New projects....

   On Saturday afternoon I escaped to The Yarn Shoppe for a half an hour and came home with a few things.  DH was out playing for a while helping his cousin paint a race car or something, so I snuck out after spending the morning at the YMCA and the afternoon procrastinating on studying for my Stats test.  (I am happy to report that after my short escape I did go home and study and got an 88 on my test.  Not the best grade, but pretty good for the amount of effort I put in and the highest I had gotten so far.) 

   The last time I had been in to the shop Laurel had mentioned that she owed me for some rainbow sheep, and I had a decent-sized credit coming.  So I went to the shop with the plan to pick up something for the Olive Branch Yoga Hoodie.  She had recently gotten some Plymouth Jeannee in and, although it is an acrylic blend which usually doesn't excite me, I knew that it knit up well because of some samples she had.  My original plan was to use the celery color (kind of a soft lime) for it, but she was short by a skein or two and I didn't want to wait.  The choice ended up being between a baby blue and a salmon pink/rose color.  Since the Celtic Icon was blue and pink isnot something I usually knit with, I chose it. 

   I have to admit that after finishing my test that night I did break down and start the hoodie.  My gauge is exactly on for once.  The fabric is incredibly drapey on an 8, but since I am getting gauge and love the comfy way it should feel I am happy with it.  This is what I got done before bed Saturday night:

   I sat and worked on it Tuesday night while watching The Biggest Loser too, and finished the hood that night.  The body has just barely been started, and I'm anxious to get some time to work on it.

   While I was looking for the Jeanne at the Yarn Shoppe that day, I also ran across a pattern book that caught my eye:

   Not sure if it was the colors that drew my attention or the simplicity, but it appealed to me.  Blue and brown are a popular combination right now.  So after looking through the book I decided that the mitered pillows that match the afghan on the cover would be great in my living room.  I picked out a skein each of blue and brown to play with.  I couldn't go to bed that night without at least trying it out to see what it looked like:

   It's a little dark maybe, but I think it will match the room well.  Haven't gotten a chance to work on this since Saturday, but this is a just for fun project with no timeline, so I'll just play with it when I feel like it. 

   Those purchases used up my credit and only ended up costing me $8 out of pocket.  Gotta love that.  Of course I completely blew my savings before I left for the day.  Just before heading out I was glancing around quickly to see what was there and ran across these:

   The color in the picture is a little brighter than real life.  In actuality they are a very deep, rich purple color.  Couldn't pass them up!  This is Schaefer Judith, which is 100% alpaca in a sport weight.  There are 330 yards in each skein so that should be enough to make the Simple Knitted Bodice with - the pattern was purchased a whlie ago.  I also held up a skein of amethyst Tilli Thomas against them and it will work well for the accent sections.  So I had Laurel order a skein of hte Rockstar for me.  Don't ask how much those cost me because it hurts.  Gonna have to make some more stitch markers to pay for it all.  Luckily she has requested more white and gray sheep and some fun seasonal stuff, so that will help.  It should be a fun project anyway.

   Before I end for the day I wanted to post some pictures in better light.  Here is the Ribby Pulli finished in day light:

   Here is the Claudia sock yarn in colorway Teal Party:

   Isn't it beautiful?  I'm still looking for a good project other than just socks for this, but haven't found one yet. 

   Happily I made it through thost last rough days with both the exams I had due.  Now just have to finish taxes - maybe starting them would help.  lol  DH is supposed to be working on his stuff today, and he is at least sitting at the computer because I've gotten a couple emails from him.  Of course one of them was from him searching on reunion.com, so not sure how productive he is being.  lol  The plan after work is to go to the YMCA for Aqua Challenge class and then it sounds like we are taking the boys to a movie.  They both brought home fantastic report cards, so it would be a nice treat. 

  I've been kind of bad the last few days and made some purchases again, so once those come in I will post pictures.  Both were time-sensitive though, so if I had waited they might have been gone!  heaven forbid.  Anyway, it is time to sign off for the day.  TTFN!