Me-o-mi-yo Tiayo

Noro has struck gold with it's new cotton blend - Tiayo. What a totally yummy yarn - with surprisingly generous yardage. It's a cotton/silk blend that I would say is almost a chunky to heavy worsted. It feels like cotton, but has a sheen to it so you can see the silk. It is a great spring/summer yarn for someone in the South like me. When I saw Stacey's, I really liked the yarn. When I saw the color way #1 in Cottage yarns - I could not resist. Lovely browns, Greys and Pinks. It will go with so many colors and outfits - dressy or casual.



And using the Anthropologie Inspired Caplet pattern it was a fast knit. I did make it larger - casting on 74 and knitting it a bit longer. I used size 10 needles too.



I used about 1 and 3/4 balls perhaps? I bought 3 and am not sure about the last ball. Perhaps a hat? Or, I can take it back and get another colorway. I'd love a caplet with blue in it for jeans. I'm not sure if I would repeat this pattern or find another one, perhaps a bit more boxy?



I like the reverse side too - so I won't put on a button. I need a smaller "shawl" pin though as I will stick myself or someone else with the long one!

All in all - a satisfying project. I've enjoyed this KAL - I'll have Pi, Hemlock and Caplet out of it! Stacy picked great projects!

BTW - this is the first time I've used Ebony on my blog. I picked her up when Rave Knits closed. I had wanted a "model" for my projects. She is a bit small. Her shoulders a bit narrow. I have to clean her up and polish her up a bit. She is destined for my office/crafting room when we get our bonus room done and I get the furniture and couch out of my "Office".

A Jada update - her leg was worse than I thought. She has a little square of pink flesh that really grosses me out. But the brave little girl - who was tearless during the event - turns positively hysterical when you try to remove her band-aid. The mere mention or sight of a band-aid has Jada running and screaming in the opposite direction. Her hands very fast to hit you if you get any where near her leg.

Go figure - scraping her skin off - no tears.

Band aid removal - freak out.

sigh.....

Not a girly girl.....

We have noticed that Jada is tough. But she has rarely gotten hurt because her reflexes are so good. But recently she has had a few falls.

And she never cries. Or if she does- it's a tear or two and then she just stares at where it's sore.

This was her latest and worse fall.



Colin scared me half to death when he saw her. He ran across the room and I thought she had broke her leg the way he was carrying on.



Jada didn't say a word, or shed a tear. Even Janeen cried, just looking at her.

What I am I going to do with my tough girl. I thought I had escaped broken collar bones, and noses - Jada is going to be a challenge.

In my knitting life - let's pause for a KAL caplet.



I was inspired by CrimsonPurl's caplet and fell in love with colorway #1. I'm hopeing to wear it Sunday.

All other projects on hold for an urgent fashion emergency.

How about some yarn love....thanks to my new best online friend the Loopy Ewe...




Oooooh




Ahhhhhhhh



The last hank a gift for becoming a Loopy Groupie. Yipee!!!!! Along with a few other goodies. What a nice surprise and treat!

Thanks Heather for introducing me to the Loopy Ewe!

Congratulations Dad and Mom!!!!

Congratulations on 40 years together! I hope you have a fabulous time in Florida!

Goodies

A few goodies that have come my way. Something to smile about while work is the typical crazy pace it always is during this time of year. It's planning time - lots of deadlines, meetings, and decisions. Although I've done this for many years - it has not gotten easier except I now know it's not going to get easier. So my acceptance level is set.

Having a few knitting goodies come my way is a welcomed break from work.

First of all - from my sister.

She was able to attend The Yarn Harlot's stop in Charlotte, while I was working (yes, planning) and watching the kids. She was so sweet to pick up a book and get it signed for me.





I wasn't expecting that, I'm a lucky girl.

She also gave me some lace yarn she picked up in a swap. She thinks it has bamboo content, I'm curious after seeing it. It looks like Zephyr to me. So - I'm wondering if it has silk in it. It's lovely - and I will definately put it to good use!






