Extravayarnza

So, I'm off once again! In about 8 hours I'm in a car headed for Columbus for the big TNNA trade show.
This was my deadline for the LPO to be finished. The last row has been knit!
However, I did a sixth of the crochet bind-off & it took over half an hour. I'm curling off to bed & hoping that I can finish the last 2 1/2 hours of binding off in the car...

See you all again Monday night (or maybe Tuesday)!

So, I didn't mean to be gone this long from the blog. All weekend something was up & I couldn't log into Movable Type till this morning?! I still am so wound up / overstimulated from this weekend that I can't really gather my thoughts.

I'll start out with my own personal knitting projects...
The LPO was dangerously close to being finished. I crocheted for hours on the way to Columbus, only to suffer a horrible fate, I ran out of yarn. (I'll just let that sink in a bit, this had never actually happened to me before so I was quite stunned). Really I wasn't even close. The last ball of yarn only managed a touch over half of the bind off. Seriously this shawl will take a full 2 balls for my simplified version of the bind off. If I did the full amount of chain stitch loops it would probably have taken 4 (or about 500 yd).
Luckily Kat at SWTC took pity on me & has already sent me one more skein of Inspiration. SWTC is one of the best companies I work with, they are all so fantastic & supportive. So, according to UPS I will have my yarn on Monday & the bind-off will continue. Until then the LPO will be hiding in a suitcase unable to face the world in it's embarrassing state.
My Chevron Scarf officially reached it's half way point. That's a lot of knitting. I need to wind the 3rd & 4th skeins of Claudia's Hand Paints so I can continue on. Luckily I did remember to bring it onto the show floor with me & got to show it off the Claudia herself! (Again, a super wonderful person, but honestly everyone I met up with at the show was, we are all knitters after all).
Next up, a project I actually have a photo of to show you!
I started a pair of socks in Regia Silk~

These started off as a sort of basic toe up sock (to test out the new CPY star needles), & I now have a new pattern in the making. I think you'll all really like the stitch pattern I have planned for the leg of these socks...

Now to the new goodies,
I have lots of samples for an amazing new line of yarn, Mirasol. When I first heard the story behind these yarns & saw the photos of the people this yarn will be helping, I knew my store just had to be a part of this!
Here's the short version of the story behind this yarn:

Peru's hertitage and culture of textile artistry is one of the richest in the world. Without the shepherds tending their animal in the peruvian highlands we would not have this beautiful luxurious yarn. By purchasing it you are supporting the children of these shepherds and the continuation of this tradition. A portion of every purchase is dedicated directly to the funding of a school in the remote area of munani in the region of puno.

A website will be up soon with the more detailed version & lots of photos of the people from this region. I will put up a link to it as soon as the sites up.

As for the yarns... they are very dreamy & wonderful.
First up we have Cotanani, 60% Pima Cotton, 40% Merino Wool. These are colors 404 & 406:

Next we have Hacho, 100% hand dyed Merino. This is a hand wash dk weight yarn. The colors are really quite brilliant.

Last up are Sulka & Miski, Sulka is a chunky single ply Alpaca, Wool, Silk heathered blend & Miski is a 100% Baby Llama 2-ply yarn. Both are amazing soft & I have a hard time remembering which one has the silk in it because they're just that soft.

I have these samples at my shop in Lansing, MI if you wish to see them (or fondle them) in person. I expect the yarns to start arriving in August.
I also brought home samples of two new Elsebeth Lavold yarns, Silk Flamme & Baby Llama. These both will of course come with Elsebeth's timeless color pallet & her classic sweater designs.


The last new yarn I have to share with you is Evolution from Chameleon Colorworks. Many of you may know the owner of Chameleon Colorworks, Janel, from the online magazine Spindlicity or from the cover of the current Spin-off magazine.
Her new yarn is Evolution which is a soft Merino yarn that has been stretched so that the fiber is almost as fine as Cashmere. Everyone who touched this yarn just stood there speechless while fondling the yarn. You can hardly put this stuff down. I've know Janel for a while now & was lucky to score a stash of this for a project in my book.

