Hey, I could make that!

I'm finally settled in at the house enough to start really knitting again, but the big move has tightened things up so I can only knit from the stash. Lucky for me, the move also made me realize that I really need to get the stash in a better place. I don't mind having lots of yarn, but there's a lot of stuff with no purpose. And not enough of anything to start a new sweater (this sweater, in particular, except without the flared sleeves), which is all I want to do.

In a perfect example of why I should buy yarn for a particular purpose, I pulled some Plymouth Encore I bought to make another Elijah out of the stash and was ready to roll on a present for my friend Kara's soon-to-arrive baby.



Pattern: Elijah by Ysolda
Needles: Size 5 DPNs
Yarn: Plymouth Encore- 3/4 skein of gray, scraps of pink

This is the 2nd Elijah I've made and I still love him. This one is in the 75% acrylic Encore, which usually would not be something I would mess with, but this is surprisingly great yarn. It has a wool content similar to Woolease, but I think it is so much better. It doesn't have that plastically feel- it really just feels like slightly softer wool.



And of course, Ysolda's pattern is as brilliant as they come. Everyone thinks so- that's why there are 340 of these on Ravelry. The swirl the head decreases make, the way the purl row and decreases make the feet look, the way the short rows make the ears look perfect- all of it makes this pattern not only great because it is seamless, but also because it creates an adorable result with spot-on details.

In other news, I was in Urban Outfitters recently looking for fabric and saw this huge knitted purse:

(please ignore ridiculous look on my face- I think I was trying to look casual)

Cute, right? Except this bad boy was 100% Acrylic and $68! So like any good knitter, I made my husband take pictures of it inside the store because I was just positive that I could replicate it.



It looks pretty easy, huh? I may just have to figure that thing out.