I mentioned in an earlier blog my knitting tragedy.
One word - PROTECTION thanks to Amazon and speedy shipping.







'Nuf said about that subject.

And last goodie:



The Knit Witch lovely yarn bowl! Actually, my bowl has a sister that is downstairs. I wanted an upstairs bowl and downstairs bowl for my areas when I usually sit and knit more complicated projects. The bowls are beautiful and perfect. I will have to take more pictures later of the nice features. Thank you Brittney for two lovely bowls!

Lastly - I stretched out my shawl a bit and got a few more lace pictures. I'm still on the fence about the yarn for this project. I love the yarn and colors - still not sure it was right for this. Thoughts?



Closer....



I worked on Hemlock at the Charlotte Purls meeting today. No pictures though until he's done!

Last goodie - do my pictures look nicer? I got tired of my little Radio Shack clearance special I picked up for my blog/yarn photos. I have a Canon Rebel SLR camera my friend basically gave me for my "real" photos of family. But it's too big and heavy for my crafting and blog shots. So - I picked up a little camera last year but I could never get good results with it.

Today - I picked up a little Sony Cybershot DSC-T70. Sony introduced me to digital photos before most people had a digital camera. I had one that took a "floppy drive". Remember those? It worked great, actually, for it's day. I loved it and have been hooked in digital photos ever since.

Excuse the fuzzy camera phone picture:



So - I'm happy to return back to a Sony. This camera is fun - with a touch screen interface. And the best feature - it can tell when the subject is smiling! Not really useful for yarn - LOL - although my yarn smiles. Doesn't yours? But it will be for those quick shots of the kids.

OK - I procrastinated enough. I'm supposed to be working on two presentations and an online survey for Monday. Planning season! Back to work....

ABC - Anything But Content - Debate

OK - you can tell by my blogging today I'm a bit peeved.

I like Charlie Gibson and had hoped for a return to a more sensible conversation.

Boy - was that a crazy expectation.

Maybe 10% issues, 90% silliness.

Good thing I know who I'm voting for, because I would have learned absolutely nothing tonight.

Except for how not to look irritated when asked a silly question.

I'll get back to the knitting blog that this is - I've broken 350 barrier in stashed yarns on Ravelry. I'm not proud of that fact. I'm stashing so I can catalog what I need to destash. Clearly - I need to destash quite a bit. I've found yarns I thought were so cool in my earlier knitting days. Now I can't imagine what I was thinking.

Or - maybe the yarn is cool - I just don't like it. Like I'm apparently the only one that doesn't like knitting with Noro Silk Garden. I love the look of it. I had stash of it and projects to make with it. I found I would start - then quickly loose interest in any project with that yarn. I think I have sensitive hands. Not in an allergic way - I just am sensitive to feel. I love the feel of wool - even wool that is not smooth. But I've always struggled with silks. Something about the stickiness of it maybe? Some blends I don't have an issue with - but in general I've had a "blah" factor for Silk Garden and Silky Wool. Oddly - I loved working with the non-exotic Moda Dea Silk N' Wool. I say it's non-exotic, but I think it's a hidden gem. The yarn rocks.

They say the first step is admitting there is a problem. I guess publishing your yarn addictions for the world to see in Ravelry is step #1 for me.

As a result - I didn't get as much knitting done as I would like. I got pass the knitted lace section on the first 1/2 of the Sampler Shawl. Yeah! On to the rows and rows of lace knitting which I like a LOT better.

I also started my first of 10 squares for the blankets of many colors I'm knitting for the Black Purls charity project - I have 10 to do before May 2 so I'm trying to pace myself. A little lace, a little Hemlock, a little square. Repeat :)

OK, enough ranting now some fun

Here is my latest WIP in a maddening puzzle. Enjoy!

A little knitting, a little ranting

First the knitting - I have always wanted to make something from Victorian lace Today (). The smaller of the Two Sampler Shawls especially caught my eye.