I also ordered in Lace weight & Sport weight Evolution for my shop here in Lansing. I'll have my skein's here for you guys to drool over & the rest of the skeins will arrive in September.
Gosh, I really just think I ordered some fantastic things at the show, maybe too many of them to really list... I'll run through the highlights though, JoJo land yarns, Malabrigo (including lace-weight), Lexi Barnes Bags (arriving soon!), Moving Mud glass shawl pins, Glass Circular Knitting Needles (and DPN's too!), and more books than I know where to put. In fact, copies of all the knitting mystery books (including some new installments!) should be arriving soon. I got to meet Maggie Sefton & she gave me a signed copy of her newest book. I'm a few chapters in & just loving it! She also told me a few hints about the next book in the series (due out in 2008) and things will definitely be getting more & more dangerous for Kelly and the crew.

I have a hot new sock design on my needles right now & I definitely need a test knitter or two to double check my math on this one.
What I'm looking for is a knitter who is comfortable following a pattern & doing short rows. This sock pattern uses both a short row heel & the stitch pattern on the leg makes extensive use of short rows...
Most importantly I need someone who will knit the sock exactly to the pattern & who is willing to give me honest feedback about how the sock knit up.

How test knitting works... once I choose you as a test knitter I'll send you a copy of the sock pattern. You then knit it up with yarn from your stash & send me feedback about any issues or mistakes you find with the pattern. Once you're finished knitting a sock (I only require you to knit one, but I hope you'll enjoy them enough to finish the pair) I'll send you enough yarn to knit a pair of socks. The quicker you knit up the socks & the more you communicate the better the yarn reward at the end (hint... I have access to some good sock yarn.... Socks That Rock, Claudia's, Fleece Artist...)

So do you want a peak at the pattern?
I thought so~

It's a little wonky in it's unblocked state, but you get the idea!

Update: I think I've found a few knitters who will work! I will have more test knitting coming up this fall & I'll keep taking names of interested knitters for later use.

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I've added a bunch of photos to my Flower Photo album on Flickr. If you're interested just click on the Peony to hop over & see them all~

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In shop news, Lexie Barnes bags arrived today! Talk about super fast shipping.
Now how do I decide which one to stash away for myself?

I also picked up some cool new file drawers for the patterns at the shop. They're Steel Case so I don't think we'll have any issues with drawers getting stuck open or handles falling off this time. I decided to go ahead & paint this set red. I love red...

Last I just want to share one more photo of my Evolution from Chameleon Colorworks. This yarn just so photogenic & so squeezably soft~

I got up bright & early this morning to go help out at my first dog Agility trial. Robin is months away from being old enough to compete, but I figured that I could learn a thing or two volunteering at the meet.
But you know what? It was tons of fun! Totally worth waking up way too early for a Sunday.
Plus it gave me the kick in the rear to head over to Home Depot to pick up the PVC to make these~

This afternoon I put together both of the jumps & the set of weave poles. When I add in my tunnels & chute I think it makes a pretty respectable set of practice obstacles.

The best thing is even with purchasing a set of PVC cutters (a must have) all 3 pieces cost less than $30 & took all of a hour to put together. They even fold flat & slide under the deck for storage. That's about as good as it gets.

Okay I need to go console my poor pup who after a fun hour of training got rewarded with a bath. He's all wet & curled up next to me giving me that "how could you claim to love me & do still this to me" look...

