Aquarius could have been my new Easter Dress!

If I had paid attention to the groundhog, or simply learned from experience, I'd have realized this. There is no way I will want to wear one of the pretty summer dresses they're advertising for Easter Sunday on March 23. Had I put the pedal to the metal (or, in this case, bamboo) Aquarius could have been ready for an Easter debut. I think I'd look a tad silly wearing just a back and one and a half sleeves, which is exactly what I have done as I write this.

I am still saving the fronts for last as I am undecided about making a cardi out of her, or going with the pullover. I'll probably take a stab at the cardi and then maybe rip the whole front out and reknit it if I don't like how it comes out. Of course, there is always the Possibility of Doom, which is permanent UFO status if it gets to the point that "I Just Can't Face It." But, I'll deal with that later.

The thing is, I now have more UFOs than I did when I knitted out of necessity and frugality. Now knitting is entertainment and a process, not a means to an end. I wonder if other people have this same situation, where increased income had changed the role of knitting in their lives? Of course, the projects that I do finish are nicer because I use better materials than when I was, um, "thrifty." (That's code for "poor." Not broke, because broke can be fixed. Not that I'm rich, but I can better afford to use nicer materials than I used to). I'm not sure how many UFOs I do have since I don't keep track... despite what I report on Ravelry.

How many UFO's do you really have? Why are they unfinished? I think I'll do some navel contemplation about this over the next few weeks, and I'll tell you mine if you'll tell me yours.

Aquarius Growing!

Here's the back of the Age of Aquarius sweater, almost done. Sometimes it seems like the last few inches grow the slowest and no matter how many rows I've done it is still the same length. I'm still enjoying the pattern of cables, but wonder if I'll finish this before it is too warm to wear it. Let's see, when I cast it on it was a Thursday, um, February 21st and it is now March 1. It took nine days to get this big, some of which I couldn't use for knitting because of having to work for a living. Perhaps ten days per section is reasonable, if I don't get distracted, and the front is a section and the sleeves *could* be one section so the whole shebang could be over around the end of March. Hmmmm, maybe.

Age of Aquarius

An Aran sweater in "New Denim" Patons Classic Merino for me. Age of Aquarius by Kathy Zimmerman from Interweave Knits, 2001 or so. I'm thinking of knitting this as a cardigan, we'll see how it goes.

Showing above is an evening's work on the back. I like the ribbing since it doesn't suck in the body like a gathered bag and I love the way the cables work together to create such an intricate pattern.

Two shawls

This is Mom's Litka Dimnum shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls book. It was her Christmas present. It is triangular, not whacked off as it appears here. I used Elann.com's Alpaca fina in "spiced claret" which is a rusty red with castings of dark blue. I'm really happy with the way it came out.

Sarah Blanch shawl is knitted to look like hairpin lace. It is for ME and is made of the beautiful alpaca that I got for the Icarus shawl. It was spun and dyed by Birgitta Nostring of All Strings considered. It is even softer than the stuff from Elann, but that was from Peru and this grew originally in Michigan, I think.

Black Alpaca with Nepalese Recycled Sari Silk!

Well, it is done, and I almost really like it. The silk has no elasticity so it needed some reinforcement to look "right" and I did that by gathering it up on a piece of alpaca. Then I added the pearly buttons. I didn't set out to make a button front cardi but added them after the fact, when the drape of the sweater begged for buttons.

I think I read somewhere that there are about 45 knitting days until Christmas... I began my mother's shawl before Halloween and have made negative progress on it due to a miscount. I restarted it a few days ago. Tomorrow I have many meetings to attend, so I hope to make Great Progress on it. No pictures of that since Mom occasionally looks at this. She picked out the pattern and asked me to surprise her with color and content. Well, I'd better go knit now...

Bridemaid's Second Choice

Or, should I say, Bridemaid's Choice, the Second? Be that as it may, I am once again knitting on this underappreciated, versatile pattern from IK Knits, summer 2001. This one has Nepalese recycled sari silk for the neckline and the entire body is black alpaca from All Strings Considered. I bought this stuff last summer at the Scandinavian Folk Festival. I showed it to Birgitta when I saw her at the Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival and she heartily approved. (Of course she would, she is a vendor). But, I do think that the materials are suited to the design in that the sari silk is rather rigid and creates a firm neckline, and the body of the sweater is lightweight and thin and in Alpaca will be warm with a nice drape.

That teeny photo doesn't really do it justice. It is hard for me to get a good photo of the black alpaca because it does not have the gloss or shine of merino. It wants to absorb all of the flash the camera wants to muster and other photos end up over exposed. Oh, give me my plain old 35 mm with automatic nothing!

Soon, the sleeves will be off of stitch holders and I can try this on in daylight. That will be a better photo op.

Loot from the Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival!

I brought home many hours worth of spinning pleasure in the form of ready to spin rovings:
The blue and white, above, is alpaca with tussah silk (the blue is the silk) purchased from Birgitta Nostring, All Strings Considered. It is softer than velvet and the blue has a sheen to it.

Merino Tencel blend
The camel colored stuff is just a little hank the vendor gave me to practice with. The purpley, shiney ball is a future pair of socks!

This pretty mix is a wool blend with streaks of yellows, greens and bluish purples. I look forward to seeing how that spins up. Mostly, I picked that one to see what happens with colored roving.

This is still part of the original roving Debi got me started wtih. The skein on the left is the second skein, all ready to fondle, knit or simply admire.

Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival

Look at how much fun Sue is having knitting on the World's Largest Sock. I wonder what she is thinking about as she smiles so radiantly? Perhaps she is smug that she seems to be the youngest knitter on the job at that point in time. Her birthday is looming.

I worked on the big boy, too, at the Fingerlakes Fiber Arts Festival in Hemlock, NY. We enjoyed a scenic two and a half hour drive there on a beautiful Sunday. We arrived shortly after the opening, say about 10:30 AM and stayed until they were closing the place down after 4 PM.

The industrious guild members worked on a sheep to shawl project. It looked quite promising at the start time of 11 AM.

I must confess that I did not see the finished product but have no doubt that it was a beautiful sight. I got swept away supporting the vendors. More on that, next time. The festival was a delight of demos, classes, vendors and like-minded people. I thoroughly enjoyed the day and will definitely attend again.

Which of these looks like lunch?

Actually, both look like they COULD be lunch, but the actual lunch is on the right and was as big a treat as the fiber festival for me. It was Artichoke French over Beans and Greens with a couple of slices of baguette. Loved, loved, loved it.

The salad on the left is only mulberry leaves for the silkworms squirming on it. Not MY lunch.

Next time: Acquisitions and RAVELRY! Yep, I'm in! Look for Pattipurls. Well, after I get my act together there. I wonder if there is a knitting group on Ravelry for fans of Dr. Who?