two knits of ivory

The cabled shrug project has definitely taken hold. So much so I put the labor in Labor Day this weekend, I wrapped up two outstanding projects, my Rowan Cashsoft Shawl and my burgundy cable afghan. Yipee! Both projects were begun with a great deal more enthusiasm than was present as I finished them up yesterday. I loved how quick the afghan worked up using two strands of the Paton's Classic Merino yarn. The stitch definition looked far more cohesive than I originally thought. It will look good with the Armoire quilt I purchased for the soon-to-be renovated guest bedroom. The Rowan Cashsoft Baby DK yarn I used for my first shawl is a beautiful yarn but it was difficult to work with on the bamboo needles I prefer. As I have discussed in a previous post once I put the project on the lone pair of addi turbo needles I own I quickly found it much easier to work with. It is a gorgeous yarn, and supposedly machine washable, but I'll probably never use it again. So glad this is done...

When I asked the hubster to model the steely winter set for me, not only was he a good doobie about it, he reminded me that he should model it with the aran sweater I made him. So sickly sweet, eh? I'm plugging along on my sweet tarts socks. One sock is done (sans kitchener), and only about 30 rows remain to be knit on the second. I also did get a half an hour this weekend to work on my burgandy throw . It was so deliciously cool on Saturday, it was a comfort to have it on my lap. (Might I add that I can't seem to get down the spelling, is it burgundy or burgandy? Isn't burgandy a place and burgundy a color? I'm too lazy to google it!) To make an honest caption out of this post, let me add that yesterday Dunkin' Donuts rudely put caffeine in my coffee, regardless of a clearly stated request to the contrary. I was still pretty amped up, even after partaking of some pharmaceutical relief at 8:45 pm, though the last sip I took was before 4:30 pm! Notwithsta...

Saturday the hubster and I took the ferry from New London, CT to Orient, NY (the north fork of LI) for a birthday luncheon. My grandmother turns 85 this year and my Aunt and Uncle put together a surprise lunch at a pub style restaurant in Riverhead, NY. As is my aspy way, I failed to mention to her that she looked great and not a day over 65. This is not hyperbole. We arrived at my Uncle's and she was fotzing around in the pool with her great grandson. The ferry ride down was brisk. We sat on the upper deck and breathed deep the salty sea hair for approximately one and a half hours. It was all knitting, all the time. I worked on the Brights socks which I've decided to call Sweet Tarts. The stitch markers are to keep track of the purl stitch decreases I'm making every six rows. The evening ferry ride back is always colder so I took the opportunity to work on the Burgundy throw. I definitely made some headway into the final set of skeins. Unfortunately, all did not remain pea...

A few months ago this beautiful aran throw showed up in a neighboring cube at work. I ogled it in secret for weeks, gathering bravado like so many days of the week, just so as to speak to my coworker about it. One day when she was out I even poked my head a bit into her cube to ogle it close up. It had at least one cable I never remember seeing before. It was fantabulous. Eventually, as these things usually are for me, out of nowhere I blurted out my admiration while walking past her cube. (Was it was the stored bravado that paid off, or just some wacky well of confidence from a convergence of hormones? Who can tell these things.) Said coworker was happy to tell me the story of the throw. Her mother made it years ago. When I inquired about the fiber, she told me in what I think was a wistful tone that it was made with acrylic yarn. I got a sense that she felt it's being acrylic threw a pall over it's obvious magnificence. I remember the dark ages of knitting, when t...