A View from Sierra County

In The Running

At least I would still be if I had officially participated in the Knitting Olympics; the exciting news to me is that there will soon be a FO, and an item that has been languishing as a UFO for too long will finally get its due.

I first saw the Mendocino Vest pattern back almost two years ago, when Shear Spirit was published, featuring the photos of fellow blogger Gale (She Shoots Sheep Shots).  I was so excited by the way the book presents independent fiber farms around the country, almost as if I drove up unexpectedly, but they rolled out the welcome mat and gave me the deluxe tour anyway.  This was the pattern I wanted to make first, and I had even overdyed some lovely Cormo yarn from a visit to the Estes Park Wool Mart visit a few years back that I had in my stash with henna in anticipation of using it for the project, when Ruinwin sent me a gift of some Ella Rae Palermo yarn that cried out to be used for Mendocino instead... the other yarn has a new vest with it's name on it, but may have to wait until next winter.  Oh the comfort of having projects lined up in the stash:)  

Though I made it most of the way through the back last spring, once the hot weather hit, Mendocino languished, becoming the perfect candidate for my own personal Finishing Event.  I managed to fly through both of the fronts in the past week, and last night got the neck edging completed... the sides are pinned together with locking stitch markers (a good reason to have plenty of these around!), and I will seam them tonight, move on to the armhole edgings.

I really like the pretty little touches on this pattern... besides being a 'mock cable' (meaning that you don't actually manipulate the cable effect, it is done by purling three together, with M1 increases on either side of the 'cable' panel), there is a ripply edging formed by an eyelet row at the bottom that starts off the patterning, and then the eyelet row is repeated for the trims around neck and armholes. 

Here's a closer-up to show how the neck edging turned out... this yarn is a long-striping one, but very tonal and subtle... a pleasing feast for the knitter, yet still wearable for someone like me who doesn't want to stand out like a neon sign by wearing dramatically striping colors.

I managed to get some decluttering time in yesterday morning, eliminating some extra furniture and adding to the order I have been gradually achieving, but my real reason was to unearth these buttons... I knew I had purchased them a few years back up in Arcata, and they weren't with all the recently-organized materials in my studio, even though many, many other buttons were....I could recall having displayed them pinned to the wall next to my computer desk for quite a long time, and was hoping they hadn't fallen behind the filing cabinet. Luckily, my decluttering got rid of a box on unneeded books, and a stack of paper trash, before I 'found' the missing buttons on one of my office shelves. 

Won't they be just a perfect match?  I like the garter stitch button bands a lot too.... did I say that I really, really like this vest?  I think I might even like myself in it.  I have been making sure to get 30 minutes (at least) of exercise a day, including weights twice a week and intervals once or twice a week (those who find me on FB know how I feel about intervals; I won't subject the rest of you), and have even lost a few pounds, but still have a ways to go before feeling svelte.  I was pleased when I tried the pinned-together version and realized I would be happy with the fit.  Now... on to the finish line!

Don't forget to enter my contest before midnight PST on Tuesday... here's a photo of the Aracuania yarn, one of two prizes I will be awarding... scroll down to get the directions.

 

Oldie But Goodie

What is the oldest knit you have still hanging around your house?  Since I started back when I was five, I don't have any of those ghastly reminders from earlier days.  Nor do I have the crocheted skirts and granny square hats from the 1970s to shame me over my former fashion style.  I DO have a great piece, that started its life as the most complicated piece of knitting I had ever done, back in 1974 when ponchos were still 'in', the first time.  The pattern was in an issue of McCalls Needlework and Craft, my favorite magazine at the time.

This project was done in the most elaborate Aran stitches I had tried to date, and the lattice work took total concentration and reading the pattern.... it never got easier, so the poncho never got done.  I did have two side panels done and one of the wider ones (from the bottom up) more than half-completed when I set it aside.  I was never able to frog and forget... admiring my lovely twisted cablework but unable to get motivated to finish.  I carried this piece around with me for over a decade, moving more times than I care to remember.

