The world has turned upside-down.
Let me just start by letting you know that I am making fabulous progress on the argyle vest.
That said, my wrist needs a little break from the tiny stitches now and again, so I cast on for something a little chunkier. Join me in welcoming the Snowy Tomten to the family...
Hola. I am Scandinavian.
And can I just say Holy Cow, this thing is knitting up quickly.
For those of you who will ask (because you always do) the yarn is Joann's Bellezza Collection Doceltto. It's a hugely soft wool/nylon/cotton blend that seems to be machine washable. I'm hoping that will appease whomever will be laundering this white baby garment.
flashing a little garter
In other news, Bloomington FINALLY has a new yarn store! A couple lovelies and I went and checked it out today. I'm giving it a 7 out of 10 for now. Points were docked for a) no Rowan (what?), b) small needle and handpainted sock yarn selections, and c) shelving all the yarn with ball bands hidden (why oh why?) but points scored for a) general friendliness and helpfulness b) having a pretty decent stock for having recently opened c) carrying more than one kind of wool wash and, most importantly d) the fact that they exist.
And is it as warm by you today as it is here? It was 69 degrees on my car's thermometer when I was driving home an hour ago. The windows are open! There are birds! The sky is blue! I'm going to go knit outside.
Comments
Oooh! I'll be in B-town this month for a wedding. I'll defintely have to check out that store. Hope your wrist feels better soon!
Posted by: Mariss | March 2, 2008 4:48 PM
Welcome, White Tomten! Looking good so far. Glad to hear of the new Bloomington yarn shop.
Posted by: Ruth | March 2, 2008 6:19 PM
I'm sensing a visit to Elli and Thunk's in my near future...
Posted by: Wen-Wen | March 2, 2008 7:33 PM
what the heck is a snowy tomten?
Posted by: kricket | March 2, 2008 9:18 PM
Fear the washing machine!! I'd definitely avoid the machine and the dryer at all costs with this yarn. I felted a raglan sweater a while back just by placing it into a dryer (on a rack, even) to air dry. Argh. The tomten does look super yummy warm, though!
Posted by: Stacee | March 2, 2008 9:42 PM
Ooh it's so warm there...LUCKY!!!
Posted by: Rae | March 2, 2008 11:10 PM
Totem looks great. I wish we had weather like that here, sounds lovely!
Posted by: Lin | March 3, 2008 2:40 AM
is there an old yarn store within a mile or so of the new one that carries Rowan? from what I hear they have pretty strict rules regarding distance....
I think I might keel over when I see a baby in that Tomten.
Posted by: kate | March 3, 2008 8:01 AM
The Tomten looks nice and squooshy. I'm sure it'll be as cute as it is warm!
Posted by: seedless grape | March 3, 2008 11:46 AM
Hola? for Scandinavian? hee hee.. I'm nitpicking. Anyways, I love the snow white! And a new yarn store is always good news! At least they didn't organize the yarn by color! That's one of my biggest pet peeves!
Posted by: yaiAnn | March 3, 2008 1:53 PM
what a great looking shop! i actually like the look of the hidden ball bands but that's just me. anyway enjoy!
Posted by: maryse | March 3, 2008 3:01 PM
Ohhh, knitting outside. A friend told me she was knitting in her living room with the sun pouring through the (closed) windows today; I think that's the closest we'll get for a while... I really like the sound of a yarn shop with no Rowan - it dominates here to the point of tyranny - but then, most of the yarn I've bought recently has been Rowan, come to think of it. Poor me :)
Posted by: Philippa | March 3, 2008 4:35 PM
Don't torment me with talk of warm weather. It was 7 when I dropped my kids off at school this morning. Yes, that's farenheit. Ugh. Global schwarming....
Posted by: Smuddpie | March 3, 2008 7:10 PM
The tomten looks great, and machine washable is always great for kids knits isnt it.
Posted by: Sue | March 4, 2008 6:30 AM
I wanted to say that I read you all the time and enjoy your blog. More importantly :)I grew-up in Bloomington and get a little spread of warmth through my heart everytime you mention it!! It should be starting to get beautiful very soon!
Posted by: Heather | March 4, 2008 8:40 AM
I love your blue needles! It just snowed half a foot this morning in Ontario, Canada, and reading about your mild weather, paired with those sky-blue needles makes me feel a tiny bit better :)
Posted by: val | March 5, 2008 9:12 AM
A simple one color white tomten, why didn't I just do that?!
It always shocks me when yarn shops don't carry Rowan. But apparently, this is not an unusual thing. I don't understand it; but, there you are.
Posted by: nova | March 5, 2008 1:07 PM
I have that same yarn in the same color and I love it. It's sooo soft!
Posted by: Steph | March 5, 2008 3:55 PM
Congrats on the new yarn shop in town! Rowan can be really difficult for a new shop to bankroll - initiall minimum orders border on 10k. So, maybe once they get going they will be able to bankroll a Rowan order.
Lansing, MI - cold, and snowing right now. sigh.
Posted by: meg | March 6, 2008 8:06 AM
The tomten will be beautiful, I'm sure. I'm a huge fan of natural white wool garter stitch.
Posted by: james | March 7, 2008 11:58 PM
Love your blog! I live in Indiana too. My closest shop is in Indianapolis - Mass Ave Knit Shop....they sell Rowan. Have you made it over that way?
Posted by: Carrie | March 12, 2008 6:42 AM
its tomten season, it must be!
I'm almost finished with mine, but the zipper! The zipper my friends is a thing of procrastination.
Can't wait to see yours finished.
Posted by: evi | March 13, 2008 6:17 PM
are you serious??? 69 degrees?!?! i'm a first time visitor to your blog (linked via anny purls) so i was totally taken aback when i read that weather report and for the life of me couldn't think where you would be with temps like that, unless it was florida or california. but i didn't think indiana was that far south of canada (where we have massive, massive amounts of snow still).... sigh. for evidence, see: yarnharlot.ca, march 13th entry. i'm off to check my atlas and see just what the distance is from indiana to ontario... it can't be that far, so spring has GOT to be working it's way northward, don't you think? :)
Posted by: christine m. | March 14, 2008 10:54 PM