new love affair

the Holden shawl finally made it's way to the shoulders of the birthday girl. i'm still sticking with the gift giving rules..... i'm in the birthday year ;)

it suits her perfectly and she seems to have fallen in love with it.

that leaves me with empty needles.... and that can mean trouble. i've been waiting for amythefibergoddess to dye the yarn for some sample knitting. it took a bit of time finding the right combination that spoke to us both. i am all about the bright, happy, in your face colors these days and she tempers my enthusiasm with the reality of what is the best combination.

these two made it from the dye pots to my hands! i've had a huge yearning to make "different lines" by the designer of color affection. i loved doing that wrap and this one has been screaming at me for several weeks.

it's perfect summer knitting..... light weight, mindless and fun. i keep waiting for the thrill to wear off and it's not happening!

it's yellow

i finally finished spinning 4 oz of mixed bfl in ombre colorway from amythefibergoddess that i started in april! seriously..... april. there is just no excuse for it taking that long. every time i hauled my wheel to guild, someone would comment on the color, wondering what it all looked like. since it had been on my wheel ( since april ) i could not remember.
it was yellow.

i cast on the overcrossing shawlette pattern that i have been itching to knit since november. it seems mind-numbingly simple, perfect for these hot days of summer. i have 660yds of lace weight yarn, so i should be able to make a generous sized wrap. it is beyond soft. i'm going to have to go crying to amy to get some more fiber.
i had a brief hiatus from the drudgery of knitting the holden shawl, and it seems that all that baby knitting perked me up. i have refused to be distracted from my stealth knitting project, but it's been hard. i started the holden as a gift for my sister's milestone birthday. well, i missed her birthday. not by a lot, but still. i am in the 'birthday year' and i think she'll like it. i have had a hate-hate relationship with the pattern. it was agonous to get to the lace part, then it seems that counting was beyond me and i kept ripping it out. last night, i cast off, wove in the ends and today it went on the blocker.

with this heat, it will be dry in no time, wrapped and ready to gift!

baby knitting

yes, i love a challenge.... and when it's combined with fiber, i get nutty! here's the story. joan is expecting her first grand baby and has been knitting sweet little things for miss molly. on our trip to maryland, joan was working on a knitted hat with yarn her daughter picked out. the color was lovely and in a soft superwash merino, seemed perfect for a new babe. joan was knitting away and i noticed that the yarn and pattern didn't seem to be happy together. i offered my observation to joan and she smartly put me in my place! ( that's why i love her ;)
so at our guild meeting, she was still knitting away on this hat anxious to finish it and pop it in the mail for the upcoming baby shower. at some point she noticed that she had neglected to include a decrease and she wasn't sure where. she turned to me and asked me if i would find it and fix it. now, i was thrilled to finally be getting my hands on this project. i cautioned her that i when i found the spot it would have to rip it back. she looked at the hat and discovered that the error was near the beginning, so there was a good chance this was going to be all pulled out. there was discussion among the fiber folks, and soon we were searching for a different pattern. now, here's the part that makes this crazy. there was only 154 yds of yarn. for any non-knitters reading alone..... it's like needing a cup of flour and only having 2/3 cups in the canister. we searched ravelry, discussed strategy and at the end of the meeting, the re-skeined yarn was in my bag and we had a plan.

luckily it was a rainy father's day, so as we were visiting wineries i had car knitting to do. i also had a deadline. in order to make it to the shower, it had to be in the mail on monday.

success! this was the cutest thing ever. i may make more just to have in my stash. i took me less than 24 hours to knit.
so...... i had a bit of time left and was feeling angst that the hat project failed. i went browsing through my stash and found some cascade 220 in all the colors i would need...... for this

just the thing for a july baby in georgia! can't wait to see the photo's of miss molly in this.

baby samples

i finally got serious and finished the second baby blanket. miss samples can arrive when she is ready! i had the best time knitting this beauty. i think that i found the right colors ( bright, peacock shades ) that the mom requested.

and i love the size. it's big enough to throw on the floor, over a car seat or for a snuggle. i'm sure that even in the heat of summer in georgia, you need a snuggle blanket in the middle of the night. in my mind i see mommy and babe in the rocker in those wee-early hours, nursing and snuggling together. it gets a bit chilly, so mom can reach over, grab the blanket and toss it over them both. sigh.

i've knit lots of love, and happiness into this blanket. it's gotten me through some trying times, so all that good energy is infused in the fiber. i'll be sending it off as soon as it gets a bath and dry in the sunshine!