So- did I get the Sherbet sweater done in time? No. Has it been finished up and delivered since? Well… no. Not doing too well here, am I? I have lost steam on the project since it was not cooperating with me and I am not really thrilled with the way the fabric is turning out. Oh well, knit and learn, right? I am, however, determined to get the thing done very soon so that it will stop hanging over my head like some terrible grey cloud. Again, I’ll keep you posted.
Other than that, what have I been working on? First off, BIG NEWS! The Black Hole Scarf is FINISHED!!! It now sits proudly about the neck of my Mum, looking very smart indeed. I delivered it just in time for the warm weather. Very spring-y wouldn’t you say? I am in my glory. The weather is so lovely that my friend and I were outside this morning with our toddlers, and none of us was wearing a sweater! Course, my poncho isn’t getting much play in weather like this, but I can be patient and wait till fall just so that I can soak up the sun right now!
I thought it fitting that since the flowers are starting to push their way up I should start on something a little different. An ode to spring in a way, though I don’t expect to be finished my ode till long after the spring has passed. Following in the Yarn Harlot’s footsteps I am trying my hand at some lace knitting and have cast on her Snowdrop Shawl.
Lovely, no? I have to say right here and now that Steph is a way better knitter than me. She made her shawl using the same yarn, making it up as she went along, and did the whole thing in the space of about 15 days. AND she charted it. It is a thing of beauty. Mine? Well, let’s just say that it’s my first go at lace, I am too tough to use stitch markers (did you see stitch markers on Steph’s? Neither did I.), so I have had to rip back the odd row or two to fix things that I couldn’t quite manage to fix with a crochet hook without futzing up something else on the way. This yarn does not like to be ripped back. It has a great fuzzy halo to it that I think is magnetically drawn to itself and doesn’t like to let go. It complains. I complain. It isn’t pretty. But you know what? I have forgiven it its cranky nature because I am loving it! It is so deceptively simple. Yarn overs and k2tog/ssk’s with the odd sl1, k2tog, psso thrown in for good measure. Man. Who knew?
Since I finished the BHS and tried something new thereby “stretching my horizons” as one of my high school counsellors would say, I allowed myself a little indulgence and picked up a new toy using a gift certificate for my LYS (gotta love friends who know me right down to the core). It has revolutionized my world I tell you. Suddenly I was like a little girl on Christmas morning. I even went through my stash (no small undertaking I assure you) to find stuff to play with. I give you
Ball winder! I think I am just like Hank (scroll down a little bit and you’ll see). I could (and almost did) spend hours with this thing! And of course, what would a ball winder be without one of these…
A swift! Another gift certificate purchase, this time from Elann.com. Again, I love it when people know me! Mind you, I’m really not that hard to figure out. Yarn. Anything having to do with yarn. Yup, pretty safe bet. Of course, the swift needed to be taken out for a test drive. One thing led to another and now I have…
Well. A little lace knitting? Sure, why not. It’s the Small Lace Tuck in Scarf kit from Yarn Forward and Sew On. What was that? I already have some lace on the go? True… but that’s different. I didn’t have to wind the wool for that one as it had already been done. Besides, that one is a shawl, and will take a lot longer than the little tuck in scarf I’m making here. So you see? I had to cast it on. Oh, and I also had to make the new stitch markers as the ones I had were too big and awkward on those little needles. And hey, they’re pretty, no? See how well they go with the scarf? Clearly I had no choice. I thought so too. Glad to see we’re on the same wavelength…