Then, in the late 1980s, I read Elizabeth Zimmerman's Knitting Without Tears, discovered on the school library shelf when I was the library aide for four years.  It changed my whole thinking, not just inspiring me to teach myself to knit Continental-style (lots of practice), but to re-examine the project and decide what I could do to salvage it.  All of that beautiful work didn't need to be ripped out; it could be the springboard for a new design.

This photo shows a close up of the lattice cabled pattern, which I used as front panels on either side of the fronts in my variation of the Tomten Jacket (check out this link at Brooklyn Tweed for a straight-knit version)... I simply started knitting and sewing, making a gusset at each underarm, picking up and knitting front panels sideways to make the front wide enough, later adding a shawl collar using EZ's directions for adding on a collar and shaping it, and of course adding garter stitch sleeves.  The same pink Peace Fleece from the shawl collar made a narrow ribbing border on each side of the front opening, covering the jacket zipper I stitched in place.

I ran out of my original yarn (Under Rygia), and turned to some that I had tea-dyed earlier (the tan in the photo), as well as several compatible shades of Peace Fleece (collar, front panels and dark trim).

The wider panel from the poncho pattern (where I left off) became the lower back, with a garter stitch back yoke adapted from the Tomten Jacket.  I also added a garter stitch border of tea-dyed yarn around the bottom to pull the piece together.  This photo shows the back gusset devised by knitting back and forth to fill in the spaces between the back panel and the front panel on each side.  I especially love this back panel, and think the diamond and feather stitching panels were the reason why I could never bear to frog this project.

As you can tell from this full-front view, I got a little creative in stretching my yarn on the sleeves, but tried to keep my color family intact so that I blended my different elements and used the tea-dyed yarn to provide continuity.  This sweater turned out to be a very warm outerwear jacket, finished at a time when I was living in the high country of the Sierras, with deep snow a companion all winter.  I loved it, including the big, roll-up cuffs, the zip front and the cozy collar.  I realized afterwards that the only thing I forgot was pockets!  I still wear this sweater every winter, over other layers, and have intended to add 'afterthought' pockets, another EZ 'unvention'.  This was an adventurous project, probably my best UFO resurrection ever, and gave me the freedom to feel I could tackle anything... someday I might even try lattice cabling again.

Tell me about your oldest or most favorite knit!

Spring Summary

After working diligently for over an hour, battling with my browser quitting, the second time I returned to Typepad, it tantalizingly claimed to have autoarchived my (lengthy at that point) post only to refuse to open it.  I had to leave the computer for a good cry... I really had written all those brilliant things I mean to say.  I really had, finally, enough time to slog through putting a post together using my tediously slow dial-up.  There's a new rumor floating around my town that we can finally get high speed internet through Digital Path, but only if you have a clear line-of-sight to Oregon Peak, the high point where the new tower is located.  There's also a good chance that if I call first thing tomorrow and they say I can't get it, I will hang up my blogging shoes (guess it should really be thumbs?).  The level of frustration I go through is just too hard... I realized when creating posts at a few other locations in the past several months that the rest of you sit down and breezily whip something out while I could have knitted a washcloth (believe me, I have!) in the time it takes to write one post.  I can't even be content with 'just reading' other peoples' blogs as it takes so long to load each and every one that I really only circulate through my dearest blog-friends in a week and miss out on finding new friends.  I do apologize for whining... I am feeling disconnected from the knit blogging community I used to be such an active part of, and maybe the technology fix will allow me to get back on board the community train.

One of the things I had told you about is that I finished my Mouse and His Cookie last night... here he is in all his cuteness.  He was a lot of fun to make.  He took a bit longer than the other crocheted animals I have made to date... needed to make a lot of parts, including overalls with embroidered straps, and line his little ears with felt, which add to their ability to stand up.  He also got a sweet little chocolate chip cookie, with embroidered 'chips', to complete the picture of the mouse in the story, "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" (link to Lafayette Bookstore, where my SIL manages the brick and mortar store; maybe you would like to use them for online ordering instead of the big box ones).

