Ooo… softness

There’s something really nice about an anticipated package showing up a whole day early. I ordered 3 balls of Kidsilk Haze in Majesty and Rowan 34 from Knit Happens last week after they announced a sale. (Unfortunately, the day after I placed the order I heard about the eBay place that sells Kidsilk Haze for $9.50… *sigh*) According to UPS, my package was to arrive on Tuesday. I like to check how things are going (even when there’s a date set for delivery and it says it’s on time. Things can change…), so this afternoon I ran my tracking number through the UPS website, and it says it was delivered this morning. But, the nice shipping guy had not been by my desk. I decided to check my mailbox on my way to get some tea from the breakroom, and that’s where I found a nice package filling my cubby hole. 🙂

The Rowan magazine is lot bigger than I thought it was going to be. And there’s actually some other pretty things in it… sadly, Rowan considers a 40 inch bust measurement to be an XL. I may have lost 25 lbs on my diet, but I’m still 6 inches away from a 40 inch bust.

The Kidsilk Haze is so soft. I know people have been fawning over it all around the knitting universe, but wow. I’m glad I decided to make Birch out of the yarn called for. This will make a really nice shawl.

I think I’ll probably be casting on tonight…

A Third Incarnation

Friday night began the third incarnation of the Brooks Farm Duet shawl. I had to run the yarn through my ball winder twice to get a manageable ball, but it was well mollified. I discovered looking through my shawl books that the Gracie shawl from Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves is the Elfin lace pattern, so I’m using the swatch chart for my shawl. I didn’t want to make a Farosee shawl, and the swatch chart is just the lace pattern in a triangle. Reading the chart is a lot easier than using the written directions from Barbara Walker’s Treasury. I’ve actually gotten a few repeats done, and of course, I’ve forgotten to take a picture.

But that’s okay, because I cast on for another project on Sunday. I got the needles I needed for Ribby Cardi on Saturday. The yarn convinced me to get started, reminding me how cold my cube has been lately (I don’t care what the facilities guys says he’s done, it’s still cold), and how a nice sweater would help to keep me from turning into an icicle at my desk. It’s going really fast… I’ve gotten about 9 inches done so far (I’m knitting the body as a whole), and I’m going to make the underarm length 15 instead of the 13.5 the pattern calls for cause shorter shirts always ride up when I sit down.

I have broken down and purchased Rowan 34 and 3 balls of Kidsilk Haze in Majasty to make Birch. I would blame people, but Cate has already done a fine job. 🙂 I’m trying to look at this as a good thing… it’s my reward for having lost 23 lbs so far on my diet. While I am quite happy to have gotten my 20 lb star at my Weight Watchers meeting yesterday, I needed something a bit more substantial to celebrate, so of course, I bought yarn.