Friday, September 9, 2011

Autumn

Hello everyone! I finally have something new to show you. After a grueling week, the audition that I've been obsessing about is over, and I finished my Morlynn shawl just in time to wear it for the occasion. Today, my sweetheart and I had dinner in the park, and then he helped me to do a lovely little photo shoot of my newest woolie. I had a great time, and it was very refreshing to spend time outside in the fabulous weather, with my favorite person, a finished object and a brand new project on the needles.

Here are the details:

Project: Morlynn Shawl/Tuch by Alexandra Wiedmayer (Ravelry link)
Yarn: Colinette Jitterbug in Morello Mash
Needles: 3.5mm

I used a yarn over bind off, which helped a ton with blocking it out to its full potential. This was a great knit, although I did find the pattern a little hard to stick with, at times. The yarn is fabulous--such a great color, and so smooshy. The only bad thing I could say about it is that, because it's so smooth, I struggled to keep my tension even at first. But, it's not enough of a problem to really matter. I have more of this yarn in the stash for another shawl, and I'm looking forward to using it.

The pattern is designed to be knit with two colors. When I originally bought the yarn, I misread the pattern and only bought one skein. When I went back, I didn't match skeins in the dye lot as carefully as I could have, and wound up with a lighter second skein. But, I decided to use the second skein in the places where Color 2 was called for, and it created a pretty, tonal effect. The shawl came out much bigger than I originally thought it would, and it's so great to wrap up in it. (It looks great with the point in front, like a big dramatic cowl. Anyway, enough blather. To the pictures! *Trumpet fanfare*

First, here's the before-and-after of the blocking:




^^^^It completely outgrew my bed! I wound up using pieces of cardboard on the sides, and sleeping across the top of my bed, because I couldn't move it. Ah, the things we do for yarn.


And now for the park photos:












^^^^This is one of my favorite pictures of myself, ever. There's something about Autumn that awakens my adventurous spirit. I never feel more alive than at this time of year. Maybe it's because good things have always happened to me at this time of year, and I associate it with happiness. I don't know, but I sure feel good right now. The leaves are starting to turn in the park, and the crisp breeze is stirring up my imagination.



I'm now working on a hat for my best friend, which will probably fly by after such a long project. I hope to have more projects to share soon! It's Autumn, and I've got a good feeling.


P.S. The Stash has been cleansed of moths. I haven't had a chance to remove it from the freezer yet, but it shall be liberated tomorrow!

Friday, September 2, 2011

The Starting Gun and the Home Stretch

Hello, everyone. It's been a wild ride lately, and I currently have nothing to show for it. I started school this week, and have never had such an overwhelmingly busy first week. I have hardly had time to sleep and eat, it seems more like finals week than the very first days of class. Before starting school, and during the occasional free moment, I have been working on a Morlynn shawl, which I would link to if I had time, but alas. I am partially done with the edging, but it is somewhat complicated and my brain is somewhat dead. I have no pictures of it in progress, but it is, indeed, almost done. I have very high hopes of finishing it this weekend, at which point I will finally share it with you all. I will return soon!