He is standing in an antique faucet handle, which makes a good stand for a soft toy, which is meant to be held rather than stiffly stand at attention.... right now he is living on the mantle next to an antique 'Happy Buddha" statue. I am not sure where these amigurumi critters will end up, but there are a few more on the list waiting to be brought to life. Crochet is a bit harder on my hands than knitting, but I have been enjoying it and also finished a gift hat last night... no photos until the recipient has gotten it. I decided to join the Potholder Swap I read about in Margene's Friday post, sponsored by Adrian and Maritza. I love to pick up these vintage treasures at thrift and antique stores and think it will be fun making several with the patterns they have compiled on the swap blog.

While working on this post (and having Firefox crash again, leading me to save and restart the computer), I decided to eat lunch and try and forge ahead.... I do have knitting content to share.  I got inspired reading about Knitnana joining Rainy's Basket O' Shame KAL, and decided to take stock of my own basket.  There are three four (let's be honest here) long-languishing items in there... the one that has waited the longest to be finished is DH's vest-to-be-felted(Rav link).  I started this project four years ago, worked at in seasonally and finally finished the knitting a year ago... next steps were to use cotton yarn to knit temporary edgings, felt it in the washer, remove those temporary edgings and finish with nice rolled wool ones.  Sounds tedious, eh?  That's what I thought, which is partly why it languishes still... I also can't find the Felted Knits book with instructions, or remember who I lent it to!  Of course, I could check it out from the library, which may be the only way the thing will get done.

The next project, equally close to the finish line is my Haori Vest, which has been knitted, fabric lining sewn together, and even partly hand-sewn in place... so what's the problem?  

If you look closely at this not-so-great photo, you will notice that there is a gap in the lining, just below the padded hanger (made by my granny, long ago!).  I used the knitted vest as my pattern, but somehow still ended up short on the back neck, and will need to 'sister' a piece of fabric in there... could happen today since I am inside while it snows, or I could go on to an easier project instead.  I really DO need to finish this up, though.

Third is my Circle Vest (another Rav link), which still needs about two ounces of yarn spun, then dyed, in order to finish.  I have thought of this as a long-term project all along, so it might not count as part of the 'basket o' shame', but then I am only an unofficial participant!  I have a self-imposed deadline to finish this project by summer in order to enter it into the county fair.  Our fiber guild volunteers to keep the fiber building going, and I do feel an obligation to help by providing an entry.  I just haven't felt like spinning the past few months and am waiting for my spinning mojo to return with spring.  At least that's what I hope.

Fourth is my Flutter Scarf, which has been a carry-along from the beginning, is only half-done, and has been shoved aside by pushier carry-alongs since before Christmas.  Many got completed, and hopefully it will once again be Flutter's turn.  One such item, that I haven't yet posted a photo of, are these mitts made last month for a gift. 

They are a pair of Chevron mitts (Rav link), using STR, which was so lovely to work with.  A second pair, for me, are in progress with the first hand done except the thumb... that has been this month's carry-along.  Must have been to less meetings, as there has been slower progress than on the first pair, made while attending a conference in Berkeley for three days.

Unfortunately, the odds are against Flutter today, as there is clamoring to make another little animal, work on my Mendocino vest, finish the second of my Chevron wristwarmers, make a quick crocheted mohair scarf for spring, or start a pair of socks.  Yes, odd as that sounds coming from me, sock mojo has been knocking on the door here, asking to be let in... Brigid is one of the patterns under consideration, as I have some lovely Grace's yarn in my stash that has been patiently waiting its turn.

A Little Less Talk... A Lot More Action!

This weekend, I devoted part of my knitting time to getting my Knit Unto Others projects lined up for the next two weeks (and beyond, since I always think I can accomplish more than actually happens).

My first project is also my November UFO Resurrection (don't you just love how I can multi-task?!).  I started this blanket back a year ago, when I found Lion Boucle at the Dollar Tree for a $1 a ball...

