Freedom! And an FO.

Guys... yesterday was my last day of work. Last day. LAST DAY! I've never just been unemployed before. I've worked since I was 15 and before that I babysat. I think the last time I had time that was not occupied with work or school was probably the summer of my freshman year of college before I was doing research... 8 years ago. Crazy.
So now I'm a little paralyzed by the impulse to do all the things ever. Wash the dishes! Clean the bathroom! Join a gym! Get a kitten! Go for hikes! Go to the beach! Read scientific papers! Research PhD programs! Apply for jobs! Work on designs! Knit some swatches! Get new tires! Take the cat to the vet!  Finish all my WIPs! Plan everything!!

Phew. It's only 8am and I'm already exhausted. ;) But I'm sure I'll figure it out. What would you do with oodles of free time?

In knitting news, last weekend I finished an old WIP (my 5th Year of Projects project!) while visiting my friends.

Terrible self-modeled shot, sorry!

This is the Zuzu's Petals pattern by Carina Spencer, of the Regina Hat fame. Obviously, I like Carina's patterns very much. I knitted her Whippoorwill shawl, too, a while back. Of all of these, I think the Zuzu's Petals is probably the most brilliant. Essentially, it's a cowl that looks like a kerchief-style-shawl when worn around the neck. The knitting starts off like a shawl, which I love since I am apparently a serial shawl-starter, but then you join it together and it turns into a cowl! My first thought upon seeing this pattern was omg why didn't I think of that?! Jealous. It's so clever!

Blocking it was a bit of an adventure. Due to its asymmetric cylindrical shape, laying it flat would not have worked super well and would've taken much longer to dry. So instead I took the vertical approach.

I pinned out all the 'shawl' points, then placed a water bottle on top of a bowl in the middle of the cowl and stretched the top edge of the cowl up. I precariously pinned it in place around the bottle so it stayed up well enough and let it dry. It looked like a crazy witch hat, but it worked!

Colorway: Irish Girlie Green

Can we take a second to talk about this yarn? Blue Moon Fiber Arts Marine Silk Worsted is freakin' gorgeous, people. It is a 4-ply mix of 51% silk, 29% Merino wool, and 20% Sea Cell®Rayon. Sea Cell is a cellulose fiber (like Tencel or lyocell) made from plant materials with some seaweed thrown in. Like all such fibers, it is shiny and silky. I actually didn't realize this yarn had wool in it until I looked it up, it felt like it was all silk and Sea Cell, but it is a bit less dense than a completely silk yarn would be. I really enjoyed working with it. Blue Moon has so many different kinds of yarn to offer besides Socks That Rock, I just never think to place an order with them that isn't for STR. I bought this skein last year at Stitches East, it's so much easier to impulse-buy when you can actually hold the yarn. I think if their other yarns were carried in more stores they would sell and be used much more than they seem to be now. Marine Silk only has 16 projects on Ravelry, and it's a really gorgeous yarn! A bit pricey, yes, but no more than any other luxury blend would be. I'll definitely be using it again for projects that would benefit from some silk content. For instance, I bet it would make a great Beribboned Hat, but perhaps knit at the DK weight size to compensate for the extra drapiness of silk.

Do you have a favorite little-used yarn?

YoP progress (5 down, 45 to go):
1. WIPs: 1/10 finished, 1/9 left in progress
2. SIPs: 0/5 actively in progress
3. New Projects: 1/14 finished, 2/13 left in progress
4. New Socks: 2/6 in progress
5. Of My Own Design: 3/16 finished, 2/13 left in progress