thoughts!

My sock swap questionnaire

Here are the answers to my Hogwarts questionnaire. I look foward to finding out who my pal is!
1.

What Hogwarts house have you been sorted into?

Ravenclaw

2.

Shoe size?

9-9 1/2

3.

Foot Length?

9-9 1/2 in

4.

Foot Circumference?

approx. 9 in

5.

List your three favorite double-point needle brands, including size and length.

a.addi turbo bamboo

b.any wooden needles

c.

6.

Would you like to try a new brand needle? If so, which brand? Size? Length?

sure- shorter is better- 5-6 inches

7.

If you are a RAVENCLAW, do you prefer the colors in the film or the book? Do you have a strong preference?

I think I would like either

8.

Are you willing to have an international Hogwarts Sock Pal?

yes

sock swap

I am excited about the new sock swap I joined. It is the first swap and it is a Harry Potter sock swap. You can check it out here. My oldest son and I have been reading the HP series and he is so into it. He helped me with the sorting quiz and did it for himself too. He was not sorted into Gryffindor and now wants to try all the sorting quizzes we can find online to see if he will get in at a different site. It is fun to see him so excited about books and reading. Anyway, I think he is just as happy as me about the socks and it will help us have some good knitting time together.
I went crazy with the cute washclothes this weekend and have already made seven more. I will get a picture up soon as well as a new photo of all the kids comfort dolls!

king winter returns

I had high hopes that spring was on the way but Mother Nature fooled me again! the daffodils were starting to poke up and I found a couple of tulips peeking out too and they are now under a foot of snow. To add insult to injury my car is in the shop and I have a 2WD loaner with no snow tires so I am forced to stay home. The good part about staying home is that I make time to knit while I hang out with the kids.
I just received my first online order from WEBS. The Cascade Cloud nine is new to me and a little different color than I thought I was ordering but it seems quite soft and will make a great baby gift. I love the Debbie Bliss Alpaca/silk. I have a hat pattern I have taught a couple of people that works beautifully with the yarn. I am really excited about the italian merino in deep purple and green. I knit with it once a few years back and loved it! All of the colors I received are a little different than what I thought they would be but yarn is yarn and I do love it all!
The next two photos are the projects I whipped out the last two days during the blizzard. The color is off on all of the pictures but the scarf is a really beautiful, shiny purple silk that I purchased a few years back at the VT sheep and wool fest. This scarf is for a friends birthday but there is so much left and it is so soft I am working on one for myself too. I love the feeling of silk wrapped around my neck!
I also just made these washcloths following the pattern from the book Mason Dixon knitting. I have been wanting to make them for a while and now that I have I wish it hadn't taken me so long. They are fun and easy to make and they are the most lovely cloths I have knitted. I am sending them to my mom for her birthday.

I have made a few exciting knitting related purchases this week. I found a copy of Lily Chin's The Urban Knitter discounted at a small bookstore. I can't wait to make the empire waist dress. I have one made out of wool from a friend and would love a lighter weight one for the warmer months.
I also won a skein of qiviuk on ebay last night. I am so excited!! I have had my eye out for this yarn for a while now and haven't found it at any of the stores I have been to. I hear that it is at the Burlington YS but I have not been up that way in a while. Qiviuk is supposed to be softer than cashmere--Is it possible?!? I imagine it will be knit up quickly once it gets here. I guess that is one great reason to give thanks for this extended winter, right?

one down and many to go

I finished the calorimetry and I love it! I have worn it many times already and besides it's comfort and warmth it covers my hair on dirty days when I don't get time to shower!! Such a mom reason for loving something. I actually want to make a few more in other colors and definently one in cotton for the summer months.
Of course I can't finish one project without starting another so here's the new one. It is a baby blanket for a friend. I bought some yarn from the closeout section of WEBS. My first time shopping there online. I got some good deals on yarn I am familiar with and then this new to me yarn. It is a wool, acrylic blend so that it can be machine washable. I am such a fiber snob that I have a hard time with the acrylic. I hope that after I wash it it will be softer. I just envision new babies wrapped in cashmere but I can't afford that! I think I would just like to be wrapped in cashmere! Anyway, the colors of the blanket are lovely and it is a basketweave pattern with 9 stitches for the middle and basketweave with 3 stitches for the border. Everything else is on hold while I make this as babies do not wait when they are ready to be born.
I found my first daffodil sprouts this week so I worked hard and removed all the hay bales from around the house. Such a Vermont spring- it snowed within four hours. I was a little down about it all day yesterday but I am feeling better now. I know warm and sunny days are on the way!

WIP's

This past month I just wanted to knit for knitting's sake. I suddenly did a 180 and now i look at my stash and wish I could knit faster as there are so many things I want to make. I have been wanting to make a calorimetry (pattern on knitty.com) this winter and decided I better get to it if I want to wear it this winter so here it is so far...I am using a handspun yarn that I purchased at last years NH S&W Fest.
These are the socks I started on my Florida trip in February. It is made with the Fleece Artist sock yarn which is very nice to knit with. I tried following the pattern on the label to try something new but it wasn't working for me so i switched back to my pattern at the heel. How exactly is it supposed to work with an odd number of stitches on the heel? Has anyone else tried that pattern?
And here are the squares for the Lizard Ridge which are so addictive that I get nothing else done. they are done in repeats of 6 rows and it is so easy to say just one more repeat. I may have to make a second when this one is finished.
I have one other project on the needles for a friend who might read the blog so I can't put up a photo. I am trying a new (to me) Noro yarn that is a wool, acrylic, cotton blend. It is a kind of slubby nubby and I am not sure if I am going to be inspired to finish this one but I know that the recipient will love it so I knit on!
The last photo is of my beautiful three year old princess. The party was very pink and very fun. Quite different than the parties my two boys have had over the years!
Can anyone enlighten me on how to highlight something so that people can click on it and go to that site? (ex:knitty.com) Thanks.

update

I just wanted to show off all of the work my students have done so far. We have about 40 dolls and hope to have a lot more in the next few weeks as everyone finishes. Give me an e-mail if you want to participate! I will have updated pictures of my home knitting after a three year old pink birthday party tomorrow!!