One of the Kewl Kids

I could hardly wait for the sun to come up this morning. I knew this yarn was going to be beautiful but I couldn't see all that well in the dim light of Paco's Mexican Restaurant. (That's where my friend the other Lisa took me for dinner last night.) It's absolutely gorgeous. I know what I'm going to make with it but that'll come later. I feel like such a kewl kid having my very own Hand Maiden Sea Silk.



And that wasn't all. I dug down through the layers of tissue and found this Socks That Rock medium weight sock yarn. Bella Coola. All I can see is swimming pools and ocean beaches. Or maybe shady pine tree glens and clear skies and deep water mountain lakes.



I can't get a decent picture of this Yarn Place Graceful. There's 2400 yards of frog hair weight. Sometimes it looks jade, sometimes teal and there's some dark beige mixed in that I can't quite capture. I've been instructed as to what I'm supposed to make with it but I haven't found a pattern yet.

I think I need to go away for a couple of months to some place where there is no internet, no yarn shops and maybe no Mexican restaurants and try to get some of this knit up. I love it all. It's been an incredible birthday week, or two weeks really, and there's still some to come but that won't be for a while. I thank you all for the good wishes, the incredible gifts and for stopping by my blog. It's just so kewl!



p.s. I forgot to mention the new Berroco sock pattern book. Have you seen it yet? I need to make the Cork sock right now! Just as soon as I find a shop that has the Berroco sock yarn. And then maybe the tabby socks, Aberdeen or Newcastle.

Lisa, you've really outdone yourself. Thanks so much for your friendship and all the things you do to brighten my life. And Hannah too!

Check your gauge and your links!

Something woke me up at 3:45 this morning. I'm not sure if it was seventeen pounds of feline hunger that came crashing down or the errant Niagara that started pounding the metal awning that covers my downstairs neighbors' patio. The cat's been a little peckish lately and hasn't been inclined to getting up early, so I've been sleeping until almost five. He's fine now though so he likes to get up before the sun is anywhere near where we live. But I'm leaning more toward thinking it was the rain. There was no mention of rain in the forecast last night, certainly not torrential rain. Only some clouds and high winds starting in the afternoon.

I got up and looked out. Yep. That's rain all right. And it continued, not quite as forcefully, for a couple of hours. It seems to be gone now. We've had such near-summer weather lately that I've been lulled into putting away my heavy coat, hat and most of the scarves. Maybe I was premature.

A couple of days ago I put a link on my blog that was supposed to go here. It didn't. I usually check all my links before I finish my blog entry. This time though I was so sure I knew the link by heart and I was running late so I didn't bother to check. I hope I've learned my lesson. I apologize to anyone who followed the original link. I've fixed it now.

So, what are your Valentine's Day plans? Being sans Valentine I don't have anything special going on. I'll be working on those socks and later I'll go over to Unraveled and see who's hanging out there. We don't have knitting group tonight so I will probably come home and try some of the birthday wine. For those of you with Valentines, enjoy yourselves. The rest of us can just mind our own knitting. Don't forget to check your gauge.

The party's over, more or less

Now that the festivities have calmed down a bit I've been getting back to my knitting. I haven't started anything new though. I have a couple of pairs of socks that I'm working on. And I'm still trying to get somewhere with the Kureyon sweater I'm making for myself. This pair of socks is called Stanfield 196 and is from More Sensational Knitted Socks
by Charlene Schurch. I had seen other stitch patterns in her two sock books that were Stanfield something or other. I didn't know what that meant except I more or less concluded it was a reference to a stitch compendium. Then I read about the Stanfield books when I was messing around on Ravelry. I'd never heard of those books. So now I have something to add to my next wish list. I'm using some Sockotta that I got one day when I found myself in a yarn shop and had no knitting project to work on but I had some dpns.

