Good Morning Everyone!
It's here, it's here, it's here!!! Sweater Weather!!! Can you stand it? I've mentally made the transition, I just need my closet to catch up. Remnants of my summer wardrobe are still hanging about, sandals, shorts, tank tops and sundresses, it is going to be 70 starting tomorrow, the best laid plans...Even the trees seem to be a bit confused, some have turned and dropped their leaves, others are full of green leaves. I guess it's always better to be prepared, I finished my Schieffelin and have enjoyed wearing it already. I'm currently working on my next 2 projects, Jennifer Steingass' Forestland and Isabell Kraemer's Emsworth. They are the next carrots dangling in front of me, wanting to get them completed before the weather changes and of course the next KAL, the Marsali. Tick, tick, tick I think I can get them done.
I love doing colorwork and I must say, despite a few hiccups with my Forestland, I enjoyed watching the design come to life. The beauty of colorwork is, it's extremely forgiving, mistakes are almost immediately discovered, almost being the operative word. I honestly lost count the number of times I got to the end of the round only to discover the color count was off. My optimism always kicked in and my fingers crossed in hope that it was only within the last repeat I'd goofed. NOPE, pretty much every single time my mistake was at the beginning of the round, 240 stitches back. It still amazes me how one little stitch can completely rock my world. I'd given myself permission to start my next project once I completed the color work and divided the front and back, simply because I had 11" of mindless knitting in the round, enter Emsworth.
The Emsworth is the perfect project to break up the monotony of knitting in the round. Upon reading the directions, I knew it was going to be an interesting and fun construction, I love Isabel's design concepts. She'll do almost anything to avoid sewing a seam and I thank her for that. Andra has been saying for months that all the cool girls are doing seamed sweaters. I've always walked to my own beat and have never been cool, no point in trying on those shoes now. I feel like I have discovered the perfect balance with my 2 projects, one that allows me to lose myself and listen to a book, the other that forces me to be in the present and creatively engaged. Wait until you see how beautiful my vest already is, OMG!!! I thought it was going to be a cabled pattern, it's not! It's a clever combination of YO's, K2TOG, SSK and S2KP along with purl stitches creating nice texture. Not to mention I'm absolutely in love with the yarn which has been waiting patiently for me since I spotted it 2 minutes upon entering the Salida Fiber Festival almost a month ago. I always go with my gut, and once this was in my hands, I knew there wasn't anyway I'd be leaving that booth without enough for my project. I broke my own rule, I rarely buy anything until I make a loop through to see everything, but I just couldn't resist the alpaca and silk, my gut and hands were right!
Many of you have already seen my Facebook and Instagram posts showing the display case I was able to decorate at the northbound Georgia Rest Area. It was so much fun to do and I hope you will stop by to see it in person. I decided to put our beautiful COVID afghan in, I wanted as many people to see what a special community we have. I guess I wasn't ready to deliver it to the Governor, it had one more purpose to serve. I'm very proud of it and of our group that made it happen, it sends a message that remains front and center a year after it was completed. I guess the difference this year is at least with the vaccination we are able to meet in person, PHEW. Safety in numbers, I'm so glad the state of Vermont has such an incredibly high rate of vaccination, we are LUCKY!
It looks like my Malabrigo order has shipped, YAY! I was really hoping it wasn't going to take another 6 weeks to arrive. I also will be receiving a big box of hand dyed kits from Haute Boheme in the next few weeks. Word from Berroco, the Lanas Quick is a bit late, hoping we'll have it in time to cast on our KAL, the Marsali October 23rd. It's not too late to join, I've ordered more bags and booklets, stay tuned!
We will be meeting Wednesday evening 6-7:30 for Stitch and Bitch at the shop. It looks like it's going to be warm, but unfortunately it gets dark about 7:00. We can easily sit on the deck or just go inside the shop, I hope you can join in the fun. Make it a great day and I'll see you soon!
Katy