I've put aside the Brooks Farm yarn for a little while to focus on some gift knitting. I've got 3 skeins of Koigu KPPPM that I'm going to use for some of these heart sachets that were pictured in the Summer '05 IK. (Pattern PDF can be downloaded here, about halfway down the page.) These are going to be for the office staff in my current office, because they've always supported me in trying to make things work there. They've seen me knitting, and more than one has suggested I ought to make everyone a pair of socks. Nine pairs? And none of them for me? Hmmm, might drive me crazy, but I've already got 1.3 hearts done, and I'm enjoying the process immensely. I'll fill the sachets with some lavendar flowers that I ordered fairly cheaply from this site.
My other gift knitting (that I have yet to start) is a pair of socks for my Sockapal-2-za pal. I had so much fun with this the first time, that when Alison announced the summer tour, I just had to sign up. I'm pretty excited about the pal I got, and I really wish I could share her blog with you all now, but I guess that would defeat the point of the whole "secret" thing. Anyway, I'm in the midst of picking just the right yarn and pattern for her and might try to start those this weekend.
I did finish the intarsia tank finally, after the yarn I needed came last week, and the never-ending ends have all been woven in. I'm pretty happy with this as a summery tank. The specs, in case you're interested: Intarsia tank from Katia magazine #44, using Katia Idea Jeans in 6 colors. This yarn is a blend of linen, cotton, and nylon. It was pretty twine-y to work with, but has softened a bit with a wash and makes a nice fabric to wear. This was my first foray into intarsia work, and was a relatively easy piece to try it out on with it's large color blocks.
Today after work I'm heading up to Warm Springs, VA to the Homestead for a weekend conference. It should be a really nice weekend, and I've been looking forward to it for a while since I've never been there before. This meeting probably isn't one I'll knit during, but I think there'll be some knitting time in the evenings on the porch of our little cabin overlooking a river. And there will be good food, some gorgeous scenery, perhaps a little hiking, and the Jefferson Pools. Nevermind that this falls perfectly in line with my plan to have as many 3 day weekends between now and the time I finish this job as I can get away with! (July 4th weekend next week!)
Ya'll have a good one!