I cast it on last week and have been totally besotted with it. I cannot put the thing down, almost like Pi did to me. I seriously need to finish Hemlock. But I'm in the endless feather and fan rows, and it is truly mindless. So - I use that for when I really need no concentration on knitting at all.

All other projects are sitting there, getting on my nerves because I want to get more done and am so stuck on the sampler shawl.

I'm not convinced I picked the right yarn. I decided to use handpaintedyarn.com lace stash. I love the green, but I think a light solid yarn would have stitch patterns more effectively.

So, I'm actually dreaming about when I finish this shawl and start another one. Crazy - as this is a month long project *at least*.



Getting a good picture has been a challenge - if I don't stretch it out and hold it it looks like a big blob of yarn. But the frequently changing patterns totally have me interested. Plus there is a mix of lace knitting and knitted lace. I've decided I'm not a big fan of knitted lace (yarn overs on every row not just the right side rows) - but it is interesting to see the difference in the fabric.

It's a great pattern to really explore lace in multiple aspects. I'm going to stop feeling guilty about neglecting my other projects and give into enjoying it!

Now the ranting.

First of all - full-disclosure. I'm voting for Obama. My mind is made up. I have a lot of very real reasons for voting for him - I've watched many, many, *MANY* of the debates. I've looked into the issues. I've listened and read the fact checkers. I'm an NPR, BBC and CNN junkie - so I have my reasons. Most of which are completely missed by the pundits "guessing" on what someone like me considers important.

Early on - I was in love with the debating of the candidates. I thought it was great that we had such a wide variety of topics being discussed. Yes, of course, in the land of politics much was superficial. But every once in a while, we dug into a real issue. And the sheer number of conversations means that the real stuff bubbled up more often than normal.

But now - I run like the plague when ever politics comes up on NPR, CNN or anywhere. Only on BBC can I listen with out silliness. I'm so sick of hearing one sound bite analyzed to death. If anyone makes up their mind on that crap (I don't care who it is from Obama, Clinton or McCain) they are crazy. OK maybe not crazy, but let's just say gullible? And I happen to think many Americans are a bit smarter than they are being given credit for right now.

The obsession with "reality" TV makes me question this assumption, but that's for another rant. Let's just say - my opinion is forget "Reality TV" and just be "real". Live your life, not someone elses. When I watch TV, I want it to be "Fake TV" or Information (ie. News). When I want reality - I have "Life". :)

I'm tired of being treated like I have to have my thoughts spoon-fed to me because I'm incapable of making up my own mind.

I'm sick of people speaking to me in 3rd grade English. Even my 3rd grader is past 3rd grade English!

I don't need someone to reinterpret what is said for me, I'm capable of hearing it and evaluating it myself. Just give me context.

Things can change, we are not doomed to blindly repeat the mistakes of the past.

I'm sorry if your experiences and life views make you cynical and unable to discuss topics with an open mind. I can - so let me decided what is best with the benefit of information not commentary.

Am I making myself clear?

Just give me my NC ballot and let me vote.

Pi Anyone?

Pi is finally done.....well almost done. I discovered while knitting in the sleep center - under apparently very different lighting - that there is a very slight difference between the two undyed yarns. One is slightly tan, the other a bit creamier. Now that I can see it - it bugs me and I am going to dye Pi with a natural dye. At first I was upset, but now I'm a bit excited - and looking into natural dye options. I don't want to ruin the luxurious softness of the fabric, so I'm taking my time to find the perfect dye options.



But she's done. The border seemed to go on forever because I was so excited. I decided on a plain knitted on border. It was my first knitted on border, and I love the concept. I didn't want it too frilly, so I'm happy with the plain garter stitches.



I will most definately make Pi again. Either with a different set of lace patterns or just the plain eyelets. This was too much fun! I cast on on Pi Day and am done less than a month later, that is one of my fastest larger projects. Of course - it helps to be flat on your back for a week during that time!



