Summer Dreams

Whoops, it's been a while since I last blogged. I didn't mean for such a huge gap to be created.

Well, I frogged my camp headband. I wasn't able to finish it before camp started (because I was lazy) and then I didn't really care about making it anymore.

I did, however, start one of my summer projects: the Muir shawl. So far, it is gorgeous, if I do say so myself.  At this point, I've done just over two repeats of the chart (pattern calls for 13 pattern repeats).  The yarn, Wetterhoff Silvia, is a joy to work with, and the color, descriptively named "921," is perfect for the leaf motif of the shawl.

I found this yarn in my LYS after a rather disappointing search.  Don't get me wrong, Eva's Needlework is a wonderful store with a marvelous selection, but all the laceweights that I was looking at were the wrong color compared to what was in my head.  By some happy chance, I found a single skein of the Silvia, mentioning to my friends that this yarn would be perfect, if there was more of it.  It seems the knitting fates didn't want me to walk out of the store empty handed because while digging around other skeins of Silvia in beautiful colors, I found another skein in "921".

With bated breath, I checked the yardage required for the Muir Shawl, saved in a note on my iPod, and then compared it with the combined yardage of the two skeins.  It was like fate, with the Silvia having only slightly more yardage than the recommended yarn's total for the project.  I happily purchased the yarn for my summer dream project.

Of course, starting the Muir Shawl was as much of an epic as finding the yarn for it.  The pattern calls of a provisional cast-on so the border can be knit seamlessly from the beginning of the shawl.  Not knowing how to crochet a chain, I attempted a different provisional cast on, one that did not work.  Pulling out one of my books, I taught myself how to chain.  (I will not go over to the dark side, I will not go over to the dark side, they don't have DPNs.)

Even before that, I had to wind the yarn into a center pull ball (My aunt rules.  She bought me a ball winder and swift for my birthday and Christmas.).  Easier said than done.  The yarn didn't have knots in it, but it was, at random points, twisted underneath itself tin a way that made it impossible to continue winding without adjusting the yarn.  First time I tried to adjust it, I took the ball off the ball winder, maneuvered the yarn, then began winding again from the center pull ball.  After several minutes of frustration where something would go wrong, I finally had a nice cake of yarn.  I can only hope that the second skein will be less troublesome.

Wow, I meant for this to be a quickie post, but I suppose this is what happens when I wait almost a month before blogging again.

See ya,

Sami

P.S. My flowers are blooming nice and pretty! 

 French Marigolds, grown from seeds, picture taken on July 9, 2009

Pot Marigolds, grown from seeds, picture taken on July 9, 2009