One of my friends who runs the North San Juan Family Resource Center where I offer Adult Ed GED Prep classes each week had decided to try and start a handwork group, with Project Linus as one possible recipient of the efforts... however, she and I were the only people to turn up and we weren't able to keep up our spirits, or the schedule she originally chose, and my blanket languished.  Then, this fall I met the director of a very special program here in my area, called the Kare Crisis Nursery, that offers round-the-clock, drop-in respite care for parents in emergencies or crisis.  She and one of the many volunteers who make this program possible were enrolled in the infant/toddler development class I and a co-worker both needed to take this fall... turns out, he has also volunteered there, doing carpentry work for them during his summer off from directing our Headstart preschool program.  I decided to finish my blanket for them during KUTO... and as you can see, I am about halfway there.  I am aiming for a 40-inch square blanket, and making great progress.  The blanket may end up bigger, or I may divide my ten skeins into two, depending on the yardage I get.

Margene and Carole have picked 'little things' as their focus this year, so I am also making sure that I have several small squares ready to mail by the end of the Thanksgiving weekend for Oliver's American Blanket.  Most of you already know that Kay of Mason-Dixon fame has offered to be the American hostess/seamstress for squares added to this raffle.

These little four inch squares make up quickly from leftover sock yarn, and though the ones I am making this week will be mailed off to Kay, I had the inspiration this afternoon to keep on making squares, with some help from my friends.  You see, though the Kare Crisis Nursery said they would happily accept knitted blankets, but what they really want is quilts.  So, having a background in both arts, I have decided that my primary knitting for peace endeavor for 2008 will be to continue making squares and to arrange them in quilt patterns based on the four-inch square.  This is where I need some help from my friends... I would love your left-over sock yarn (if it is superwash wool) and would welcome your help. 

My four-inch squares are based on the basic warshrag pattern (same as the directions for Oliver's raffle).  I am also leaving a long tail at the start and end to help with the sewing-up, which I will do (see, Allison, I really DO love the mattress stitch now).  Many of you who are contributing to Kay's efforts will be tired of squares (for a while), but keep in mind that I will be doing this indefinitely.  Just leave a comment or email me (burrobird AT gmail DOT com).

There is a third knitting for peace project that will not even get off the ground until after KUTO is through, and that is a group blanket, made from superwash worsted weight squares that Stephanie has initiated, for all of our Knit Night group to join together in producing.  We will be finding a local charity for that as well.

I did spend some time on personal knitting as well, but will show you what I am working on for myself later in the week, as I am really trying to be less selfish and give a little this week... our fiber guild is also working hard to get items together to donate to the Nevada County foster care program by our annual Christmas party in mid-December and I do have two items already set aside for that, but will be trying to make a few more hats by then.

I have not been keeping you all up-to-date on my Ravelry progress... I became a group moderator a few weeks ago for a fun forum our shop is sponsoring; you may have already gotten my invite to our 'fibers grass valley' group, but if not, drop on by and invite yourself! This week's conversation has been trying to find out which knitting magazines REALLY help and inspire you, and I would love to have your responses!

Delicato Resurrected!

I am happy to say that my black Knitpicks Gloss version of last winter's popular Delicato mitts is finally finished!

This mitt is a lovely design and the only reason I didn't finish in the first place was that I was making the mitts specifically for a formal re-enactment dance, to go with an outfit I had ordered on Ebay; the seamstress got ill and couldn't fill the commitment and eventually I got my money refunded, but had to come up with something different to wear and didn't need these...

I think they will be going to DD for Christmas; actually, my hands are on the small side and they are a tiny bit too long on me, as this photo shows.  Still, I would consider making the pattern again, for myself, someday.  It is a lovely lace panel down the middle, highlighted by eyelet rib cuffs and trim.  Need to whip up a fancy Christmas gift for a non-knitting friend?  This might be the one.