I think that had to be the worst nights sleep ever. I was wiped out from a day in the sun & fell asleep on the couch watching a movie. Now, our couch is comfy & well worn in, so I sleep just fine on it. I even managed to turn the tv off just before crashing.
Trouble started when at around 2 am my aquarium's very noisy light decided to come on. I suspect this is related to the power outage that effected my alarm clock on Saturday since they are on the same circuit (the only one that lost power... I think someone blew a fuse & didn't tell me).
That was a quick fix, off the couch, turn the dial on the timer to better reflect the correct time, back to sleep. Except Robin decided he needed to go out right then, so a few more minutes & I really got to sleep.
The thing that killed my sleep for the night?
At 4 am I heard what sounded like either the sliding glass door or a window opening, a big crash, then Robin was up at arms letting loose a mean growl. That wakes you up! Next thing I knew I had a big stick and was carefully going through the house room by room turning on all the lights & checking the windows. Now this probably wasn't the wisest course of action, but if someone had really broken in we have an open floor plan, I was in the living room & there are no doors, so to escape the house I would have to go right by where the noise came from anyway. Besides I Robin was looking mighty menacing at the moment & I was happy to have him by my side.
Luckily all I found was a window that was left open at night (screen still intact) and a cat on top of the kitchen cabinets making all sorts of ruckus chasing a moth that I probably had let in when I let Robin out a few hours earlier.
But by that point my hackles were up and was much to freaked out to either fall back asleep on the couch or venture into my room in the basement (was to many hiding spots down there on the off chance there was an intruder in the house)...
So I did a load of laundry. Yep, laundry...
When that went in the drier I still didn't feel anymore at ease. I figured the only way I was getting any more sleep was to lock myself in my mom's room with Robin (mom wasn't at home).
Eventually I fell back asleep only to be woken up again at 8am to what sounded like gun shots & more of Robin's barking.
Neighbors having roof work done... when you've had that sort of night air powered nail guns can definitely sound like an actual gun.
I just gave it up at that point & made breakfast and read the paper.

I still want to know what Trent did chasing that moth that sounded so much like a window opening!

To brighten my mood & keep me sane today since I'm wound just a little tight at the moment, Robin came to work in all his cuteness (and cleanness since he got a bath last night). He even decided he wanted a photo shoot & started posing for the camera (really, he hears the click and makes a 'don't you just love me' face).

As of today Robin is now 6 months & 2 weeks old. Wednesday he graduates from his Intro to Agility class & next Monday he finishes up his Obedience I class (the one with the teacher I hate, so no tears shed over that one finishing up).
It's hard to believe only 3 months ago he was this little pup!

He just looks all grown up now *sniff* *sniff*

So, I've once again been very busy since you last heard from me.
Robin had his Obedience class Monday night. We unfortunately found out we have 2 more classes rather than one. Robin is acting more and more skiddish with this teacher. The teacher actually asked if he was abused by his last owner & accused me of not working with him enough. Those of you who know Robin, you know those accusations are ridiculous. Luckily I was on my game that night & snapped right back at him & told the Dick (conveniently that's his name) that Robin just doesn't like him & that I'd appreciate it if he didn't directly address or ever touch my dog again.
Next week I'm breaking my no hotdog rule & making sure Robin has an extra special treat for the class.

The next day brought a visitor to my yarn, Hedwig!

Hedwig was knit with 2 balls of Debbie Bliss Astrakhan & 1 ball of Anny Blatt Fine Kid. The pattern can be found in Charmed Knits (patterns inspired by the Harry Potter books/movies).
The pattern was fun to knit. I did run into a rather large issue when sewing it up though. The base of the body was 3 times larger around than the bottom edge of the body. I ended up folding it in 4ths to make it fit. I emailed Alison to find out what was up & I'm still waiting to hear back from her, I'll let you know if I find out what's up with the Errol pattern.

Tonight I was finally able to finish binding off my Spider's-Web Shawl!
It's currently soaking wet, blocking on the only bit of floor that is big enough to hold it (and only because I moved some rather large pieces of furniture).
The room it's in has vaulted ceilings, I'm standing on top of a large desk & holding the camera over my head (near the highest part of the ceiling) & I still couldn't get the whole thing in the frame. ...


Pattern: Miss Lambert's Spider's-web Shawl from Victorian Lace Today (Full Hexagon)
Yarn: Inspiration from SWTC, color 388, 21 Balls!
This shawl was a real needle killer! My size 2 Bamboo survived, my size 4 Bamboo had the metal casing on the join bent way out of shape so it started cutting the yarn, the size 6 Denise had the ends snapped off the cable, finally I relented & when I moved up to the biggest needle I used a size 9 Addi Turbo, those are indestructible.
I'll do a better photo shoot once the shawl/blanket is dry. At 2.3 pounds & 7.5 feet across (lightly blocked) I think this has definitely moved into the blanket range.