I also need to figure out how to block this Alpaca - it already has so much stretch to it, I don't want to stretch it anymore. So it will be very, very lightly blocked. But I love the feel of it now, and don't want to loose the drape and feel of the fabric. More research is needed for blocking Alpaca. I won't do that until after I dye it anyway.

Pi anyone?

PI-ck me up

I've been blue all day. First of all - trying to go back to work caught up with me and I was so tired. I basically slept most of the day - I just couldn't wake up. And I was *supposed* to be working a half-day. I barely made meetings but that was it and slipped by most of what I needed to do. My body is so tired of viruses and being sick. I need spring and outdoor air!

Then the little "M"s I found last night bugged me (pardon the pun) to no end. But I had no energy to check my stash today. I'll have to check it this weekend.

I was dragging around Pi to work on when I had a chance and had it down stairs while watching a bit of "Alvin and the Chipmunks" with the kids. Jada walked up to me and just won me over. She stroked Pi - then she leaned her little head over, grabbed in her arms, leaned her head into it and just snuggled and loved on it like she does her teddy bears. Her little face read "Mommy it's soooooo soft and yummy". She made me smile. Sometimes I feel a bit selfish sneaking in knitting time. But her pure enjoyment made me smile.



I'm past the lace on Pi and just adding in some plain rows before binding off with a lace edging I need to pick out!!!!!! I have a sleep study tomorrow night - maybe I'll get a a ton of it done then while waiting to be observed sleeping. Well, that's something to look forward to.

A Knitter's Nightmare

I decided to take pictures of my little stash beside my bed - it a small basket, nearby, close at hand. It's not my best yarn. But it's nice yarn. Had some lovely lace hanks/balls I wanted to catalog.

I was happily digging in it taking pictures, writing notes and then I saw it.

A ball that looked like it had been chewed on.

And yucky white powdery dust.

And deeper still little carcasses.



I was too upset to get a decent picture. I couldn't get it to focus in on the mess the little pests made.

I'm also suspicious that this ball arrived with these little pests inside b/c it was almost totally destroyed and I couldn't see any other balls that were touched. Although most were thankfully in Ziploc bags.

I'm sort of anal about putting my yarn in Ziplocs anyway. It's sort of rare I have anytyhing I really like that is not in plastic. I figure if one bag is destroyed - OK, but not a whole basket or bin of yarn.

Nevertheless, I had a few sock balls in there that were untouched. Maybe it was the nylon? Anyway - I can rest a tiny bit that perhaps as it was my smallest section of yarn the rest is ok. You better believe I will inspecting the rest tommorrow.

This sad little bunch is getting all of their rear ends frozen solid. Hopefully - this will kill any remaining that are hiding. I even threw in the offending ball in it's own little baggie although I cannot see how I can salvage the yarn. I would have to dig down so far to get to untouched yarn and the little droppings gross me out.

They even pooped on my crochet case! Yuck.

Oh well - it had to happen being the stash queen that I am. My upstairs stash has industrial strength moth protector in some of the bins. Strong enough to keep even me away.

But down stairs - where I live I have relied on either herbs or little baggies to keep it all safe. Maybe I will have to rethink - or buy an industrial strength freezer to store my yarn lovelies.

Waaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!!!!

Family Hobby - DONE

Hubby came in on the last 30 or so pieces and tried to hurry up and get them all in - alone. And of course claim he single handedly solved the whole puzzle.

Men, why do they love to take credit for things they didn't do?

While we women quietly - put 580 puzzle pieces in place only for the hubby to come along and solve the last (and obvious) pieces - while wife is sick with the shingles?

Sigh, this is why I knit. He can't take any credit for that!

All jokes aside - I bought two more puzzles this weekend for when I can figure out how to flip this one, paste it and take it to get framed.

Isn't this face the cutest. This is Jada's "smile". She is trying a bit too hard.



The other two are clowning off after celebrating for the complete puzzle:



Let's hope Janeen never knows I put that picture of her on my blog.