The other pair is Plain Vanilla. This is my go to pattern for when I need a simple project for when I'm at work or am socializing. I think it was originally called the 56 row sock. It's the one I started with a long time ago and it's still one of my favorites. Although I think Plain Vanilla doesn't do justice to vanilla. Sorta makes vanilla sound like something bad. I like vanilla, especially ice cream, and I like the color as well. Anyway, I'm using some yarn I got at the Trash to Treasure event we had at A Stitch in Time last November. There was no label so I'm not sure what the brand is but it's really nice to work with.

I don't have a picture yet of my sweater progress. I'm still working on the second sleeve. I haven't done either of the body pieces though so I'm not a far along as it sounds.

The fun continues

First, a fashion update. Lisa loved the new Genghis Kahn hat. I clipped the yarn and wove in the ends while we were celebrating last night. The fit is perfect and she promises she'll wear it. Most of the photos that I took using a flash were not good. I didn't use a flash here and even though it's muddy looking it's my favorite. What's not to love about a happy, smiling face?

On Saturday I went to hang out at Unraveled and to meet up with the other Lisa. While I was waiting (and waiting) another friend come in to wish me happy birthday and to gift me with some more Koigu. Some people just know how to get to me. I'm pretty sure these skeins with be socks for me. That'll be a first. I'm already looking at Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. Thanks, Rena.

And Susan, a friend and sometimes student, brought me a new book, Don't Get Too Comfortable by David Rakoff that promises to be very entertaining. A gift card from Vroman's, a local concrete and stucco bookstore, from Estelle. Imagine. Not buying books on-line! What a treat! Don't tell Overstock. Some wine from another friend and occasional student. And there was an accidental birthday cake. Eileen didn't know it was my birthday when she brought in that moist, rich chocolate cake.

My daughter treated me to a concert at Cal Tech's Beckman Auditorium. (I should look up those links but it's getting late and I have to get ready to go to A Stitch in Time.) The Academy of Ancient Music was in Pasadena for the day, passing through on their way from Wisconsin to Seattle. It was a marvelous afternoon. We had great seats. There's just nothing to compare to a live music performance. And two hours of live Baroque music is just not to be beat. We went to Islands later because it was my birthday and I wanted one of their super juicy burgers. We had a margarita, of course, and I don't recommend them. Way too sweet, like maybe there was some pineapple in there. But the fries were perfect.

I had lots of calls from siblings and friends so not much knitting got done yesterday. I'm about done with a pair of plain vanilla socks, well, the first sock. Maybe I'll get that done today, unless there's a good turnout of knitters.

And there were margaritas

What is this stack of cards and envelopes? It isn't Christmas. So that can only mean one thing. I'm having yet another birthday. I know. I can't believe it myself. Wasn't it just a couple of months ago that I had one?

Thanks to my friend Mendy all the boiz and most of the grrls in my knitting group showed up to celebrate (venerate?) me. I had met up with my friend Mario earlier for happy hour margaritas at Rudy's Mexican Restaurant. Chris brought the fixings for more margaritas. They were excellent! There was a fantastic chocolate mousse cake, with discreetly few candles, and lots of presents and cards. Even some family heirloom Mardi Gras beads (with an R rated medallion). Thanks, Andy. And tulips from Renee and some new dpns and a book (Zen and the Art of Knitting) from Mario. A new indoor/outdoor thermometer from Judy. She remembered that I had wanted one of those, even if I didn't remember. And still to come, several lunch/dinner engagements with Thom, Mendy and Chris. Boy, I hope I didn't leave anyone out.

Obviously I didn't get much knitting done. One round on a new pair of socks, and that one I had to tink. It was great to be there with all those warm-hearted knitting friends and to just relax into the glow.

In case anyone asks, 69 is the new... ummm...48?

The Genghis Kahn hat

That's not the name given to the pattern in Hip Knit Hats, Cathy Carron's book of forty hats. It's actually Ella but I think the pointed top and the fuzzy, soft multi-color yarn gives the hat an exotic but still rustic look. Well, that's what I kept thinking while I was working on this hat.

