WIP Wednesday: Happy Plucktember!

It's no secret that I'm a yarn hoar. All you need to do is look through my (not fully updated) Ravelry Stash to see that. I used to buy Madtosh like it was going out of style, but recently another yarn has stolen my heart...and wallet.

I'm talkin' Plucky.

And September is now a whole month dedicated to the celebration of all things Plucky, which is kind of amazing. Given the flurry of excitement over in the Ravelry group, you can see just how many people feel the same way I do about this beautiful yarn.

At Vogue Knitting NY

I didn't buy it all, but boy do I regret that. I vowed to put together a montage or something of all my yarn hoarding pictures. There are more online than I would like to admit. The thing about Plucky is that I actually use it, unlike most of the other special skeins I hoard away. Why is that? Because it's just so darn beautiful. And so nice to work with.

Sempervivum by Jared Flood

My first Plucky FO used two skeins of Primo Fingering in Barn Door. Oh man. Not only is the base delightful (20% cashmere!), but it takes dye like a boss. The pattern is by Jared Flood (thump, thump, thump goes my heart) and worked up surprisingly fast. The combination of lace stitches & luxurious yarn was perfect and this is one of my favorite FOs from last year. I even rocked it at VK Live in the above photo. I'd love to (someday) rework this in a heavier weight.

Ziggity by Kirsten Kapur

Another Plucky shawl, this time using some of the Plucky Feet One Hit Wonders I picked up at VK Live. Kirsten Kapur is one of my favorite designers & when I saw a sample of thing at VK I knew that I needed to knit it ASAP. I'm a huge fan of blue & gray (see here also) and this yarn was a joy to work with. I'm really kicking myself for not snatching up a few more skeins of these because One Hit Wonders are my faves.

Dateline Cowl by Thao Nguyen

My most recent Plucky FO was also knit in Plucky Feet. I wasn't a huge fan of this color when it arrived, but when I volunteered to test Thao's new pattern, I thought the delicate lace would be perfect for this color. I used most of the skein, but still have a small orange sized ball. Might pair it with another shade for a colorblock hat. Someday. 

Which brings us here, to Plucktember. I'm trying not to get too overzealous here because I have so many things to knit & finish up before the end of October. Wedding shawls, presents, etc. I'm kind of losing my mind a bit. You would think that my knitting output would have skyrocketed now that I'm unemployed, but it really hasn't. I've only managed to finish 2 things since moving here a month and a half away. How is that possible? I'm really not even sure. Oh wait, the internet. And my recently developed ADD. So I'm keeping things simple & making plans for only three of my precious plucky skeins. It helps that I only brought six with me.

Plucky Bello in Windmill Island & Traveler in Lonely Heart

I cast on for Taking a Chance on Love on September 1st and I'm flying through it. It might be endless stockinette, but did I mention that Bello is almost 50% cashmere?! Yeah. Makes all the purling almost worth it. Ok, it is worth it. When I saw the cables & lace I was sold and bought the pattern immediately. I'm surprised their aren't more FOs on Ravelry. I haven't gotten very far yet, but my project page is visible here.

Isn't this beautiful?

That other skein is Traveler Aran in Lonely Heart. I bought it mostly because if reminded me of Marina & the Diamonds (<3), but it's a lovely autumnal purple. Perfect for leaf peeping...if I can find some leaves around here. I plan on designing a slouchy cabled hat, so I might not finish it before Plucktember is over. My backup plan is to use it for a modified Contemporary (My homegurl Christie is casting on for one) or Lowbrow, another Thao design that is blowing up all over Plucktember.

Since we went to San Diego last weekend (more on that later), I plan on knitting all of the things & relaxing this weekend. It's going to be good. Traveling is fun but exhausting.