Lastly - I'm doing something I said I would never do. I'm starting, barely putting a dent in it actually - to catalog my stash on Ravelry. Gasp. I figure this is the first step of admitting, you know ala AA. Plus - it helps me destash and get some cash for some supplies I want like blocking wires and a blocking board. I have no idea how I'm going to block Pi and Hemolock. But I need to figure it out faaaast - no pictures but Pi is dangerously close. Watch this space soon!

Hempathy Swallowtail

After finishing the lace Swallowtail, I figured out how I could fix the edging on this Swallowtail. I started her on vacation last year. I had seen Hempathy before, but thought it was too rope-like. But in Gordonsville, VA - I saw it again and picked up a ball to swatch. I loved the feel after it was knitted. I went back to to Limerick Yarns and snatched up all of her Teal and Yellow and started Swallowtail that week. The nupps were so much easier with DK weight than lace weight. I flew through the shawl. Until I got to the edging and my count was off and I couldn't find out where.

So - off she went into a little ziplock bag in the bottom of my workbasket - only to find a bit of light this week. And with the experience of ONE swallowtail behind me - I'm an expert now of course - decided to figure out how to get the edging on regardless of the lack of stitches at the end of the repeat.



Got it - and it looks great. It's so different with a hemp/cotton/modal blend versus wool. The stitch definition is great, but it still needs a bit of blocking to see the lovely edging points. I used 5 balls and like 20 feet of the 6th ball. Couldn't believe I ran out of yarn on the last 12 inches of the cast off!

I think this yarn would be so pretty in a lovely spring/summer lace shell. Maybe the Interweave Knits Bonsai. I will use Hempathy again!



And I have 4 balls left - not sure if I'm going to trade on Ravelry or find something small to make:

Well Worth the wait - Year of Lace Spoiler!!!!!

Don't proceed if you don't want to be spoiled as to the March Year of Lace project.

OK - now for everyone else. I signed up for, paid and patiently waited for the Year of Lace since last fall.

First of all, you have to understand how much I love laceweight yarn. My first love was sock yarn. And my stash is evidence of this. I still like sock yarn a lot, but I'm sort of maxed out until I work through my stash.

But then I discovered lace yarn. Which, by the way, was hard for me to discover. Many LYS in my area do not care it or carry a very limited amount. But then I discovered buying Lace yarn online. And oh - the possibilities are endess:

- Yarnplace
- Webs
- Knitpicks (which has new colors and a new lace line - Gloss)
- Schoolhouse Press
- HandpaintedYarns.Com
- ColorSong
- Fearless Yarns on Etsy
- Others on Etsy and Ebay I have forgotten.


Are all some of my favorites. And I know I haven't found all of the great places. Then slowly - I started begging at the LYSs I visited, and they started carrying them too.

So - I have a bit of a stash in Laceweight now and need to slow down because you can knit forever with lace weight yarn. That's why I love it. You can get 1800 yarnds for $16!! And such pretty colors and fiber. Ahhhhhhhh.....

So - when the Year of Lace signup was announced too much temptation. And I wanted to be challenged to try something new. I couldn't wait for the first package and it was finally announced to ship from Canada on Monday - March 24.

I received it today - and it was worth the wait.

1100 yards of 100% silk in a unique colorway just for the Year of Lace participants. It's a brick red color - chosen by Sivia Harding who wrote the pattern. The yarn is made by Claudia Handpaints.



The picture makes it look a bit more orange than it is.

The pattern is lovely - a triange shawl with beads - a first for me.



I have so many WIPs, I need to hold off on starting this but it is oh so pretty. And well worth the wait. I can't wait for the June installment - a non-triangle project. Yeah - I'm sort of at my fill of triangle shawls at the moment so this is coming just in time!

5 Days of Seclusion

What do you have with 5 days of forced seclusion and when your manager refuses to let you work so you can stop getting sick!!

Pray.....a lot.

And knit of course.

