Good Morning Everyone!
The signs of Fall are starting to present themselves, some more subtle than others. I'm amazed by the number of red maple leaves that have started to carpet the ground. The cooler tempertatures in the morning and the smaller population of mosquitoes are quite noticeable and welcomed. Fall has always been my favorite time of the year. I'm not one to wash my sweaters at the end of winter, I'd much rather have them ready in the Fall. I've started changing my shop samples over from summer tops to my warm woolies, so exciting!! I noticed my lovely Marsali hanging out of shape, the shoulders were no longer nicely rounded, they'd conformed to the wooden hanger and gravity had done it's job (don't get me started on gravity). I decided she needed to be washed and reblocked so into a sweater bag she went.
I'd recently read an article about washing handknit sweaters, that a washing machine was actually better for the garments. It allowed for more of the water to spin out causing less "growth" of the sweater due to excessive water when hand washed and squeezed. So I put my bagged up sweater into the machine, set it on HAND WASH, added the Soak Wash, selected cold water and the shortest cycle. I did experience a bit of anxiety, this machine has burned me before, but this time the sweater was in a bag which SHOULD reduce the amount of agitation to the sweater. I walked away and waited patiently for the cycle to be completed. You know how you just get a pit in your stomach when intuition kicks in? I knew instantly when I opened the cover, my sweater had felted, I just knew and I was right. All I could think was, how could I be so stupid? I put my faith into someone who obviously had never been screwed over by a washing machine. In my defense, I have been known to be a forgiving person and will give second, third, and sometimes a fourth chance in an effort to restore faith in others. NEVER AGAIN WILL I PUT WOOL INTO A WASHING MACHINE!!! The good news is, the sweater still fits me, I actually like it better than before, it's definitely more fitted and is wind-proof, water repellant and defies gravity, wait until you see how nicely she hangs on a hanger lol....I do love a silver lining.
My Oksa sweater is all finished, HAND WASHED, blocked and waiting for the perfect day to debut her beautiful self. I was going to cast on my Big Love in an effort to figure out the weird construction of the back, but decided I really wanted to knit something out of Wizard. I fell in love with the Rutabaga when Andra showed me the new pattern support last Spring. It's so stinking cute and is so much fun to knit!! I rarely knit anything on a needle bigger than a #6, this is on an #11 and is going so quickly, but the biggest surprise is how much I LOVE THE COLOR!!! I've been extremely successful in selecting colors way outside my comfort zone and this one is no exception. I got really excited when I discovered a picture of an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher that was the exact same colors as my sweater, that sealed the deal for me. I had been a bit on the fence about the brightness of this colorway, but seeing that gorgeous bird gave me a boost of confidence. Seriously, who wouldn't want to look like an Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher?? Time will tell, let's see if I can pull it off.
I am meeting today with the owner/dyer of Woolerton Estates Yarn, YAY!!! I recently discovered them when visiting Lucinda at Mont Tricot. I bought a couple skeins of their yarn to knit my Alpine Bloom sweater, I simply couldn't resist the Silk, Alpaca, and Linen blend, it's scrumptious!! They have a beautiful selection of Tweed which I'm very interested in seeing. Hopefully they will leave me some samples so I can show them to you tomorrow evening, Wednesday, when we meet for Stitch and Bitch from 6-7:30. I placed the Atenti Bag order on Saturday, I am so excited to get my new bag. I spoke with Nina yesterday and she told me the lead time is about 3 weeks, I will let you know when they get here.
Make it a great day, I'll see you soon!
Katy
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