So what's the next shawl for me?
Well, I'm test knitting this shawl for Sharon Winsauer (designer of the dragon shawl)
This is proving to be just as challenging of a knit. I'm about half way through chart 1 of 15 & and really loving it! I'll start posting photos as soon as it looks like something.

Okay, lets end on a super happy note!
In fact it's a happy puppy!

Tonight Robin graduated from his Intro to Agility class!
For "Finals" they set up an actual full course for us to run that included all the standard obstacles except the teeter totter & the weave poles.
Robin did super well. The only thing we would have gotten marked down for on our second run was a refusal of the dog walk, but we backed up a bit and he went right over it on take 2. This was done all off leash, with a couple dozen dogs near by,and someone on a big riding mower right next to the park. He listened to me the whole time! I'm so proud of him.
Now I need to decided if we want to jump into the next class up or take this one again to help build his confidence. The instructors said they'd support me either way. I'm leaning toward taking this one again since it would be Wednesday nights again & I would have to really rearrange things at the shop to free up my Thursday nights.

I'm about half way through chart 2 (of 15) now on my Pegasus shawl. It still doesn't look like much, but I'm really enjoying knitting this project!
Luckily, many of the unusual stitch patterns that Sharon uses were also in the Dragon shawl, so that does give me a bit of a leg up in knitting this shawl.
Here's a snippet of a cloud & the line dividing 2 clouds:

& this is the main background stitch. This was also the stitch used for the wings on the dragon. I think it was my favorite stitch in that shawl so I'm glad to be doing lots of it this time around!

So, many of you may have picked up that I've been pretty grumpy this week. That class Monday just really brought me down & then things just seemed to be going wrong since then.
I had myself a little pity party after work last night & between that and 2 other things I hope I can help myself change my mood.
1: Last night was the new moon, perhaps that brings out the crazies like a full moon does (sure seemed like it), but I'm hoping that a new moon also leads to a new outlook.
2: Both sets of my new glasses were ready today & I totally love them!

They fit my face really well & are just what I was looking for. The blue & black striped pair are my everyday pair with transitions lenses in them. I actually picked those up yesterday, but the first day was mainly for adjusting to the new prescription & I was sick to my stomach all day because things were moving differently than I was used to. I'm calling today the first official new day because my eyes are used to them now & I can just enjoy being able to see.
The red pair below is my new super cool sunglasses with polarized lenses. I really need these for driving! The transitions don't darken in the car (due to UV blocking glass) so a pair of prescription sun glasses is a must for me. Plus I can be amused easily at red lights by tilting my head back and forth & watching the glare change on the car in front of me. Life is all about the simple pleasures...

Thank You all for your comments & words of advice. I'm feeling much better already.

I'm seriously chilling out today. With the exception of moving my big new lateral file into the shop so the patterns have a lovely new home, I pretty much zoned out for the day. I think a knit a grand total of 4 rows on the shawl (considering I was averaging 10 minutes a row this week & sat there with the shawl for around 5 hours today I think that was some serious zoning out).
I watched the Tigers game, they lost, but that's okay. Andrew Miller is their newest pitcher & is fresh out of high school (well a year or two out, but that's still years younger than me so I kinda think of him as a kid). He's about 6 & a half feet tall, maybe 110 lb soaking wet, and really amusing to watch. The amusement was greatly enhanced tonight because the Tigers are in inter league play & were playing in a national league ball park, meaning no designated hitter (i.e. the pitchers have to attempt to hit the ball).

I love inter league play!

Miller had to be the most ungraceful batter I've ever seen. We laughed & laughed every time he went to bat. He towers over the catcher (his strike zone is about over the catchers head), doesn't bend his knees at all, and swings the bat (at every pitch) like he’s attempting to chop down a tree. Needless to say he didn't even make contact, let alone get a hit.

Now he's an amazing pitcher, or at least he will be once he gets some more experience & grows into himself a bit more.

