Well, here’s another winter storm that fooled the forecasters. Last night when I went to bed, this area was supposed to get 2 -4 inches, with more toward the east. Now I see it’s supposed to be 5 – 8 inches in this area, and heaven knows what the coast will get. At 4 p.m. the storm has gotten a second wind and the snow is coming down quite a bit. I don’t care! Love it, love it, love it, and you can despise me all you want – this is a real winter! My sincere hope for safety for everyone whose job requires them to be out in this weather. As a knitter, however, I feel quite lucky that I can engage in my favorite pastime in any sort of weather. It also has the advantage of being seasonally appropriate! And if this weather doesn’t justify having a stash of wonderful yarn to choose from, I don’t know what does. In fact, look what I made after shopping in my stash during the last bit of bad weather:
This cute little wrap/poncho is called L’Enveloppe (don’t know why it’s spelled that way but it is). It’s a clever design from Sally Melville that intrigued me when I saw it on Ravelry a couple months ago, and when I was stalled with my knitting because I couldn’t decide what to make for spring, it jumped into my mind again. I ran upstairs and found 3 skeins of Calm from Dream in Color – 720 yards of yummy American-grown and processed wool – and I used nearly all of it for this size – perfect! Seed stitch and short rows all over, and it’s a cute and comfortable little cover-up for inside this time of year and outside when things warm up a little. Stash is beautiful!
A lovely load of Fino from Manos came in last week – so beautiful in rich colors and silky merino goodness.
We love it and have seen so many beautiful projects in it, but just cannot get enough of it. Every color sings a siren’s song, tempting you to start a new shawl or eternity scarf, or maybe this time a whole sweater! There are some very beautiful free patterns for download on the distributor’s website:
I finally did decide what to make with some 100% linen that I ordered to come in early (I must think ahead, of course, even though right now it seems like summer may never come):
It had to be simple – linen is a little stiff and slippery to knit with (you see it must be corralled to stay in a ball) and is not really amenable to fancy stitchwork. It had to be worked at a bigger gauge than you would expect, to be cool to wear in summer. There are so many ideas out there and finally I (metaphorically) just closed my eyes and pointed to a free pattern on Ravelry. I’m very happy with the result and can’t wait to wear it this summer:
It’s oversized, swingy and light and just perfect to make in linen. I’ve just started on another simple summer model in Shibui Linen. Knitting with linen seems a bit out of step with the weather, but I must get on with spring models!
Lots more to show you, but I got a late start today, so I’ll save it for next week and leave you with this cute idea from Sue Marshall’s niece, who didn’t make it to the shop before we closed for the holidays but gave Sue a gift certificate anyway (with cash to back it up):
Can you read the lower right? It says “Good until you lose the actual money” – so cute and clever!
See you soon…
