Rainy Days

This latest project is quite reflective of our weather lately. Rain, rain, cloudy skies and more rain. I am overjoyed at the cooler temperatures, but a little sun here and there would be nice.

I decided to dig out a crochet hook and try my hand at a larger crochet project. Eva's Shawl seemed like the perfect pattern to start with since there are no fancy stitches and I had yarn on hand that I could use. The yarn I picked is a hand-dyed lightweight sock yarn that I purchased in my early days of knitting. It is beautiful, but a bit splitty and definitely on the thinner side of what I like to use for socks, so I was happy to be able to use it up on this little shawl. While I did have almost a full skein, it wasn't enough to make a full-sized shawl, so what you see here is more of a shawlette. I think I like it better as a scarf, though.

Knitting and a Thought

Knitting has been done this week. I both started and finished these socks, which are Rose's Fred & George pattern:
It was with great joy that I realized I had enough leftovers of two favorite yarns to knit a pair of of these - the variegated yarn is Socks That Rock (colorway: Moss Agate) and the nearly-solid is Dream in Color's Smooshy (colorway: Merlot).

Yesterday I realized that I had a few things deep in the knitting bag that have been sorely neglected, so I shall endeavor to finish them in the coming weeks. Some of you will remember this scarf, which is (slowly) getting longer:
But I don't think anyone has seen this sock...it's Judy "Magic Cast On" Becker's Tangled Up In Blue pattern:
It shouldn't take long to knit the cuff and then I'll be ready to knit the second sock. This yarn is what I received ages ago in the Dye-o-Rama Swap - it was dyed with Kool-Aid!

I will leave you with this thought (another from C.S. Lewis' Mere Christianity) - Lewis is speaking of his spiritual life, but I can see how it could apply to other areas of life where one aspires to be changed:

"If I am a field that contains nothing but grass-seed, I cannot produce wheat. Cutting the grass may keep it short: but I shall still produce grass and no wheat. If I want to produce wheat, the change must go deeper than the surface. I must be ploughed up and resown."

Gust

Pattern: Gust by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Superior, cashmere/silk
Needles: US sz 4

Yet another fantastic pattern by Anne...easy enough to memorize but not at all boring! This scarf will live at The Neighborhood Knit Shop and I'll be teaching a class on it in April.

Trying to Keep Up

I don't know why I'm finding it so hard to keep up with the blogging. I wish I had interesting things to say every day, but I don't. It doesn't mean I haven't been busy, though.

I finished Anne's "That Little Scarf" recently, which is a very fun knit and makes a great little neckwarmer.
Yarn is fingering weight from The Knittery.

I'm currently working on a new Pinwheel Blanket for an upcoming class at The Neighborhood Knit Shop.
Also, Ethan thinks these are the best things EVER.
Finally, I was happily wearing my Fawkes socks last night and thought a few times, "hm...I can feel something cold on the sole of my foot - these must be getting thin." I wore them to bed and when I woke up this morning I was crushed to see this.
They were one of the first pairs of socks I knit. (can't remember if I started these or Jaywalkers first) There's no point in trying to fix them as the other heel is about 24 hrs away from doing the same thing and the ball of the foot area is close behind.

A Little Something & A Big Relief

I had a little bit of Rowan Kidsilk Haze leftover from my Scribble Lace scarf and wasn't sure what I would ever do with it. My mother-in-law saw the Scribble Lace when she was here recently and was in love. While I wasn't willing to give it to her, I was willing to try to figure out something for her with the leftovers, since it was really just this yarn and the color that she was so taken by. Enter good old Feather & Fan! I think I used sz 9 or 10 needles. The finished scarf is 4.25"x41.25". Short for a scarf, but nice for a lace scarf, I think.




It is such a relief to have this Clapotis finished. I don't even remember when I started, to be honest. The SWTC Bamboo was very nice to work with and feels delicious! I know my sister will get a lot of use out of this and since it's not wool, she can use it year-round.