Yummy yarns

I'd like to say that I decided to treat myself because I've been so good at knitting from stash and have finished a handful of projects using only "old" yarn.  That's not actually what happened. 

The man-friend declared he wanted octopus mittens.  In purple and gold.  They had to be warm, but not get "fuzzy" (like the alpaca hat I knit him).  Very demanding, eh?  So I took him to a yarn store where he bumbled around trying to find true husky colors in a bulky yarn that wouldn't get a 'fro after wearing them. Not a small task.  Finding the right shade of purple was difficult, then finding the right gold in the same kind of yarn was even harder.  But we ended up with something that I think will work.  Reynolds Lopi, 100% wool, in deep purple and gold.

And I made him buy it.  So while it's in my stash, I didn't use any money.  That doesn't count, right?

What does certainly count is the sweaters worth of yarn I just bought for myself.  But oh how wonderful the yarn is.  

I'm making this.  I want it.  From the first time I saw it, I thought "mine".  So I will try my hand again at knitting a sweater. This time with teeny tiny yarn and teeny tiny needles, and a pattern that doesn't really have any interest to it.   How very unlike the sweater that is sitting in my knitting basket that only has one sleeve left to go.  Wonder which one I'll finish first....

I'm going to use Canopy Fingering in Aloe and River Dolphin. What tasty yarn.  50% baby alpaca, 30% merino wool, and 20% bamboo.  So squishy!

With any luck (and lots of time sitting in my car doing creel surveys this summer) I'll be able to wear it before the temp plummets back to the frigid 35 degree F of Seattle in winter.