Invite #1:
The Yarn Tails Knitting Group meets tomorrow at the Brenke Fish Ladder at 3pm. I believe I will be there, I'm pretty sure Erin will be there, I hope you will be there!
For those of you who haven't joined us yet, Yarn Tails is a knitting group for knitters with dogs & for knitters who love dogs! Bring your knitting & your favorite pooch if you have one to Brenke Fish Ladder in Lansing's Old Town. We generally meet up at the picnic benches on the south side of the park. There's plenty of places to tie off your leash if you have an energetic pooch like Robin & then we get to let the pups have a play time while the adults get to knit.
It's tons of fun & I hope you can join us!

Invite #2:
This Tuesday the Mid-Michigan Knitting Guild is having their weekly knit-in at my house!
Any knitter is very welcome (you don't need to be a member), in fact if you were ever curious about the guild this would be a great time to come check things out. I promise we don't bite~
The knit-in is on Tuesday Night (June 19th) and starts at 7pm.
We have plenty of room & lots of parking on the street in the neighborhood. If you'd like to come just send me an email at extravayarnza AT gmail DOT com and I'll send you the address.
See you then!

In the mean time tomorrow is Father's Day & I'm off to the other side of the state for brunch with Grandpa, back to Lansing for the Yarn Tails knitting, then I meet Dad for dinner & a movie. So much for a day off! However it's a day of knitting & family, how could it go wrong?

Despite today not being my dream of relaxing at home all day, I had a lovely day.
The sun was out. I had a nice brunch with my Grand Parents. Then I managed an hour long nap before meeting up with the Yarn Tails Group.
Robin & Annie even managed to both be still enough for me to manage a photo (my camera is awful with movement, so getting 2 dogs clear in the same photo is quite a rarity).

My Dad then treated me to a movie. We went to see Knocked Up (I don't recommend seeing this with your father & little brother BTW). It was everything the critics claimed it was & more, if you liked 40 year old virgin then you will love this movie. It gets beyond the college bathroom humor & turns into a genuinely sweet movie at the end. My only real warning is there is just enough shown during the birth scene to make many people uncomfortable (I'm not sure I really ever wanted to see a baby crowning, especially on the big screen).
Then Dad did his usual thing & told our good looking and totally charming waiter really dirty jokes and managed to completely embarrass me.
I forgive him because it's father's day.

Oh, & the Pegasus shawl is now up to row 52. I took a few minutes & spread the whole thing out on my blocking wires to get a good look at it.

I think after I made those snappy (rude but true) comments to Robin's teacher last Monday he finally realized that perhaps there might be an issue. Today I saw him make a real effort to try and help me and Robin. He asked lots of questions about how Robin acts out of class (Is he a shy dog? Is he generally afraid of men?...) Then when Robin tried to run away when he tried to offer him a treat he stopped the class to try and bond with Robin a bit.
He let Robin sniff him & gently reached forward offering a very good treat, and was eventually able to pet him without Robin shying away. Boy did that make a world of difference.
I was able to finally catch up with the rest of the class & was able to leave Robin in a stay & walk outside the building. Dick (the instructor) stood by him just in case, but Robin stayed put. I'm not sure how many classes we have left. Dick seems to say a different number each week. Last week he said 2 classes, this week he said 2 classes. I just will keep going till he gives me that certificate.
Anyways Robin is crashing out on the couch next to me. He was doing so good by the end of class!

Now lest you think I may be playing favorites I just can't forget my little prince Trent. He's my head mouse & is in charge of keeping my wool stash moth free. He may be a little skiddish & a bit temperamental (and perhaps the only cat I know of who's afraid of the dark), but he'll always be my baby~

Well the positive first...
The knit-in went just wonderful last night. Thank You to all the MMKG members who were absolutely wonderful guests. I would be totally willing to do that again if a fill in is ever again needed. (how often would you be willing to say that after somewhere between 20-30 people invaded your home for 4 hours?)
Plus I got a chance to relax & knit. I even finished a sock! (Pegasus doesn't make for good group knitting...)
This is my first sock out of the limited edition Rio De La Plata Multi Ply Sock Yarn~

I loves it
I loves it alot
I will be bringing home several more skeins of this yarn before it disappears forever.
I was wearing my handspun merino socks (my favorite socks of all time) when I finished this sock & I have never had store bought yarn that came so close to matching the softness & squishiness of handspun merino before. Yum...

