Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Good Morning Everyone!

Another week has flown by and all I have to show for it is two new sweaters, good thing too, winter is still standing on the doorstep, quietly knocking. I'm not a fan of this time of the year, it takes me forever to adjust to the time change, the weather is fickle, it's dark in the morning again, and the threat of snow is exhausting. Need a dose of optimism? Let's try, the sap is running and the trees are budding, it's light out way past 4:30, we are in the home stretch! How about a challenge? Who thinks I can get my Clara top finished before my magnolia shrub blooms? Challenge accepted, stay tuned!

You will be relieved to know that my Brookline neckline fiasco turned out just perfectly, PHEW! I wasn't looking forward to dissecting it in the event it couldn't be fixed with blocking. Once again, blocking has saved me...I absolutely love working with the yarn, Remix Wool dk, it produces such a lovely fabric with beautiful stitch definition. There's much to be said for wool and cotton blends, they offer the best of both worlds. Wool offers warmth, elasticity and moisture wicking properties while cotton provides softness, breathability and strength. WHAT A PERFECT COMBINATION! I can't wait for you to see my finished sweater, it feels fantastic!! Speaking of feeling fantastic, OMG my Harvester sweater by Jenn Steingass, in Vento, no words...

With the completion of TWO sweaters, I was able to cast on the next KAL, I chose Clara, care to know how that happened? BUTTONS!!! I've been looking for the perfect project to use the most beautiful buttons on. Anyone else look for a pattern based on your buttons? Oddly enough, I was convinced my sweater was going to be knit up in Modern linen, until my eye caught a glimpse of three skeins of gorgeous green Tillie. It was the absolute perfect match for my black, enameled, hand painted Lily of the Valley buttons. SERENDIPITY!!! This project has not disappointed, AT ALL, it is so much fun to knit!! I'll start by saying, Judy's Magic Cast On, need I say more? If that doesn't simply lend itself to an uber cool construction, then I don't know what does. All I can say is it's so much fun to have no idea what you're doing and watching the sweater take shape as you blindly knit along, trusting the process. I will say the use of Purl Strings has been most advantageous as I work my was through each section of the top. I can't wait for you to see my progress, I am having a terrible time setting it down, I am absolutely intrigued with how this is coming together. Always in the back of my mind is, "how in the world did she come up with this?" I have such respect for the designers and their sense of ingenuity, pattern writing is such a gift.

I could never be truly happy working on just one project, could I?? NOPE! I just happened to remember a cute little sweater pattern I got from my good friend Lucinda last time I was North of the border. It's another Pope Vergara pattern, of course it has beads, and it's for SUMMER! Summer feels so far away today, do hear that wind? Full confession, I also cast on Forest Light by Jenn Steingass, my orange yarn could not stand being ignored any longer. I no sooner finish two sweaters and promptly start juggling three, sound about right? The curse continues and I see no end in sight, I'm going to need a larger closet.

We will be meeting tomorrow evening, Wednesday 6-7:30 for Stitch and Bitch, I hope you can join in the fun. Make it a great day and I'll see you soon!

Katy