All Over the Place (Link Madness)

Number One Son finally has a room of his own to sleep in at school after the move in and out debacle of last week and resulting move out and in over the last two days and Hudson is finally groomed again after two months of hairy fun in the woods. So a big space in my brain and timeline has opened up!

Then last night I bound off the Guernsey Wrap. Blocking should be fun but now I'm awash in ideas of what to knit/scheme to knit next.

The thing is the Shepherd and the Shearer yarn should ship within the next week. I want the decks clear, my knitting "pallet" cleansed, nothing but air in the knit basket. I wanted to be starved for knitting as I cast on whatever fabulous thing it is they send me the yarn and pattern for.

But...

1. Darling Daughter is going to London to visit a dear and life long friend there on an internship after completing her masters and before starting her Doctorate. (This detail is important in that it illustrates the friend, a) has a residence that can receive packages and b) is a good enough friend I know she won't mind receiving one so I suddenly realized all that means I could have British Yarn delivered to her place if I got it organized ASAP so Darling Daughter could bring it home, saving me the shipping costs. 'Off to Ravelry and Blacker Yarns trying to decipher British yarn weights for what I might use an amazing yarn to make.

2. My Beloved and I are going to Washington DC for a long weekend within the next month. I need travel knitting!

3. My cousin more like brother in NYC and his wife are expecting identical twin boys before Christmas. I know you understand the ramifications of that to a knitter's brain!

4. The new Brooklyn Tweed Look Book came out yesterday. I want to wear and make soooo many of those things and I have been forcing myself not to even think about the BT Look Book for men that came out last month because the Shepherd and Shearer project will be a man-knit so I need to get that done first. Instead I've been vicariously enjoying Steven's efforts at "Knitting Sweaters & Sitting Still where he's documenting his work on "Redford". Thank you Steven - that at least takes one thing out of my brain!

Anyway I'm thinking of matching #4 with #1 and #3 with #2 but to do 3 with 2 I'd have to squeeze in an emergency trip to Romni and I'd have a Shepherd and the Shearer conflict - which I really didn't want but lets face it, 'could cope with right?

In the meantime, right this second what should I knit? I have this yarn, another gift from Number One Son....

I started to make a cowl with it but the pattern is wrong for the yarn/yarn is wrong for the cowl.

Its only 220 yds. so my options are limited but I think something that's predominantly stockinette (unlike the failed cowl) would show off the colour variations nicely in the hand dyed yarn so I'm thinking of EZ mitered mittens. I do seem to be on a mitten jag!

So maybe I'll try that tonight. Maybe...

...Because there is also this...

...more gift yarn - that boy is good to his mother - for which I've planned an Amerind Cowl. The thing is the yarn, while super wash and hand dyed is identical to the colour of the natural, local wool/mohair with which I've just finished working the Guernsey Wrap so it feels like that might be a bit of a snore just now. Maybe that's what I should plan to take to DC!

Oh, also, I have long wanted to knit Fiona Ellis' Celtic Icon Hoodie but have never been able to settle on a colour combination.  Recent Ravelry Ramblings have given me the idea to work it all in white or natural yarn. Then I had a thought to use Berroco Ultra Alpaca Vintage DK from EweKnit but would the Alpaca in that yarn (50%) make it too heavy? The pattern is written for a wool/cotton blend but maybe that's what I should order the British Yarn for - British yarn for a British designer...but it might amount to a bigger package than Darling Daughter could squeeze in her bag...arghhhh, like I said..."All Over the Place!"

Lots of "mulling" to do while walking Hudson and blocking Guernsey this morning and grocery shopping for this place for the first time in a couple of months, this afternoon.  Maybe my real problem is I'm hungry!

All. Over. The. Place.

...did I mention I need to spring bulbs to plant....and then there's a haircut for me - I need a new stylist...how about all those shirts that need ironing...what did they spill in the oven over the summer?.............