Yet...

(warning I'm going to whine a bunch after this point, if you don't want to listen to me whine you may want to continue on to your next blog stop now)

I'm just in a bad funk. I've tried positive thinking, funny movies, spending time with friends, playing with my puppy, giving myself a facial & foot soak, knitting things that make me really happy, sitting in the sun on my hammock, and still I'm really miserable right now.

Despite the wonderful time I had last night, I still came off the event with a bad cut on my right hand (from my brand new ceramic pot that fell of the shelf right before the party and broke behind the back tire of my car, thankfully I haven't noticed it leaking any air) and a huge bruise on my left leg that I don't even quite remember how it happened.
Then I forgot to turn my alarm back on (yesterday was my morning off & there for the alarm had been off) and I overslept. Of course

I've got to go, I think the shop next door is on fire!

*edited about 2 hours later*
Yes - There was a fire next door at the Camera Shop, I had to stop writing earlier because the fire department was evacuating the building.
Luckily (very luckily) the fire department got there quickly & the fire quickly put out. A flourscent light got a short in it & caught the fixture on fire. For some amazing reason neither the dark room chemicals directly below (that sparks were landing on) nor the ceiling tiles (with 20 years worth of dust and gunk on them) caught on fire. If either of those had caught the fire department told us it could have been a much worse situation.

As it was that was the second electrical short of the day. The first one was at my shop. I plugged in the set of lights over the pattern file & sale area this morning & the plug started smoking and sparks flew out of it. Luckily I was able to pull the plug out quickly and the only damage was a black melted plug.

Another lovely part of the day was the above incident prompted me to do a safety check. I made sure the fire extinguisher was charged & decided to check the smoke detector too. Well it works, however for some reason after you check it it beeps once a minute for over a half an hour. Why? I don't know. I had such a splitting headach I decided just to chuck it into the parking lot & not take it in till after it stopped beeping.

Okay, I'm under strict orders to relax for the night, so I'm going to watch the Tigers clobber the Nationals, knit on the second Rio Sock (I'm in no frame of mind for lace), and eat some chocolate. Maybe if I feel motivated I'll make myself a cosmo...

First off, I need to say a big Thank You to Nicole who was my spoiler for SP10.
She sent me one last package for this round.

Completely by coincidence I assigned Nicole to be my spoiler in the Knitting Gnome Swap I'm hosting, so you'll be seeing her mentioned again in a few months, in the mean time, Thanks Nicole for making this a great round of Secret Pal!

So, I'm feeling better & better after my meltdown earlier this week. Tonight I brought Robin over to my dad's house to visit and watch the Tigers Game. Robin had a great time visiting with Aspen (my dad's Samoyed, who is unfortunately on her last legs) and Aspen seems to perk back up when Robin visits, so I try to bring him over when I can.
Tonight was Kenny Rogers first night back pitching & he was as on his game as he was in the playoffs. It was a great game to watch! Plus Cleveland lost to the Nationals (who's ass we kicked 3 times earlier this week & who could arguably be the worst team in baseball) so we are now the top team in our division.

I finished my Rio De La Plata socks on Thursday. I totally love them. I think the only pair of socks I love more are my handspun pair. I wore them today & they are so comfy.

These socks were my "worry beads" this week, so nothing fancy with this pair. These are my Plain Jane toe-up socks. I can practically knit these in my sleep.

I got my Socks That Rock kit yesterday too, I decided I wasn't done with my need for some worry bead socks. I managed to knit all this today...

This photo was taken late at night, in sun this yarn is just stunning. It looks like some fruity tropical drink. Plus I think the way the yarn is pooling/spiraling is very cool.
I'm going to weight the yarn tomorrow at work so I make sure I have enough for the second sock. I'm going to love to wear these socks!

