Candy Season (which lasts from just after Thanksgiving through Easter) is over early this year. I had a hard time cramming all the calories into this short season, but somehow I managed it. I want to thank everyone who contributed to my success, including but not limited to Deb Hawk, who brought in the most luscious peanut butter eggs from her church, and David, who sent a dozen Ady cupcakes, and the Rite Aid in West Reading, who had a sale on candy eggs when I went in there for something completely unrelated.
Now comes Diet Season, which is when I try to get rid of the extra pounds that I’ve put on this winter. Anyone who wants to donate lettuce will be welcome.
I hope everyone had a good Easter/Passover last week. It was even spring for a couple of days – it was fun, wasn’t it, to be able to go outside without a heavy coat, scarf and gloves. I still haven’t begun to put heavy sweaters away for the season, and wearing lightweight spring sweaters is still out of the question. Meanwhile, it still feels good to be knitting with wool, which I am. I’m doing my second Inspira Cowl – I think they’re like potato chips, you can’t just make one, they’re too much fun! If you take Karen’s class on the 28th, you’ll see what I mean. My first was very colorful:
I made it from Kureyon and a new color of River Twist (here are the 4 new colors we just got in):
My new one is all neutrals, and Karen’s, which is so pretty and feels like heaven, is made from Mountain Goat and Eco Duo. Of course I forgot to get pictures of them. Here’s why I did nothing special over the long weekend: I started out with a list of 27 things I wanted or needed to do over these three days. Some were insipid little things that I’d just been putting off (call a plumber) and some were time-consuming (clear off my desk) and some were just the normal things I do every week (laundry, groceries, pay bills, do shop paperwork). I just want you to know that I’m down to 4 things on the list with half a day to go so there’s a good chance I’ll get through them. So anyway, forgive the lack of photos!
I did get pictures of two of the beautiful Parfait sweaters from the class that just finished. This sweater is a tour de force of knitterly techniques. Just look at this sleeve detail from Lynda Slovitsky’s sweater:
Eyelets, lace, bobbles, incorporated decreases and that’s just the sleeve. Anyway they’re gorgeous. Here is the back of Lynda’s:
And here is Deb Hawk’s in full so you can actually see the great style that goes along with all the beautiful details:
Nadine Royer made this gorgeous baby blanket for her first grandchild from Rialto 4-ply extrafine merino. Talk about your heirlooms, it doesn’t get any more precious than this:
And Beth Blair made this model for the shop in Sprout, a chunky machine-washable organic cotton. It’s a topdown seamless design with a leaf motif around the yoke, then easy stockinette from there down. I love it and it’s super cute to wear – just a great summer cardigan.
Okay, I must get on with my list, and the plumber is on his way, so I’ll leave you with these images of our darling Purl.
Here she is fast asleep and almost invisible amongst her collection of toys (most of which used to be Jack’s but are now community property):
and here she is at the top of the stairs at the shop. Until last week she could only get down one step by sort of sliding down a knitting bag. Now she has mastered going down steps and can get everywhere, so we’re really having to keep an eye on her:
I love that she’s starting to look cocker-spaniely instead of generic-puppy. She’s still a tiny peanut and still having troubles swallowing, but I have high hopes that as she gets bigger and stronger, the issue will correct itself. Meanwhile, we’re spending a great deal of time (and money) at the vet to be sure it’s nothing serious. She’s worth every minute and every cent!
See you soon…
Trish
