pink moon

on the needles

Something new!  Brokeknits pointed out the Summer Flies shawlette pattern a few days ago, and I was enchanted. See the rows of little butterflies?  Whimsical and cute, but not too twee.  I'm using yet more OrangeFlower yarn from my stash -- Merino Bamboo Sock in raspberry.  The bamboo content gives the yarn great sheen and a bit of crunch, plus it makes the yarn take the dye in a sunwashed, subtle way.  It's so pretty.  That said, I do miss the super soft squishiness of merino/cashmere/nylon yarn. I have a feeling this is going to fly off the needles. ;-)  groan...

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in the post

The ever generous and thoughtful Mia sent me this amazing parcel of goodies:

Not only did she knit me some pink fingerless gloves (which fit perfectly!) and a posh bamboo spa washcloth, she even knit a Traveling Woman shawlette!  I suppose it's fitting, as I knit the exact same pattern for her last winter.  It's so pretty -- she used handspun yarn from roving dyed by Scout.  I can't wait for some cooler weather so that I can wear it!

There's also fancy "tequila" soap from Biggs & Featherbelle, homemade jam (yum!), and books, Needles and Pearls and The Sisters: The Saga of the Mitford Family, which is of great interest to me as I'm a big fan of The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate.  Any book about an eccentric family in a crumbling British estate pretty much has my name written all over it.

Mia also sent me a bounty of her gorgeous handspun yarn.  Lots of blues, in nice, heavy aran weights. Any suggestions for patterns that really showcase handspun?  The skeins range from 196 to 300 yds.

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lesson learned. twice.

Fresh off my finishing high from Hemlock Ring, I picked up Gaenor again and chugged along at a brisk pace.  Much to my chagrin, I ran out of yarn quite a few rows from the end...  Yeah, relying on guesstimation to figure out when I was halfway out of yarn didn't work at all.  

This is beautiful yarn -- OrangeFlower's 50/50 merino silk fingering in "leafy green." Naturally I don't see any more of it on Ravelry, and she doesn't do repeatable colorways.  I'm waffling between ripping back a little more than halfway or just ripping out the whole thing. Both the pattern and the yarn are amazing, but a springier merino with more body might work better with the pattern and the sawtooth edging.  The silk content gives this yarn lots of wonderful drape, but it may not be the best for the pattern.

After this knitting fail, I asked Paul whether I should start something new or resurrect a project from the graveyard of abandoned knitting.  His look of surprise at the existence of said graveyard prompted me to rummage around amidst the shades of handknits past.  I emerged with this Damson:

Another project where I had run out of yarn!  I had started the contrast edging last summer, but was stymied by Row 109, in which you do some fancy "(k1, p1) twice into the double YO" action.  Apparently doing something similar on my Hemlock Ring enabled me to wrap my head around the concept, so I quickly did the last row and bound off.  It just needs a good blocking (and a proper FO post). 

notes to self

1) check yardage

2) check gauge

3) weigh yarn
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I'm very busy with proofreading for work right now, and Kylie insists on helping.  That cat...