It is hot here. Hot & humid. Neither Robin or I have had any desire to go outside for our usual walk in over a week. (with the exception of the one decent day we had, we walked that day) That means that Robin is bored & hyper. Plus he just won't stop barking. This pretty much is adding injury to insult at this point where I'm already uncomfortably warm & every bark is pulsating in my head. I just want him to shut up at this point. He wants me to throw his squeaky toy for the 1000th time tonight. If I put him outside he just sits by the door & barks to come in.
This would be the main reason for not blogging the last few nights. He's just frayed me down to my last nerve.
Despite my lack of blogging I've been plugging away on my lace knitting. I've rediscovered my love of the Pegasus Shawl.

Okay this is going to be an abriviated post because despite me letting him out 4 times in the last hour (and him sitting at the door barking to be let back in) Robin has just piddled all over the floor. That was my last nerve.

This is Pegasus yesterday half way through chart 5.

This is my new "mindless shawl" Alberta from Stahman's Shawls & Scarves. I'm knitting it in Harmony from Jojoland.

Here's the a pic from the book on what the shawl will sort of look like when it's finished.

I'm going to take a couple of Aspirin & put myself to bed now...

So,
I was only really upset with Robin for an hour or two. There have been no issues since that night (nor had there been one since the first few days home) plus later than night when he was let out of his crate he came and found me in bed and snuggled with me the rest of the night. How can you stay angry after that?
Plus he cleaned up the mess my bulimic cat made the next morning (yuck).
I've got lots of great photos for you later in the post. But first I'd like to tell you a bit more about the Alberta Shawl that I couldn't share with you the other night.
This is one of those cases of falling in love with a yarn & getting totally stumped finding a pattern. I searched for a week (a long time for me) attempting to find a pattern that met my specifications.
~Triangular Shawl
~Starts at center back (at neck)
~Has an edging that's knit on perpendicular to the main part of the shawl
The big reason for all these requirements is that the yarn makes stripes. I really wanted to play that up. Medium stripes near the neck, growing smaller as the rows get longer. Then big long stripes for the edging.
Plus I get bored really easily & most of the stoles I see have the same stitch the whole time. Nothing is more boring to me than a giant rectangle in lace weight doing the same 6 or 8 rows over & over & over & over again.
Even though the shawl I choose uses the same stitch pattern for the whole thing, since it's a triangle & since it's Faroese in shape there is enough going on to keep me interested, but not so much that I can't knit it in public.

I've also agreed to run a class on shawls from this book (Stahman's Shawls & Scarves) late this summer. All the shawls in the book use the same basic formula, so students can choose any shawl from the book. Plus they can pretty much be knit in any weight from lace to worsted. I'm really looking forward to teaching this class!
It will start in early August and be on Friday evenings (5-7). I don't know the exact dates yet, but I already have two students, pretty cool.

The Pegasus Shawl is actually half way through the 7th chart. Unfortunately I'm at a bit of a sticking point & waiting for some clarification from Sharon.

Okay now for lots of pictures. A box I've been eagerly waiting for arrived at the store today. New cashmere lace weight from Art Yarns.
This is what a snagged for the shawl in my book!

The shawl has a water pond & Weeping Willow theme, so the soft green/blue is perfect.

But don't worry there are lots of great colors left!

My two favorites are actually the dark red and brown on the right & the lilac on the left. If I hadn't already picked a theme for the shawl that red would have come home in a heart beat.

There's also Cashmere 5 (worsted weight)

With several new patterns that only take one skein. I knit a Calorimetry in this yarn last winter & it's yummy.

We also finally have Silk Rhapsody in once again.

Now if I could just somehow get the Malabrigo lace weight to arrive...

The sunset tonight was just spectacular! There was that perfect amount of clouds to allow the colors to really get intense.


Plus I got a little surprise when I was taking photos.

We live a few miles from the airport, so one of these fly by every hour or so. It's not too bad. I suppose if you were a very light sleeper & the window was open it would be enough to wake you up, but it's not like that scene in Wayne's World or anything like that.
Anyways Happy Knitting~