It's my first project using entrelac. I've taught entrelac but have never actually made anything with it. In the book all the photos show the hat in a solid color. I wanted to use that skein of Noro Big Kureyon and I thought the entrelac would be more obvious. Too bad the colors look so washed out. They are soft but they're a bit more intense that what you see here.

There are a couple of things I would change if I were to knit this pattern again. The wrapped cast-on is too bulky so the hat is more pointed than I wanted. If you like the exotic look it's fine though. And there are only six increases per round (the hat is knit top down as are most of the hats in this book) and I think that makes for too much of a cone shape. Maybe you like the cone shape. So I'd probably recalculate and have increases at eight points which I think would make more of a dome shape.

Anyway, the specs:

1 skein Big Kureyon color number 5, 120 meters/130 yards (I had about 3 yards left.)
1 set size 7mm/10.5US dpns and 1 24" circ in the same size.
Started and finished February 6, 2008.

I still need to weave in the ends but I'm waiting for Lisa to try it on and to see if she thinks she would ever wear it. If it doesn't fit or if she can't see herself wearing it, I will recycle the yarn into a different hat.

Losing control

I've been trying to control my yarn purchases, limiting them to only the most essential items. Unraveled just received their shipment of Koigu. I spent the whole day over there and resisted buying any of it. That is until the end of the day. I now have three skeins of this new color way.



I did control my temptation to start a new project long enough to finish the Tidal Wave socks. I think it only took me a year to knit these socks. Which is silly since I really like the stitch pattern and the yarn, Tofutsies from Southwest Trading.

Some things though you just can't control. No matter how you plan. I was supposed to go on a yarn shop hop today but things over which I have no control interfered so the shopping has been delayed for a couple of weeks. I expect there will still be plenty of yarn when I do get to go so it's not such a big deal.



Sometimes even the things you can control will get away from you. I started this hat last night using some Noro Big Kureyon that I recently acquired. I should have checked the yardage requirement but I didn't. I sorta vaguely remembered it. The problem with that though was that it was for a different pattern. Now I could make the hat shorter than the pattern and it would work okay as a hat but it wouldn't be what I had in mind. So, I've found another pattern that will work with this yarn and will only leave a couple of yards unused. And I've been meaning to do some entrelac anyway. So the four hours I spent last knit won't go to waste. I've learned a lesson if nothing else.

Fridays are your friend.

In the There's Always Room for More Christmas department, here's some Schaefer Anne sock yarn that I got a week or so ago from Christine at Unraveled for Christmas. She knows that I have a genuine weakness for this yarn. I used to buy it practically on a skein-a-week basis when it was in stock. I'm taking this one with me to work today so I can get in wound and will probably start some socks this weekend. Something a little lacy but with some nubby texture. I have Knitting on the Road by Nancy Bush. I think that's a good place to start.

Other than that I have nothing new to report except that I'm done with my jury duty rotation. And I didn't have to actually show up. Just that one heart-stopping call each evening to find out if I would have the next day free to fritter away or if I'd be dealing with LA traffic and sitting in a room full of people I've never met. So anyway, I'm done for at least a year.

I worked on my Tofutsie socks yesterday and finished the gusset decreases. The stitch pattern doesn't lend itself to being centered over the instep and down the foot so it's all knit from here on out. Easy enough to do at work today.

Mood swing

Yesterday I had planned to spend some time on my Palindrome Scarf. I'm enjoying the knitting as it's fairly mindless and given the weight of the yarn and the needle size it's growing fairly quickly. I'm using some really old Brunswick Germantown. I got this yarn some time in the mid '90s. It was supposed to be part of a Kaffe Fassett coat. That didn't happen. This is the kind of yarn that makes people think they can't wear wool. It has a slightly coarse feel and is stiff. I don't think anyone makes Germantown anymore. And I'm pretty sure Brunswick is out of business or has been absorbed by some other company. At any rate, I haven't seen the brand anywhere.