Now that I've stopped long enought to take a breath - I realized my WIPs are totally out of control. Just ltake a look: and I don't even have all of them loaded. My goal this week is to complete Pi and Hemlock - and hopefully the Split Leaf Shawl (another WIP forgotten in a bag in my room) that I am going to give to a coworker that has been so sweet to take over my meetings this week so I can rest.

First of all - the family project is so close. I didn't expect us to get this far this fast. We are cruising. It would be done if I wasn't in quarentine.



I'm on the last section of Pi before the border. Each round takes around 30-45 mins depending on how medicated I am. I'm so excited though. I want to see it blocked!!! This has been the most exciting project *evah* I think. It's simple but so cool. I want to do another one - but I think I am going to do a Pi Are Square next. I've been trying to figure out the yarn.....



I restarted the Mystery Shawl with JaggerSpun Zephyr 2/18 in Basil. I have a cone of it - 5000+ yards. I'll be 90 before I finish it I'm sure. But it is perfect for this shawl. The Morehouse yarn because it was a singly ply and varigated, didn't really show the pattern as well as I would have liked. It made it look too casual. When I saw others on Ravelry or in the Yahoo group, it needed a more elegant yarn. You can never go wrong with Lace and JaggerSpun I have found. And this time is no different.



Hemlock is going along. I discovered a mistake I've been making I'm too embarassed to confess. I was being too cocky and not really looking at the chart closely enough. I'm back on track now.....



Poor Mr. Greenjeans - I love you and want to give you the time you deserve. You have to remain on hold waiting for the sleeves and body until I get past my Pi obsession.



I'm making this Split Leaf scarf in NatureSpun Sport - I so love this green. Yeah that I have a cone of it left for a much larger project. I just took a bit of it off for this scarf. My friend Liz has been so great this week doing her job and taking on mine so I can rest in peace. I'm going to suprise her with it in April. Shhhhhhhh.



Lastly - finishing the lace swallowtail shawl gave me courage to find my Hempathy version. I love the yarn, color and feel - I just got a bit mixed up on the edging and then stuffed it in a basket in my office and for got it was there - along with another shawl that I have no idea why I stopped knitting on. Sigh. I will have to take pictures and add it to Ravelry another day. But I did add the Hempathy shawl. I love this yarn and will use it again for something else one day.



That's enough for now. I am getting to the poing where I need to take another set of meds. And trust me, you don't want me to blog as high as these little babies send me. Why anyone would voluntarily take on this feeling, I don't know. My brain slows down the the pace of a snail, and I'm suprised my knitting hasn't been impacted - although I do knit slower.

Chat with you later.

Days of My Life

I swear my life is like a medical drama these days. Like some strange episode of "Janet's Anatomy" or "Urgent Care - Myrtle Beach".

We went on our 14th anniversary trip this weekend to Myrtle Beach. It was a quick trip - we knew it would be. We wanted to get back for Easter Service. My husband is music minster, and directing the children's choir. But we needed a break. It was a nice weekend. The weather was terrific. Today we took a walk, sat on a swing, and then napped on hammocks. What could be nicer.

Let's say a sleepless night rolling over in pain. An early morning trip to Urgent Care. A diagnosis of Shingles. A prescription of VALTREX. Great - why don't the advertisements make it clear it is for something other than .....well you know what. I'm a happily married woman. I'm not supposed to be on Valtrex.

Sigh.....

Let's say a sleepless night rolling over in pain. An early morning trip to Urgent Care. A diagnosis of Shingles. A prescription of VALTREX. Great - why don't the advertisements make it clear it is for something other than .....well you know what. I'm a happily married woman. I'm not supposed to be on Valtrex.

Sigh.....

And so it goes.

I did make some progress on Pi.



Even more on the return trip - I just haven't taken an updated picture. But I'm in the last section before the border. It barely fits on my needles and takes about 45 mins to complete a round. Or maybe just because I was tired.

