A whole new look and a little bit of knitting

So what do you think? I got a makeover. At least my blog did. I can't seem to scare up the time to get my hair even trimmed, but Knit the Stash got a whole new lease on life courtesy of Haven Rich of Enchanted Web Design. She's just getting started skinning blogs and pages for folks and so she did this for me, which I think is so wonderful and perfect for Knit the Stash. If you are looking for someone to give your blog a more personal touch, contact Haven and tell her Elizabeth sent you.

I've made some progress on the Weasley Sweater, but when I went to try it on the kid, the length is just perfect for right now. Which stinks, because I deliberately made it a little extra long for him, and then two weeks later the kid fits into it. I swear he goes to bed at night and just spends the next 9-10 hours stretching. But I'll have some yarn leftover and if it is really too short next winter, I'll just knit a 3 inch waistband down from the current rolled edge. That, or I'll knit the other sweater in Charmed Knits that is really a great "boy" sweater, Harry's Red Cable Sweater. (Ravel linked so you can take a peak at one.)

I've also been knitting on some dishcloths for the Beat the Winter Doldrums swap. I love the yarn I found at Hilltop East. (Or as my husband says when the VISA comes, "The Hill I should have resisted climbing.") It is Blue Sky Alpacas Organic Cotton, and it is wonderful to knit with. That's a bit of the skein up there at the top. So soft, that it is hard to give up. I also got another skein of it in the Dyed Cotton for my swap friend, so she could give a spin. I decided to try something a little more challenging, going for something more spa-like since I had this scrumptious yarn, choosing the "Turn Back Time Spa Cloth" from the January 2008 issue of Creative Knitting. I've linked it there to Ravelry, so you can see some different versions. The cloth is knit in the round, first on dpns, then on a circular. It was great fun to watch the pattern emerge and made for interesting knitting, as each row is different.

I've had so much fun knitting these two "spa cloths," I think I am going to knit a few more and use them as hostess gifts at the Rose City Romance Writer's Reader Luncheon, which is April 26th at the Governor Hotel in Portland. If you like books, consider going. It has to be my favorite non-knitting event of the year. They have all these fabulous baskets they raffle off and each table is hosted by various local romance authors. And when I say fabulous baskets--I mean really, really, great baskets--full of goodies and books and fun stuff, all donated by authors and writers. And the proceeds raised go to Oregon Literacy, which is a wonderful organization that helps adults attain their goal of learning to read. I think I should be able to knit 9 dishcloths between now and April. And believe it or not, I've got the yarn stashed . . . Okay, I suppose that wasn't much of a stretch of the imagination.

What do you want to knit before April?