After finishing up another washcloth and scarflette for my Etsy shop, I began to wander around the house somewhat restlessly last night in search of my next project. Normally I have so many things on the needles or hook that this is not a problem. I've done so many instant gratification projects lately though, that I found myself {dare I say it?} caught up. Don't know exactly how that happened!
We were ready to settle in front of a movie and, of course, there AIN'T NO WAY I can do that without some kind of yarn something going on!!! I started crocheting a dishcloth for myself, because I'm running low, but... that wasn't working for me. {I'm sick of thinking about doing dishes!} Then I worked a bit on a Christmas gift I already started with that lovely yarn from Knit Picks. It's something worked in the round with 312 stitches cast on. After 3 rounds I realized I wasn't in the mood for that either. After all, Christmas is a long way off. I don't want to take all the fun out of the last minute knitting frenzy just a week before the big holiday!
Hmmm... what to do?
Suddenly a vision of this luxurious cone of yarn, sitting in a storage container in my supply closet, danced through my mind. I jumped up and ran {like the addict I am} for my yarn stash. After rescuing it from a bottom corner, where I've been saving it for something special, I headed for my books. For at least 2 years I've planned to make myself the "Meadow Flowers" shawl out of a book called: "Knitter's Stash ~ favorite Patterns from America's Yarn Shops".
This lovely, exquisite lace weight JaggerSpun yarn was a gift from a dear friend. She made a shawl for herself out of it and I loved it so much that she insisted on giving the rest of the cone to me. A very generous gift indeed! The cone holds 5040 yards of yarn and will make, well ~ I'm not sure how many more lovely items! The color is "cinnabar", a rich~dark red. This yarn is a 50/50 blend of merino wool & Chinese tussah silk.
Aaaahhh!
It has a lovely sheen and when knit up renders a garment with beautiful drape. Another nice feature is that it is so light and airy that it meets the Shetland lace standard of being able to pull a shawl through a wedding ring. However, it's much softer and silkier than Shetland wool.
As I've mentioned before, I have a great love affair with knitted lacework. After crocheting and knitting bulkier items for awhile, I get to the point where I need a lace fix. I love the sheer, delicate femininity of a garment knit in a lace pattern when it's finished. Plus, I really prefer working with smaller needles and lighter weight yarns for the most part.
If you've never worked with yarn from a cone, give it a try. You can work in one continuous piece without any joins, which is a much faster and more fluid knitting experience. Plus, the yarn stays put and doesn't knot easily.
As my shawl grows, in between other things that will come my way needing to be made, I will periodically show my progress. I'm really enjoying it so far. The pattern is easy and straight forward. There will be a knitted border all the way around it when the body of the shawl is completed.
Also in the picture are a couple of my favorite goodies from Anthropologie. My lovely porcelain teacup with my initial and a darling set of salt & pepper shaker birds. I had to show the teacup, because a good cup of tea is always part of anything I'm creating and the red & white birds just looked so pretty with all the red in the picture!
While working on this shawl this afternoon, I finished listening to the audio book: "Tall Grass"
by Sandra Dallas. What a great story! It's done in the view of a 13 year old girl.
One of my favorite lines is one that reflects my feelings exactly.
While saying that, although her dad would always be the center of her mothers world, it was "her women friends who eased her life".
Now, I know a little something about that!
Hope all my "women friends" out there are having a nice, peaceful, relaxing Sunday evening.
I look forward to visiting with all of you as we start another new week together tomorrow.
TaTa For Now!
Monday evening took me back to my girls at Eli's, where we sip tea or coffee, swap stories, & play with yarn. I have a new student {this was her 2nd week} who is learning to knit. Erin, who is left handed, has never tried to work with yarn before. I am right handed and it is far more challenging for me to teach a lefty to knit than to crochet. So, she decided since she was "all thumbs" feeling anyway that she would learn to knit right handed. She's doing a GREAT job! I'm always amazed at how well lefty's learn to adjust in a right~handed world. {My Chelsea is left~handed also}.
This afternoon's finishing job has been on someone elses knitted afghan. The yarn she used is a big, soft, chunky blend of merino wool, alpaca & silk {now that's talking my language!}. It's a gorgeous hand~dyed fiber made in Chile by Araucania. The shades of blue, turquoise and purple make me think of ocean breezes. 
Now ~ before I go any further ~ I must confess to everyone that I am a bona fide, unwavering, dyed in the wool {pun definitely intended here!} yarn snob!!! My girlfriend Karen is always amazed that I can usually tell the fiber content of her clothing from across the room! And on those rare occassions when I cannot be 100% certain, it only takes one little snif & voila'! ~ I usually know at least the top note. The fragrance of fine fiber is like sweet perfume to me.
