Hello Knitty

All the hours of work were more than worth it.

I love, love, love my Juno Regina scarf. Blocking made it grow a good 20 (!) inches, which I wasn’t expecting but an glad I got. Looped once around my neck, the ends come down to not-quite mid-thigh, which would be too long if it weren’t so delicate.

But delicate it is, and finished it gives off a wonderful Bohemian vibe when worn.

On to the new.

This is the Wool Peddler’s Shawl by Cheryl Oberle, from her book Folk Shawls. I don’t have a picture of one completed, but if you look it up on Ravelry or using Google Image Search you should be able to find it. I’m guessing I’ve gotten about a third of it done.

I’m using my Harmony Wood Knitpicks Options needles in size 4, and Blue Moon Fiber Arts Seduction in colorway Korppi, which is black with hues of violet, eggplant, and green. The yarn is 50% merino wool and 50% tensel, which is a wood pulp. The tensel gives it a shimmery quality.

I’m skeptical about how this is going to turn out. While I usually love Blue Moon’s yarns, I didn’t realize what this yarn would be like to work with. It’s a very firm yarn, almost scratchy, and I’m hoping blocking will make it softer and looser or else I’m not sure how much I’ll want to wear the finished project. And I’ve never had this happen before, but it’s leaving behind streaks where it is rubbing across my skin while I’m knitting. After a few rows my hand look dirty.

Yesterday was a gorgeous, sunny day, and I drove to A Grand Yarn in Spokane for some stash enhancement.

Two skeins of Manos in colorway Wildflowers, which is going to be made into My So-Called Scarf.

A new yarn I’d never seen before: Lumpy Bumpy Yarn by Charlene in colorway Harvest, which will become a hat.

And then Shibui Knits sock yarn in Wasabi. Possibly my favorite yarn ever, so much so that the yarn in my banner at the top of the page are all Shibui yarns. These skeins will not become socks, they’ll be joined with two other skeins I already have and will be a shawl.

The next couple pictures have nothing to do with knitting, but what’s a knitting blog without a cat? Meet Andy.

He’s a handsome devil. Adopted from the shelter in November, Andy’s somewhere around 10 months old.

The windowsill in my craft room is his favorite place.