There are two more months of 2007 and two more UFOs to unearth and finish off.  While my dear friend Margene insists that projects are either fun, fast and done, or tossed aside, I am more easily distracted and have to come back to some and finish them when their season comes around again.... this KAL has been a boon to doing exactly that, getting stuff done!

September UFO is Fini

I was feeling guilty for wanting to start some new projects while I still had so many to finish, casting about for my October UFO Resurrection, and realized that I had neither finished up September's, nor had I written about it!  Time to remedy that.

In early September, I pulled out this project, just about a year after I had last made a stab at finishing it.  It is the Fericy top from Bouton d'Or Number 82 (a spring collection, but printed in December 2004).  I had bought the pattern book and a different yarn than called for back in March 2005, because the original yarn had already been discontinued (don't you just hate that?!).  DD Nikki had picked out the pattern and it looked straightforward enough, in fact knitting the front and back fairly flew.  Then, I derailed myself by making two different sleeves (as in, they didn't match) and had to make a third to figure out which was the correct version).  By that point, winter had set in, so, being the seasonal kitty that I am, I set the pieces aside for warm weather... I mean, she probably wouldn't be wearing it anyway, right?  Last year, I had managed to set in the sleeves, but when I tried it against her, she informed me that it wasn't going to fit since she had gained so much weight... not entirely true, but enough to discourage me, as she had gained 10 pounds while living over in Chico.  I put it away and hoped that she would lose a bit and that I would finish up in the spring.  It didn't help that all the yarn I had left over to sew up the seams with was this tiny bit...

I know there's nothing but the wood grain for scale, but trust me on this... the leftovers were alarmingly small.

Last month, I looked at the pieces, did some of the sewing and was disgusted enough by the instructions to fold it away and pursue something I liked better.  Bad attitude.  I also thought even more highly of some of my knitwear-designing friends.  They put hours of time into writing several pages of highly readable instructions, while I was faced with one cryptic paragraph about finishing this thing.  Ugh!  Eye surgery intervened and so the top sat in a bag in my office while the pattern book was stuffed into the bottom file cabinet drawer next to the computer the past month.

I decided on Sunday that sometimes you just have to suck it up, get tough, and get finished.  I told myself that I couldn't start ANY thing more until Fericy, and October's UFO Resurrection were both DONE.

I am relieved to present to you a finished object, the Fericy top...

done in Lana Grossa Point

I need to go shopping with DD for ribbon to thread through the diagonal rows of holes in the front, but otherwise I am done... and not sure that DD will pose for a photo shoot, so hung the top up for this picture.

The yarn was splitty, even down to the last sewing, and the pattern was poorly written, but it IS very cute.  And pink.  And done.

I would feel bad about my attitude, except for feeling good about making something for DD besides a hat.

The last time I knitted anything resembling a garment for her was this knitted yoke for a toddler-sized dress that she wore incessantly each summer while she was four, five and six years old.

Guess it was time for something new....

August Resurrection

August has almost come and gone and I really don't have much in the way of knitting to show for it... several projects in various stages of completion or anticipation.  However, finally, after languishing all winter, Bianca gets her turn at the top again.

Faithful readers will recall that I started Bianca last fall with high hopes of finishing and wearing her through the fall and winter seasons and into early spring.  She was the perfect little jacket, and I was doing her up in a nice little nubbly tea-colored Henry's Attic Inca Cotton that I could wear with anything.
 

I knew I would just love her, that is until I realized while swatching that the gauge my substitution was giving me would require recalculating the numbers for the entire pattern.  I used to do all of my knitting this way, calculating to use the yarn I had for a design I liked, but nowadays I hate the fuss...

