I'm Knitting Blue

I'm actually almost out of my "blue" period, but I haven't posted my knitting in a while, so I'm a little behind. All this yarn has since been knit or is in the process of being knit.

First, after knitting Meridith her Eskimo jacket, (named for the yarn the pattern calls for), I had to start mine. After much debate about the type of yarn and color I wanted to use, I settled on a tweedy Worsted Peace Fleece in Kamchatka Seamoss- it's the yarn in the lower right-hand corner (a sea green named after a peninsula on the Bering Strait). I had also considered a black or eggplant jacket in a wool/silk combo, which would have given it a whole different feel, but in the end settled for more casual and bright. I love Peace Fleece because it is yarn with a cause. Here's a blurb from their webpage about the company and its mission:
"The Peace Fleece office is a barn on a sheep farm in Maine. Peter Hagerty and his wife Marty Tracy started buying wool from the Soviet Union back in 1985 in hopes that through trade they could help diffuse the threat of nuclear war. Since then they have worked with shepherds in Russia, Kyrgyzia, Israel and the West Bank, as well as in Montana, Ohio, Texas and Maine. By working with people who tend livestock every day, they hope to find a common ground that slowly leads to mutual understanding and economic interdependence. After twenty-one years, their goals remain the same."

And I love the yarn because it is tweedy and of solid construction, and just what I would expect yarn should be. The buttons are sliced and dyed nuts- I bought them at Purl Diva in Brunswick, ME.

The middle yarn was also purchased at Purl Diva, and is Lorna's Laces Shepard Sport. I had wanted to make socks for my cowgirl boots, and blue seemed like a good color. I had really hoped this yarn wouldn't pool, but it did and I didn't like the effect, so I ended up knitting the Jaywalker pattern which is turning out nicely. I've combined it with a toe-up custom-fit pattern. Problem is, I'm not a fan of knitting socks on tiny needles, so this project has been languishing in my basket since January. And it's only the first one. But I'll be taking it on my trip, and will either force myself to knit them both, or frog this one and make a chevron scarf instead. You can see a ton of these scarves on Flickr.

The front left and back skein were knit up to make this:It's from Stephanie Jepel's Fitted Knits book. The navy is Ultra Alpaca purchased last summer at Central Yarn Shop in Portland, ME. I was going to use it for Julian's sweater until I found something closer to his favorite color in a washable wool. The blue/green yarn is from another Maine company, The Fiber Company, purchased at Knit Wit in the Old Port. I fell in love with this yarn when I saw it, and even more so when I touched it. Never before have I felt such yarn lust. I had to have it. But I don't just buy yarn, without a project in mind, how would I know how much I needed? So, I thought of my navy yarn and the shrug pattern and promptly purchased two skeins. I'm happy to say I used up all of the Ultra Alpaca skein and both of the Terra skeins in this project. No leftovers!

I have since moved on to other colors. After the yarn binging in Maine over the holidays, all my current projects involve using up stash yarn. I will share these soon.