Two not ufos anymore

Completed Fluffy Cotton Baby Cardigan. Years ago Classic Elite Yarns put out this as kits with one skein of the fluffy cotton, which is comprised of one strand of a solid off white cotton and one strand variegated 'fluffy' yarn, and a very simple pattern. I didn't remember that I had the kit until trying to sort through my stash, perfect timing, as a friend was just about to deliver her little boy. I was going to go buy buttons, even looked at some cute dinosaur buttons at the Stitch Niche, but decided to raid my button jar first and came up with five mis-matched ones that work well together. Maybe I am reacting to a line I heard recently in an old movie regarding Scottish 'thrift'. Or, perhaps, it was because I finished weaving in the ends at night and wanted to finish the whole thing and didn't want to have to get up and go to the store. I had hoped to finish this last week. Ah well, now you know, instead of finishing it first, I started the Rose Ribbons Shawl in the Free Fall #125, and here is the result.

This lace pattern is a lot of fun to do and especially with the handspun beautiful colors it is so satisfying to see how the colors work up, always a bit of a surprise for me. This was a 3.7 oz skein of roving dyed by Martie of Taos Sunflower, and I was able to get around 470 yds from it, and used all but about 20 yds in this shawl.

If you can 'click' on this picture I think you can see the beads that I worked into the last row before binding off. I chose a deeper pink to try to pull the deeper colors into the scallop edge. I like the way it turned out. This is the second time I've worked this pattern and now I am thinking of how much I would like to try designing my own. I have even gathered a selection of lace patterns from Barbara Walker's pattern books. Now it is time to try swatching them. Off to work!
P.S. The Rose Ribbons Shawl is one of the great patterns from Evelyn Clark's Knitting Lace Triangles.

This is one of the views of the pretty garden outside the Mockingbird Cafe. If I time it right I can get a spot in the parking lot on the side of the building. It is always so lovely, with little pathways you can follow through the garden.

I was amazed at this moth. I was visiting a friend in Bogalusa and thought how odd it was that 'that leaf had stuck to the screen like that!' when on closer examination it turned out to be insect and not leaf! Especially the side view:

It was huge! Well, probably about 3 1/2 to 4 inches across. Huge to my eyes and such a beautifully subtle pattern. I wish I knew more about these things.

Here is my friend Bernie trying on the Whisper Shawl. Bernie lost her sweet little mother Ruthie recently to that old enemy, death. I told her that every stitch is a hug; I know it cannot replace a mother's arms, but at least it will, hopefully, remind her of how much she is loved by those of us who know her.

I finished spinning my second skein of Matisse roving and now I am having a debate with myself on how to ply it. I may even ply one bobbin by winding it into a center pull ball and plying both ends together, and then the other bobbin try Navajo plying. Then I will have a two ply and a three ply skein to play around with. Is there anything wrong with that? I think not. Lets see what I actually do!

Ciao!

Garden Shawl

I did finish the Garden Shawl from Evelyn Clark's Knitting Lace Triangles book. This was my first attempt at spinning a finer yarn and I did not quite achieve a lace weight or even fingering, probably more of a dk weight yarn. I just put it away until I finally decided what to do with it. The fiber was a merino/silk blend, 60%/40%, and feels wonderful. I had just enough yarn to finish this shawl leaving out one repeat of the lace motif at the end.

Even though I had to leave out a repeat the shawl still is a nice size. Will definitely work as a neck wrap in winter time. The close up gives an idea of the pattern changes in this particular shawl, at least three of the patterns: the medallion, the flower lace and the leaf lace just before the edging.

I am finishing up a baby cardigan for a 1 year size. The baby boy was born Wednesday night so I figure I have a little time to finish. But I won't procrastinate! I hope to finish it this weekend (one sleeve and button bands to go) and get it wrapped and delivered by early next week.

Then, if I can get one more ufo finished, I promise myself I can start something new! Especially since the new Fall subscription to the Roving Art club arrives the end of the month. I can hardly wait to see what Martie has for us this time!