So, after going to the market and starting a load of laundry, I sat down to knit. But my eye was attracted to these socks.



I knit the first sock sometime last year. I don't know why I put them aside. Oh, yeah. I needed to see them tried on before I finished the toe. Anyway, I decided I really was more in the mood for small needles and tiny stitches than for cables and large needles. I finished the leg and the heel. I'll spend some time with the gusset today before I go to my knitting group this evening.

The photo is kinda burned out. So here's a somewhat better idea of what the yarn really looks like.



I'm using Tofutsies from Southwest Trading Company. It's all very nice except it does split like anything so you have to keep your eye on what you're doing. And there have been knots and broken strands in the second half of the skein.

But I have to make some brownies first.

Moving on

I worked for hours and hours on this sock. It was tough, tedious and tiresome. Knitting, for me anyway, should be pleasurable and have a certain flow to it that makes the process soothing and somehow fulfilling. That just wasn't happening with this sock.

So, after letting the sock rest for a couple of days, I've ripped the whole thing. Not that I'm the only one. I should have paid more attention to the comments I'd been reading around blogdom. I'm so unhappy with this yarn that I've recommended that the pending shipment from the distributor be cancelled. If that can't happen I will make another sock but in plain knit for a shop sample. There are just too many other, more enjoyable, yarns out there to spend the amount of time I was spending on this yarn.

I'm still on jury duty for the week but so far haven't had to check in. I have two more days of waiting. I'd sure be disappointed if I have to show up on Friday. Meanwhile, I've run out of yarn for the zigzag scarf. I thought I'd have enough but I'm not even half way to where I want to be. I have some more of the Brown Sheep Nature Spun in my stash but it turns out not to be the same color. I haven't seen this particular yarn at any of the yarn shops around here so I guess I'll be making a trip to Velona's some time soon.

I also started a Palindrome scarf. I have a couple of skeins of Brunswick Germantown that I got maybe twelve years ago that I'm using. No pic today. Gotta save something for tomorrow.

I never met a yarn I didn't like,

until now. And it's not really that I don't like the yarn (Noro Kureyon Sock Yarn). It's just that it's extremely tedious to knit it. I did my first attempt on US 2 dpns but it was just too loose and leggy for a sock. So I'm working on US 0s, my first time with that small of a needle.

I love the colors but not the texture. It's pretty scratchy. I've read that the yarn softens a bit when it's washed. So maybe it'll get better. The yarn has no give so all those K2togs are really a pain. And the yarn sticks to itself so it doesn't feed smoothly as you're knitting. I had to rip back three rows last night to find a missing stitch. That took at least an hour! Can't see the stitches all that well and they don't come undone easily like they do with a smooth, springy wool.

These socks are taking a ludicrous amount of time to knit. But then knitting socks is pretty ludicrous in the first place. Not that it isn't a lot of fun. It's a good thing that I'm more of a process knitter than a product knitter. These socks may go with me to my grave.

What's this? My friend Monika honored me with this award, along with nine other bloggers that she finds entertaining, educational or just fun to read. Isn't that nice? Thanks, Monika. I'm still working on my list of people that I want to send the button to. This is a great way to find new blogs to read. Not only did I find the ones on her list but I saw another blog with the same button and found ten other blogs that I didn't know about. There goes another chunk of time!

I know. It's weird to post over the weekend. But I haven't posted since early this week. There hasn't been all that much going on except the weather and you can read about that in the newspaper. This was the first morning that I could take my walk. It's been so cold and the rain has been pretty constant. So I went out this morning and actually enjoyed being out. It was still cold but the sun was up and there was plenty of blue sky. That's supposed to be over later today or tomorrow and we'll be in the middle of another storm. It's hard to believe right now though. It's a gorgeous day.