Oh - and my little hobby on vacations is to take $20 (no more) and blow it on lottery tickets. That has been my history - $20 spent and lost. But this time - I cashed in my loot for $55!! That's a $35 gain! Not too bad - the teller said it was pretty rare. This link is not pulling in correctly from facebook, you will have to click on it and the next link if you are really, really curious.



And I caught this gem:




14 years - and I still enjoy waking up to that face.

Making Progress

The Family Hobby is starting to get the family interested one by one. First of all Jason started showing interest. Then today Janeen got interested when she saw the frame and then she took a good luck at the puzzle box and saw all sorts of cool fish, ships and rockets on the map. She has always been interested in science and travel, so now she is getting interested. Then even Colin got tired of my bragging (since I've done most of the work today) and started to say he could solve it faster than me. He can't.

Even mom got involved, she helped with the top of the puzzle.

So - it's working - family hobby is making progress!



Excuse the picture - Blackberry was upstairs and I was too lazy to go and get it.

Not that I need another hobby......

I wanted to have a hobby that we could do as a family. My attempts to teach my daughter to knit have failed miserably. No one else except the baby is interested.

So - I picked up a new challenge for us to do as a family. Cleared off the dining room table - which was horribly cluttered (another sad matter). And setup something for us to work on together.

Except guess who has spent the most time there :) I can tell right now this is going to drive me crazy until it's "done". When complete we will have a huge map of the world - I'm thinking about framing it for the play room. Especially if I can tempt the rest of the family to join it.



600+ pieces, so we will be working on it for a while. If you stop by my house - you MUST help us out!

Also - I started another Pi on 3/14, Pi Day. Thanks to Dani and Allison at Knit Night, I had no idea about Pi day - but I had always wanted to take another stab at a Pi shawl. My first mini-Pi was a dissappointment. I thought I would make a plain Pi, but I was sooooooo bored by it I ended it early. It's a great stroller blanket for Jada though.



I made this with Brown Sheep Nature Spun Sport - the yarn is perfect for it. I still have over 1/2 the cone left and will use it gain. I just can't get enough of this yarn - such a great basic, work horse yarn - great for lace, garments, color work, socks - anything. And such a great color range.

My current Pi is made out of the softest alpaca you can imagine or atleast that I have in my stash. DK weight and not dyed, just a pure creamy color. I picked this up at Weaving Works i n Seattle where they have generous hanks for 600+ yards for a reasonable $14-15. I picked up 2 hanks of this for a triangle shawl, but I think the Pi will be nicer. I think this will be my home office shawl. For my shoulders or lap and so soft. I want to try to finish it and the Hemlock around the same time - working a little on both of then when the other one get's boring. I'm using the instructions in the Knitter's Almanac and the Charts in Shawls and Scarves.



Hemlock is also growing, I'm in the growing feather and fan section - nice and peaceful knitting. I can take this along with me when I'm outside watching Jada learning about bikes, balls, slides, and spring time. Watching a 15 month old discover the wide world is so much fun. I'm enjoying it so much more this 3rd time, maybe because I know for sure it's the last. THE LAST.

The color on my Blackberry is sucking all the life out of this yarn - it's really a dusky purple, but looks washed out in these photos.





Poor Mr. Greenjeans and Mystery Shawl have been on hold this past week. I have to get back to them. I'm at the sleeves section on Mr. Greenjeans, and just love, love the yarn but I needed to wind a few more hanks and stalled b/c I've been too busy taking care of Colin and Jason to get upstairs to wind more. Yes - my boys have the flu so our house has been a zoo the past week and I can only handle the most mindless of my WIPs.

So the Mystery Shawl was definately out - couldn't handle the counting each and every row right now. If Colin gets well by Friday we are hoping to make a quick trip to the beach and I will get to make some progress on both of these on the trip down. I'll miss another Charlotte Purls field trip!!! It is just not been my luck to make any of these since I have been in the CPs. I'm on a yarn diet - so it's probably for the best.