This is going to be a long one. I’m finally taking some time to update the blog — and not just post more pictures from flickr.

There have been quick a few upheavals, changes, obstacles, and problems keeping me occupied lately. But now that the dust has settled a bit, things are looking up. I’ve actually had to think about what I want to be doing with myself down the line and at the moment. A few tentative answers have presented themselves.

First off, I’m packing up in Germany, getting the apartment cleared out, and wondering at how I managed to accumulate so much yarn in such a relatively short period of time. The whole while attempting not to buy very much yarn. FAIL.

So deutsche post is going to be seeing a lot of me.

And speaking of post, this has been a very exciting couple of weeks for packages. In a fit of comfort seeking, I ordered up a little something from Yarnissima. Which resulted in the most awesome package ever:

Seriously. Sea shells? Stickers? Laminated EZ-reference chart? Wow. It was like a carnival in a box.

As you might be able to guess from the blue, I went with the Spina di Pesce kit: ravelled. Not only is it perfect for this iteration of Project Spectrum : Elements, but it is quite perfect in itself.

This is my first Wollmeise experience: the colors are saturated, the yarn itself is firm yet soft, the pattern is amazing. I’m excited to get started.

However, I’m trying to clear off my needles before digging in to a rather cable-rific sock project.

So on to the secondly: knitting. Strangely, most of my projects at the moment are rather Scotland-centered: a couple of wooly gifts for a friend heading to the Outer Hebrides in the winter (brrr) and the Shetland Triangle shawl (still in the blob stage).

The gifts:

Just your basic Dolores Park Cowl in some lovely blue Arya Big (color 306), a bulky wool-blend yarn so new it’s not even listed on Ravelry yet. Imagine.

I don’t remember when I finished this, but I do remember that it only took one evening. Look at my Project Spectrum mojo: so blue, so purple. It is a cowl full of water-y inspiration, heading for the very watery realm of the Isle of Lewis.

The accompaniment to the cowl is a pair of wooly, watery, worsted-weight socks.

These couldn’t be a faster knit, with a cable thrown in for a bit of interest here and there.  I’m actually writing up my very first pattern for them: even though the socks aren’t anything particularly special or complicated, I thought it might be a fun way to try out pattern writing.  Initial reactions: man, it’s hard, but kind of enjoyable.  I’m just now finishing up the second sock and proofreading.

In between pattern jiggering, packing, Wollmeise lust, and the occasional stop in prospectus land, I’m also contemplating what my lovely new Malabrigo sock yarn wants to be when it grows up.  It will have something to do with September’s choices over at the Interweave Sockalong, I predict.  A whole slew of fall knitting magazines arrived in the mail (woohoo!) and the Bacchus socks look mighty tempting.

And now we’re caught up.

Despite the sleepy, it’s a lovely shawl. I might just call it my first Project Spectrum : Water project, even though it is green — there is somthing water-y about the color.

Big difference, right?  Yeah, I thought so.