I managed to make it all the way up the back, but not without tons of enticing distractions.  I checked back over my blog entries from last fall and was reminded about how I was lured away to make not one, but two Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawls, both exquisite and much prettier than the jacket.  Then there were the Anna socks, a purse, a few gifts, and some charity knitting.  Somehow, I just never got around to making those calculations needed to knit the curved front pieces, so now it is onward and upward to get to the pretty little lace yokes.  I was reviewing where I left off in my math project (yup, that is what a promising knit gone bad has turned into for me) and decided to proceed differently.  After all, one definition of crazy is to do the same thing over and over, expecting different results.  My re-start is to do all of the math in one sitting, in effect re-writing the yarn for the fabric I want to get with this yarn, and then jump back in, pattern in hand and charge forward.  This really would be the perfect jacket, after all!

While I was re-starting myself on Bianca and felting up my denim clogs earlier this week, I got to thinking about what it is that gets me to set aside a project and neglect it for a long period of time or even abandon it entirely.  My commitment to participate in the UFO Resurrection all year has really helped me to get back to several very worthy projects, but also led to ripping and reclaiming the yarn from two failed ones.  The red yarns I reclaimed back in January have only partially been re-purposed, but that means I have a few wonderful items still waiting for me in my stash (did you notice that Knitnana is promoting a new kind of 401K plan?).  I transformed CeCe into Lutea, with very happy results and have made slow but steady progress on Seraphim.  I was disappointed with the fact that CeCe's pattern stitch, which had seemed so easy going into it, had turned out to be a fussy one for me, not an enjoyable knit.  Would I go back and try again?  Probably not.  On the other hand, Seraphim had been neglected because she had grown large and complicated enough that I could no longer carry her around and work in a distracted environment... currently she has only about 16 rows to go, but each row takes something like 20 minutes and is over 300 stitches, so I am getting a few rows done a night, on the nights that something doesn't call me away from her.  I hope to have her off the needles before September ends.  I also managed to finish up a purse that was sitting around simply because the final details were daunting me, and learned that finish work is something to be proud of rather than shirk!  I even decided to take on a friend's UFO with my new-found appreciation of finishing skills. 

My denim clogs, July's UFO Resurrection, are now drying, though I am still thinking I may need to go back and felt them further to get the fit I want... the water and suds both cooled down in the lengthy period to get them felted to this point, and I opted to let them dry and try them on with a pair of winter socks to further check and adjust the fit, as well as be willing to go through the felting cycle again, if needed.

That vest is the lingering, nagging project, reminding me that sometimes a finished object might be a great idea, but the knitting thereof a real drag... choose your battles, wisely!

Coincidentally (or not, depending on your worldview), I listened to a great discussion about the value of making and writing goals and life lists for yourself on Talk of the Nation yesterday while driving to town for my first physical therapy appointment (it went well, but I was pretty sore afterwards).  I realized that I have done many of the things I wanted to do with my life, and that I have also been willing to change direction and abandon some of them in favor of new goals that better suit me as I am now.  I think projects can sometimes end up the same way, no longer suiting me, either as a knitter or an end-user.  Why do you let some of your projects, beloved at their beginnings, become UFOs?

UFO Shoes

My July UFO Resurrection will be finishing up a pair of felted clogs that I started back in March 2005.  They only need the second outer sole knitted up and attached before they can be thrown in the washer.... which means that I managed to knit one whole shoe and the body of the second before abandoning them.  There really is only about two hours' worth of work left to reach completion.... 

Why? Why am I so fickle?  The pattern isn't particularly hard, though the sole shaping requires reading it before every row.  But I did it once ... why not the second?  Did I get bored? Did something more glamorous come along?  Looking back through my blog posts from that time it was probably simply that spring came along and interrupted my attention to their completion, as well as invalidated my instant need for shoes.

So what has inspired me to make them my July UFO Resurrection?  I stumbled upon this great website!  If I quickly finish up my pair of clogs and send them off, I can get winterized soles attached and wear them by the time winter arrives.... how cool is that?!  Did I mention I abandoned these with only about two hours of work left to do on them?  Cross your fingers for me that I can manage to stay focused, for just two hours.

June UFO Resurrection

I know you thought you would be coming to see this Saturday's mountain sky, but that will have to wait for tomorrow and be dubbed "Sunday Sky" as this is the last day of June, and I am skidding a post in with my UFO Resurrection for this month, my sorely neglected Seraphim.