I have jury duty next week. I called this morning and don't have to go in on Monday so I'll be at A Stitch in Time. I'll call again on Monday night to see about Tuesday. I don't have a problem with being on jury duty but I didn't want to miss seeing my friends and students on Monday. So I hope I don't have jury duty on Tuesday. I have a knitting group that day. Wednesday would be okay but make it a one day trial please. I have things to do on Thursday and Friday.

Beret Done

The beret was finished last night. This photo is pretty close to the actual color of the yarn. The whole thing was an easy knit and was finished with no problems.

Here it is in its circular perfection. Now if it will just fit.

It's cold and wet here today. I'm planning on staying in and trying to stay warm except I have to go to Kaiser for some lab work. And then I need to go to Monrovia to deliver a book that I promised a friend and drop off some "peanuts" for Mendy and some dpns that she needs. Then I'll come home and work on the Noro sweater I started for myself sometime last year.

Beret

Alison gave me this box of Shi Bui sock yarn that she picked up at TNNA last week. There isn't enough yarn to make a pair of socks. So I'm making a beret.






It's chocolate, dark and light. And the yarn is really nice, smooth and silky, just like a really good chocolate.

It's still Christmas!

H (of L&H fame) sent me these terrific man-necklaces. She made them just for me. Such a clever girl! I really like them. I haven't worn anything like this since puka beads were the in thing. Was that the 70's? I did have a few gold neck chains too. Don't know exactly whatever happened to those.

Anyway. I'm tickled to have these and to think that H made them just for me. She fabricated the metal pieces, attached the closures. Everything! I had to get some help from L to put one on yesterday. Poor eyesight, lack of coordination, no mirror. I wore it the whole evening.

It was a very knit day yesterday. Went to Mendy's for our regular Tuesday morning knit group, with lunch included, and knit until around 2:30. Then it was knitting at Unraveled until they closed at five. I was waiting for the lady that usually cuts my hair to show up at the barbershop across the street. She never arrived.

Then it was off to Rudy's Mexican Restaurant for margaritas and enchiladas. Then back to Unraveled for more knitting. Nothing to show you though since it's just more of what you've already seen. More knitting today between chores and errands.

I went, I saw,

I was overwhelmed. I had forgotten how huge the TNNA trade show really is, and I'm only talking about the knitting yarns. There's needlepoint too.

The Long Beach Convention Center is huge too. The first thing that happened was that I noticed it had been moved since the last time I was there so I had to drive around a bit to find it. Then I had to drive around some more to find the entrance. Some people have suggested that I just got off at the wrong exit. Could be. But I got there right at ten when the doors were about to open. Before I even got inside I had said hello to Stephanie (to know her is to love her) from Unwind. And then Cindy from Alamitos Bay Yarn Company and Ann Mary, my old boss from Skein.

I hadn't been to TNNA for five or six years so I was looking forward to seeing lots of vendors and reps that I have known over the years. But I started out by looking through some of the vendors. First up was Cherry Tree Hill. I have always liked their yarns and have a lot of it in my stash. I didn't see anything really new. There might have been some new colors.

Next I went to Melanie Falick Books. They're the publishers of one of my current favorites, Knitting New Scarves
by Lynne Barr. They had all the scarves from the book. I got a canvas tote bag as well as a mock-up of their upcoming book Knit-a-long.

I wandered over to Farmhouse Yarns and petted some of their really rustic yarns. I had used some of their yarn for one of the scarves I made for Christmas so it was fun to see what other things they had. Their sock yarn is a bit heavier than what I'm used to and would probably be too warm for the climate here but I imagine it would be great for CT where they're located.

Went to Artyarns next and fell in love with their beaded silk. Incredible colors. I'm not in charge of buying so I don't know if we're getting any of that. Maybe we could special order.

