Slow Weekend Stitching

You would have thought that a four day weekend last week (thank you Independence Day) would have been fun and relaxing but it really wasn't. 

In the last month or so, anything that could break down and need expensive repairs or replacements has broken down and the culmination of this was my clothes dryer last Tuesday. It was a second hand dryer that we picked up a few years ago on the cheap at a used appliance repair store. A quick check of the model number showed it was thirteen years old with a life expectancy of ten years. I spent a chunk of July 4th in the laundromat, drying all the clothes that I had washed earlier that day and the rest of it shopping for a new dryer.

The upside of spending all that time in a laundromat is that I was able to make good headway on one of the hats I've been working on, and so I now present the latest hat and scarf combo. I actually really hate the colors of this yarn but was aiming for something that would appeal more to men for donation hats and scarves. I think in the future I'll stick to dark solids, like burgundy, brown, and blue, you know, colors that won't make me grit my teeth while working with them. Oy vey, I still have about 400 yards of this stuff to use up but I may just donate what is left to my church. The yarn is Herschnerr's Worsted 8 and I don't think they even sell this color any more.

When I purchased this yarn, I also picked up another variegated called "spice," a teal, and a sage green. I think its possible that I ordered the ugliest variegated that they had. I have learned my lesson.

In the meantime, I also had a page finish on Waiting by Tilton Crafts.

Magnificent Wizard has also been seeing some love lately.

I'm considering starting a sweater for myself. I'd like to make either the Overcast Sweater or the Hooded Sweater. Both patterns are by Maz Kwok of BeACrafter.com. They take similar amounts of DK weight yarn, so I've been spending my lunch breaks browsing yarn sites looking for the *perfect* yarn. I haven't settled on anything yet but it will come to me eventually. I'm also torn between buying some nice yarn so that I want to wear it when done or cheap yarn since its my first time attempting a sweater. Suggestions?