The Valley Project ... OMG, Lots to Knit!

Pretty early in my knitting life (i.e., 4 months ago), I discovered Yarn.com. Oh, how I love that site. I even love their email marketing--it always sucks me in, even though I usually hate that sort of thing.

It didn't take long to try out one of their Valley Yarns. Since then, I've fallen in love with a bunch of their yarns. And every time I browse the collection, I want to knit. them. ALL. So I figured, hey, why not actually do it?

Northampton Sport

I'm hereby officially starting The Valley Project, in which I plan to make at least one knitting project from every single yarn in the Valley Yarns collection. That's 35 yarns! (Why yes, this will be a long-term project.) It'll also give me a reason to try out their hand-dyed and kettle-dyed variations, and it'll force me to experiment with weaving and lace yarns.

Hand-Dyed Northfield. Scrummy!

I do have a bit of a head start: I've done three Miranda Hats for charity using Valley Superwash and a cowl for myself, also in Valley Superwash; and I'm in the middle of a sweater for Jef using Northampton. I also have a couple other yarns stashed for projects in the near future.

Northampton for Jef's Sweater

You can see all the yarn details on my page The Valley Project. I'll be posting updates there every time I finish a project, so I hope you'll check back now and again!

Wish me luck! And fast fingers!

FOs: Four Miranda Hats for Halos of Hope

I love it when a plan comes together (*chews cigar*).

What's the best weight to work at when you're learning something new in knitting? Worsted.
What's the best size project to knit in summer? Small.
What's the best size project to avoid get overwhelmed? Small.
What's the best way to get a warm fuzzy? Charity.

What combines all those things? The Miranda Hat currently being knit for charity by the Project: Stash Ravelry group.

So I made four.

2 adult-sized, 1 large child-sized, & 1 normal child-sized

As modeled by Tebby Dear, Bonkey, and Lamby

Here's what I learned:

• Valley Yarns Valley Superwash is AMAZING to knit with. So soft, so easy to tension, and a pretty good bargain!
• It's going to take practice to get comfortable knitting C-style (Continental) on DPNs.
• Switching to C-style makes me knit a lot looser! I went down two needle sizes for these hats.

Sadly, these don't count toward my stash-busting pledge because I broke the pledge to buy yarn to make them! (But I've broken the pledge, like, four times. At least this time was for charity!)

BTW, if you're interested in doing some quickie knitting or sewing for a good cause, check out Halos of Hope! They're devoted to collecting and distributing handmade hats, scarves, and turbans for cancer patients.