 

Now, why, you might ask, am I picking a heavy woolen shawl, grown to need only its last 40 rows, as one of my summer UFOs to attack?  Well, you see I am feeling just a tad bit guily.  Not something you hear around these parts much, eh? 

It's just that next Sunday, just a few hours more than a week from now, I will be getting together with a group of spinners at Anna's, and the yarn for this project is from HER sheep.  It should be done and show-off worthy, but it's not.  I set it aside near the beginning of 2007, distracted by the Hidcote Garden KAL and haven't managed to finish either!  I made some progress this week, but when each row has over 200 stitches, it is slow going.  The lovely, long feathers of chart two are almost done, leaving the shorter (but longer-rowed even still) chart three and edging chart left to complete the shawl. 

Oh, and I am running out of yarn.  There won't be enough of the charcoal two-ply laceweight Anna had spun from her carefully-coated Coopworth flock.  It is really more like a fingering weight, but no matter what it is called, I am running low.  Maybe even almost on fumes.  Hmmm.  I had asked her to hold another skein for me (they are large skeins and that would finish me up) but that was months ago.  She probably gave up on me by now and sold it off to someone else.  I could beg for the same weight in any of the natural colors her sheep produce and make a lovely edging effect.  If I am lucky.  If she isn't out.

It looks like I will be showing up with an almost-finished shawl and a dangling end, unless I give up sleep and work and spin up the silvery roving I have from the same flock and try to create a similar yarn.  Except that I can't spin that fine, at least not to date.  I am trying to remain mellow and take it one row at a time... this is a lovely, heavy winter shawl that would end up draped over my chair or wrapped around me a lot.  A solution is just beyond my field of vision.

May UFO Resurrection

I have steadily participated in the UFO Resurrection project this year, though that vest that I "resurrected" awhile back continues to languish in an unfinished state... hmm.  Think I can use it again as a UFO later this year?!  Naah.. that would be cheating.

However, it is spring and almost summer now, so I am repurposing the lovely Rowan Calmer yarn that I made an almost-complete but failed object into last summer....

I could have ripped and re-knit the CeCe cardi I had originally intended to make, but back at the beginning of September, when I realized it was going to be way too big for me, I also had to acknowledge that I hadn't been enjoying the knitting.  The yarn feels good to work with, the design was cute and the edging a very sleek, built-in finishing touch, however the lacy pattern and I just never clicked.  Sometimes, I grab right on to a lace stitch and can catch every almost-mistake, and other times, I suffer the whole way.  I decided not to re-suffer... but move on.  Lots of ripping and rolling involved.

Then, on Sunday night after carefully swatching and measuring (I DID do that before, just picked a size larger than I should have been wearing), I cast on for this summery top:

The Lutea Lace-Shoulder Shell will make a nice top to wear to work on the days when I am at the yarn shop.. and the Calmer color (which looks pretty washed out in my photo above) matches two skirts I have, so that I can look like a savvy yarn saleswoman.  Now, to get some knitting happening!

Last Minute Addition for Sallee (somehow, I wasn't surprised...)-

You are The Lovers

Motive, power, and action, arising from Inspiration and Impulse.

The Lovers represents intuition and inspiration. Very often a choice needs to be made.

Originally, this card was called just LOVE. And that's actually more apt than "Lovers." Love follows in this sequence of growth and maturity. And, coming after the Emperor, who is about control, it is a radical change in perspective. LOVE is a force that makes you choose and decide for reasons you often can't understand; it makes you surrender control to a higher power. And that is what this card is all about. Finding something or someone who is so much a part of yourself, so perfectly attuned to you and you to them, that you cannot, dare not resist. This card indicates that the you have or will come across a person, career, challenge or thing that you will fall in love with. You will know instinctively that you must have this, even if it means diverging from your chosen path. No matter the difficulties, without it you will never be complete.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.