Trendsetter had a huge space filled with their signature novelty yarns plus some of their new colors of Tonalita and other more conventional yarns. I know some Bazaar and Intermezzo were ordered. Very chic, if you like shine. Lana Knits was right next door with a nice display of their hemp yarns. Some cute kits for small projects. Unfortunately we're not getting any of that.

Looked at the Blue Heron Yarns. I like them a lot. Great, wild colors. We don't carry it but they have some at Unraveled in Monrovia. Maybe they'll be getting some new colors soon.

At Westminster Fibers I ran into our Rowan yarn rep. I've known her for at least twelve years since the time I was at Mariposa, a now defunct yarn shop. It was great to see her and get a hug.

I spent a lot of time admiring the Habu fibers. Their stuff is so amazing. They had some kits available and a good selection of garments and accessories that were knit from their unusual fibers. It's probably a good thing I'm not in charge of buying or we'd be overbought for sure.

Zipped through Muench and Manos del Uruguay and on to Nashua Knits. They had the yarn Julia that is used in all the patterns in Kristen Nicholas' new book Kristen Knits so I finally got to see those.

My friend Nancy is rep for Plymouth Yarn so I stopped by to say hello and remind her that we're supposed to be getting together for dinner. They have a large selection of yarns but I don't see much of it around here. Their Encore is about it. So I moved on to Rio de la Plata. Another yarn that I'd like to have every color and every yarn in. I hope Stephanie got some for Unwind since we're not getting any.

It was right about here that I ran into Annie Modesitt. I hadn't seen her in a couple of years. She's been through a lot since last I saw her. It was good to get to spend some time with her and get some extra big hugs.

Lorna's Laces has a new yarn they're calling their green line. All organic. I don't think it's on their web site yet. It's pretty and has a nice hand. Colors are soft and muted pastels. I'd buy it if I saw it somewhere.

Spent some time in Brown Sheep's booth. Nothing really new there but it was enjoyable talking with them. I wandered around some, deciding where to look next. That's when I ran into Rob and Matt from Threadbear Fiber Arts. I've wanted to meet them for a long time so I was hoping to run into them. It was great. We didn't have much time as they were trying to buy some of everything there. I hope I can get to Lansing MI someday.

I went next to Claudia's Handpaints and fell in love again. This one we're getting for A Stitch in Time. In about six to eight weeks. I think we're getting Linen Lace and some of their merino fingering weight in a lot of colors. I'm very excited about this.

I'm almost done.

I met Rick Mondragon from Knitter's Magazine. We talked about his new book that coming out this spring. It's actually a compendium of men's sweaters that have appeared in Knitter's in the past.

At Berroco I watched Norah Gaughan write up a big order for someonw. I wanted to say hello so I hung out for a while and looked at their new yarns, Natura Lin, linen jeans, Seduce, Sox and Comfort DK. I left without saying hello. It was a really big order.

I met up with Alison and Gina for lunch. We talked about what we had seen and stuff like that. Alison wanted me to go see the new Hiya Hiya needles. So I did and tried out their new 9 inch circular needle. I think I could get used to them for sock knitting. A little awkward at first. I got some samples of some of their more conventional sizes.

My almost last stop was Ozark Handspun. Have you seen this stuff? It's wild. We're getting some of that. While I was at their booth I chatted with Janice Rosema. She's a fiber artist who specializes in free form crochet and knitting. There is talk of having her for a class or two at A Stitch in Time. Very exciting that.

I made one last short sweep through some of the aisles and stopped to chat with the lady at Chris Bylsma Designs. Some cute patterns that I need to let Alison know about.

There was so much more to see. I think I know why the convention last for three days.

This is the longest post I've ever written, I think. I haven't taken the time to check all the links or my spelling/typing. I'll do it in the morning. If you have a problem with any of the links, let me know and I'll see if I can fix them.

Found

I found the shawl pattern that I mentioned yesterday. I told you it was simple.

