New things and ideas

I've started a new project and I've learned a new variation on ribbing.  This pattern called for a modified ribbing  of:  Row 1-Knit across; Row 2-K1, P1 across. I think it looks nice, but even nicer is the way it feels.  It has nice body and stretch without pinching in as much as a regular ribbing.  (The modified ribbing is the red stiped part):

I have also discovered the perfect project caddy for knitting at home!   I was looking around at Michael's to find a new knitting bag and by pure chance had a look at scrapbooking caddies.  They looked great and seemed to have what I was looking for and I was right!  This is the one I bought:

There are lots of side pockets for my knitting accessories (row counter, stitch markers, tape measure, etc...).  The center pouch runs the full length of the bag and nicely stores the work in progress (or, in my case, my AddieTurbo Click System.)  There are lots of different scrapbooking caddies -- some larger, some smaller -- I chose a medium size.  This one is about 13" long , 10" wide and 8" high ... a nice compact size to keep my project organized.

The last "new" thing for me in the past few weeks was acquiring and then putting to use a yarn winder.  With the help of the owner at my favorite local yarn shop (http://www.makeoneyarns.com/) I finally got the wool I dyed last fall wound into a usable centre-pull ball.  Now I just have to decide what I'll make with it.  This wool is sport weight.

So that's my "new" discoveries.  This new sweater project will probably take a while, but it's really interesting so I won't mind.  Keep those needles clacking!