Leap Year Wierdness

So apparently nature doesn't know what to do with the leap day, so it decided to send snow.













And deer. Those are in the backyard of the cats I am taking care of this week, since I don't really have a back yard, and if I did the deer wouldn't venture that far into town just to sit in some snow.

Luckily, I have a snugly new cowl to help keep me warm during this bizzar weather. I call it the Tubey Cowl, as it is a möbius tube. Pattern is forthcoming, just as soon as I can string two moments together.





That is all I have time for right now, but I promise to post a huge finished projects update in the near future.

Working on Something New

Tomorrow I'm teaching my first professional class at Stash, using my Sand Dollar Hat pattern. It'd been a while since I knit it, and not only did I need a refresher but also my old one is starting to lo a little, well, used.

So last night I procured some Abstract Fibers Super Sock in Snapdragon, which I am double stranding into the wildest hat I've ever knit (or even seen).







It's coming along nicely, I'm more than half way up the side, but the lighting in here isn't good for a picture.

I'll make sure to take pictures tomorrow at the class of all the hats being knit.

I'm also working on a seminar about dying fiber in your own kitchen. It started with an open topic for presentations in one of my classes, and is slowly morphing into something really fun. For one thing, I had a whole family of colorful mason jars in my kitchen,




and some lovely results.





All this color in my home and knitting has been a real boon during this grey February. And on that note, I'll leave you with this lovely painting by the Dread Pirate Roberts himself (via the iPad app Paint for Cats).

Yarn U - A Review

I recently got the opportunity to do my first iPad app review for Yarn U. After spending about a week playing around with it, I'm finally ready to share with you, my bloggy friends.

Yarn U is a new app for knitters, crocheters, weavers, or any yarn enthusiast. It is compatible with iPad, iPod touch, or iPhone, and will work offline with only a little decreased functionality.

Yarn U is a database of yarns, with useful information about each yarn, a map feature showing where the yarn may be purchased, photos of the yarns and/or patterns, links to patterns for the yarns, average price, and a place for users to post questions and comments about the yarns.





There are multiple ways to sort the list to focus on what you're looking for. I like sorting by manufacturer, as shown above. That way I can easily look for specific yarns or browse through my favorite yarn providers.





Once I've found a yarn I want to know more about, I just select it and voila!





Pictures, fiber content, put-up, approximate gauge, and other useful information. Want to see more pictures? Simply select the picture and you'll move to a screen with more pictures.






Sometimes you get pictures of more color ways, sometimes you get more pictures of patterns...





And sometimes it's a mix of both. This feature is available for most yarns I the database. You can also mark yarns as favorites, and then sort the master list by that criteria.





The only feature I found a bit weak was the map feature. Each yarn oily has one map reference, and there seems to be a small pool that each was chosen from. I'm hoping that as the app progresses, more yarn stores will be added, and it would be nice to be able to sort by region, for if I'm traveling and want to know what the local yarn shops carry.

So, if you want to have a yarn database at your fingertips, this is the app for you. I know it will come in handy for planning my future yarn purchasing trips...