Craving something lacey & sweet

Well this is the second day in a row of 80° temps and its making me want to stash away anything that has even the slightest hint of fuzzy (save it for a rainy day!) and work on something light. I am at work right now, patiently awaiting my lunchbreak so that I can dash home and dig out this gorgeous merino lace yarn that i know is stashed away someplace. I've been peeking at some lace scarf patterns in ravelry and I *think* I've found the one - here's to hoping it's not too *cozy*

Monkey {fingerless} Mitts!

They are finished! And have been documented.
For more details on this pattern, see http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/monkey-fingerless-mitts on Ravelry!

I used an alpaca/silk blend 3 ply, worsted from Alpaca Direct in Hayden, ID - 1 skein, 200 yards. I am super overjoyed that it didn't run out!! It would have been a sad thing to have to get more - knowing that they *may* or *may not* have the same dye lot!

So now, I'm on to bigger, more complicated projects, like this cardigan. I feel super accomplished for getting through the most challenging stitch I've ever attempted in my life - the mussel stitch. This will truly be an adventure in the making! :)

I kidnapped my little brother and took him yarnshopping

Yep, that's what I did this morning. I had plans to meet a friend in downtown Coeur d'Alene. But when those plans fell through, I stopped by my family's house, knocked on my little brother's bedroom door and announced my intentions to kidnap him. He didn't object. He went right along. We were about a block and a half away from our destination when he actually asked me where we were going - The yarn store, of course :)
He said that he was gonna just sit in the car and play with his new shiny smartphone, but after much pleading (ok maybe just a little), I convinced him I really needed his eye for colors. So, my little brother accompanied my hour long jaunt at Harmony Yarn Studio.
I was going to buy yarn for a sweater, but decided that was A LOT of yarn to buy and that a shrug might be a better idea (less yarn and gives me good practice for all the shaping involved in knitting a sweater). After tedious unsuccessful searching for a shrug pattern on Ravelry on my own little nifty smartphone, the super nice store clerk let me search for one on the store computer. I settled on this Bolero. Pretty fabulous. So I bought the little pile of yarn I would need for it using a gift certificate and a little pile of cash. Got the yarn home this evening, took a picture of it, and decided on another pattern for it: Simple Raglan Cardi (Lion Brand pattern). Of course, the fact that it is not wound yet (I need to borrow my mom's ball winder for that) will keep me from starting this pattern until a little more progress has been made on my fingerless mitts I'm currently work on :)

yarn details: Plymouth Select Worsted Merino Superwash in "Rust"

I also subjected my little brother to this lovely song several times. 

Cause, well, it's amazing ~