Can You Believe I'm Knitting Something?

I can tell you about this project cuz my mother only reads my blog 3 times a year, when I remind her of the address and act slightly offended.

At Xmas, just after I made the Glen Haven Shawl, she came to visit. At first quietly admiring, by the time a couple of days had gone by, she was routinely and confidently claiming her certainty that I would give the Glen Haven to her. People, I did not.

Am I a bad daughter? Well, I did knit her 2 pairs of gloves, a scarf and bought her a face potion and a variety of other gifts. I made and cleaned up after Xmas eve and day dinners. I gave her my bed.

I wanted the shawl. My body hurt, extremely, after making it. It was the last garment I knit before deciding that I needed to stop knitting for a while, in the interests of feeling less sore. I love it. I wear it daily.

Yes, she did give birth to me. So we compromised. I told her I would make her one for her bday. Which is why I'm working with this yarn:


to construct this:



I'm finished with the body portion of the shawl. I've blocked it and used wires to flatten out the reverse stockinette slightly (I'm on the fence about rolling yarn, even though that's a hallmark of the edges of this garment.) Next up: the loop and tail ribbed sections.

I discovered my insane love of chunky-weight, baby alpaca after receiving the gift of this yarn. It's like knitting a bunny. Seriously, it is SO beautiful. Furthermore, it doesn't stretch, on blocking, half as much as merino (in my brief experience) or Debbie Bliss anything. It is vaguely fuzzy. Much more so than the springy, entirely smooth Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky. I don't tend to appreciate any fuzz profile on my knitted items. It veers towards "homemade-seeming" IMO. But, in the instance of this yarn, I'm powerless to do anything but love it.

I bought it at Lettuce Knit - an LYS I value for excellent customer service. It doesn't have the best prices by a long shot. The yarn cost $90.00. But I care about this local resource. I appreciate everything it's done to help me grow as a crafter. So I support it.

Remember, you can read more about all of these objets and view additional photos on my Ravelry page.

Winter Haven

Hello Friends: Things are about to go all Xmas supernova here, so I should take this moment to remind you us that it doesn't matter if your quiche is too cooked in the crust and somewhat raw in the centre. Or if your parents are about to arrive in the midst of their (rather ill-timed, let's face it) mid-winter spiritual cleanse. No mind if you have 12 (or 50) unwrapped gifts. Don't even fuss if you need 12 gifts and you haven't a one.

I encourage a fire in the fireplace if possible. And some hot chocolate or egg nog (but homemade pls - that stuff from the grocery store is diabetes in carton!). You could always skip the nog in favour of the rum. How about some Xmas jazz on internet radio? Got dinner cooking? No? Then step out to your neighbourhood spot and let someone else do the cleaning up. Be sure to tip well!

Let's say you feel you've dropped the ball on home decorating. I bet you've got a local place that sells boughs and wreaths and greenery you can vase-up Noel-style in a jiffy.

No need to feel Xmas angst. Don't go all mid-winter miserable. Worst case scenario: all this insanity will be over in 3 days. And even if it's not your scene, don't they say a change is better than a rest?

I'll leave you with my final knitting project of 2011, a fantastic shawl, the Glen Haven (see Ravelry for more deets):




Have a wonderful next few days. I hope you have a chance to enjoy or reflect - or both! Here's to the days getting lighter. xoxo