I did get a bit more done on it yesterday. It doesn't look much different, just a smidge longer. And I did a few rows on the current zigzag scarf last night while we were knitting at Estelle's. Mendy, who usually hosts our knit nights, has been unwell for the past month or so and decided to take this week off to see if she could get over whatever it is that's causing her to feel unwell. So we went to Estelle's instead. A smallish group but fun nevertheless. We had a delicious raspberry swirl coffee cake. Made from scratch by our lovely hostess.

I'm going to TNNA tomorrow. With any luck I'll be able to meet some of the people whose blogs I read as well as get some idea of what the new yarns are going to look like. We won't be allowed to take pictures but I hope there'll be something to write about on Monday.

Starting

A new shawl. I found this pattern on-line somewhere. I don't remember where and there's nothing on the print out that gives me a clue. It's pretty simple but I like that. It's easy enough that I could take it along with me to work or to a knit night.

The pattern calls for Jaeger Sienna, a very nice sport weight cotton yarn. I didn't have any of that but I have a ton of Rowan Sea Breeze in several colors. It's similar to the Jaeger except it's not mercerized so it's not as shiny or as hard on your hands. I'm pretty sure it's discontinued. I must have had this in stash for more than ten years. Some of the balls have faded a bit during that time so I'm reeling off that part before I knit with it. I learned my lesson when I made the Swan Lake shawl last summer and used some of the same yarn, in a different color, and didn't notice the fading until I'd already finished the shawl. Anyway, the color isn't quite so intense as the photo. It's a little grayer and matte.

Pink

It was like being in the middle of a rococo painting. This is the sunrise at shortly after seven this morning. The whole sky was this lush pink haze. Of course I haven't captured it but it was amazing, almost tangible.



Same view without so much cropping. By the time I got myself ready to go for the morning walk all the pink was gone and there was just blue sky and fluffy white clouds. It's a beautiful Southern California day. Looks like the rain is gone for a while.

Yesterday was pretty slow at A Stitch in Time. I did see a couple of friends and students. My latest zigzag scarf attracted a lot of attention though. I worked on it for most of the morning and then switched to some socks that have been in the knitting bag for a while. Mindless, take-along socks.

I could spend today doing chores. But I'm not going to. There's plenty of time for that. Today I'm going to knit for as long as I can. And nap. And read some of the books I got for Christmas. And maybe go out for lunch.

Another Zigzag

It was a very low key weekend. Plenty of rain though. I finished the Grape Fiesta Scarf but I guess I'll have to steam it before it will stay flat. The scarf wants to fold in from the edges so it ends up looking about half as wide as it really is. I think it's a tension thing between the ribbed edges and the stockinette center. So when I get around to it I'll press it and see what happens.

I'm in sort of a use up the odds and ends kind of mood. I started this Zigzag scarf in order to use up two almost full skeins of Brown Sheep Nature Spun. I've made several of these scarves using a self-striping yarn. This time I'm alternating colors every two rows. It's a good take along project, if you don't mind chasing the yarn all over the place.

Another Fiesta

Shortly after finishing my first Fiesta Scarf (aka Forsa) I cast on for another version. I'm using some Lang Mille Colori that I got at A Stitch in Time when we had the Trash to Treasures sale last November. Four skeins.

I had tried other scarves using this yarn but didn't like the way the stripes looked. They were too wide and somehow made the colors look muddy and unrelated. I had decided to work the yarn in a longways scarf so the the stripes would generally not be more than one row wide. After seeing how well the Noro Kureyon worked in this pattern I cast on for another one. I'm calling it Grape Fiesta.

I used a provisional cast on this time. See the light blue row? I think the edges will look much better if the cast on and cast off are alike. Once I finish the second set of K2P2 ribbing and have bound off I will undo the provisional cast on and bind off again. I should know by the end of today.

We're still waiting for the rain. It's pretty overcast and gloomy so maybe it will happen after all.