I hope everyone who celebrated had a wonderful Christmas, and you are enjoying some time off to rest. I also want to say thank you for your comments to my post about shelters. Hopefully they all received as wonderful a response as this one.
After searching in vain locally for the La Boheme Rainforest yarn I wanted, I finally called the store where I first saw it and ordered their one skein. For some reason, this particular dyelot looks very different from the skeins I saw for sale online. The greens and magenta are more fiery, and the brown is a copper instead of a tan-ginger. If you happen to see this particular dyelot at your LYS or know of someone selling a skein, please let me know.
Fiesta La Boheme Rainforest Color 11374, Dyelot 12125
Wendy surprised me with a lovely Christmas package. I love the oceany colors of the yarn and purse, and the smores ornament is so cute! She also included a cat toy, which Rosie hid before I could get it in the photo. I've never seen or knitted with the Cider Moon before, so this will be a treat. Thank you!
Cider Moon "Glacier" Hand Dyed Yarn in Seagrass
Back in the summer, I bought nine of skeins of DiVe Teseo to make a triangle shawl, something simple to throw on when I'm home and freezing cold. After searching through a bunch of patterns, not finding anything quite right, I decided to do a rectangular Gossamer Wrap from Australia's Creative Knitting magazine. [Does anyone know if this is still being published?]. This yarn is much heavier than the Colinette Mohair in the pattern, so the gossamer effect is lost, but I think the yarnovers help to soften the striping. I was hoping to break up the stripes altogether, but I'm not sure that's possible with this yarn, definitely not with stockinette stitch. The finished shawl should be about 30" x 90" minus fringe.
This is the first of 8 skeins; I just started the second ball. Great car/TV knitting!
Tim finally came downstairs mid-December, after his self-imposed exile upstairs when Rainy and Rosie first came home to live with us. It's nice to have my model back.
What do you think of the new issue of Knitscene? Lots of variations on the Central Park Hoodie (must be their most popular pattern ever). My favorite pattern is the Papillion Top, though I like the Frontier Blues Jacket by Wendy Bernard too. Must finish the winter knits first.
A happy, healthy, and safe new year to everyone!!
Your shawl looks very nice and Tim is as cute as always!
Posted by: Beth | December 30, 2007 at 07:59 AM
Looks like you've got a good match between yarn and pattern for the new shawl. I really like it, especially with the pretty striping effect.
Posted by: sarah | December 30, 2007 at 09:51 AM
Isn't Wendy sweet and thoughtful?! And she does such lovely wrapping. I love the texture of that wrap! What stitch is that?! Welcome back, Tim!!
Happy New Year to all of you!
Posted by: Chris | December 30, 2007 at 10:31 AM
Hi, Tim!!! It's good to see you back to work enhancing the handknits. Also good to see all they yarny goodness that came your way. The shawl is going to be just yummy!!
Posted by: Sheepish Annie | December 30, 2007 at 11:06 AM
I like that shawl!
And it's nice to meet Tim, he is quite handsome. Since I'm new here, they are all new to me ...
Happy New Year to all of you!
Posted by: Bridget | December 30, 2007 at 11:38 AM
That Fiesta yarn is very pretty. I'll check my LYS for that colorway. Your shawl looks great too -- love the pinks and purples.
Posted by: lori | December 30, 2007 at 07:08 PM
Oh, I'm so glad to hear that the kids are behaving, and getting along (as only cats can...).
I think Creative Knitting is still around, I see it on the news stands. I haven't seen the new Knitscene yet...
All the best for a happy and healthy 2008!
Posted by: Brigitte | December 31, 2007 at 08:44 AM
What a great Christmas package! The purse fabric is adorable.
So glad to see that Tim is back from exile. Our little furry creatures sure have a mind of their own, huh?
Posted by: Dana | December 31, 2007 at 09:04 AM
Hooray for Xmas surprises! I have a single skein of Cider Moon and it's just so pretty. I hope they come back because now that I've seen how well their colours look in person, I know that the colours I've been lusting need a home with me.
As for KnitScene, nothing really caught my eye. The Pam Allen handbag is cute, but I wouldn't use it.
Posted by: Shannon | December 31, 2007 at 09:57 AM
Welcome back, Tim! We've missed you. What a nice Christmas package from Wendy. I like the shawl and the stitch pattern. Happy New Year!
Posted by: Sydney | December 31, 2007 at 11:18 AM
Tim you are so handsome!
Don't you just love that FIesta yarn. Its just so beautiful. I have only made one thing with it, a scarf, but a simple project came out gorgeously with it.
Posted by: Rebekah | December 31, 2007 at 12:40 PM
I noticed that the most recent shipment that came into my lys was much more vivid than their past ones. I'm not entirely sure what they did differently, though it might just be a matter of dyelots. As a slight word of warning one of my friends knit up one of the more vivid skeins of the la luz silk and it left a bit of dye on her hands. Not much, but a bit. I'm not sure if it would be worth trying to rinse it before using it or not.
Posted by: Yvonne | December 31, 2007 at 02:39 PM
Tim is a cuty or handsomeee?? I love the seaform color yarn too....
Posted by: crochetoholic debb | December 31, 2007 at 03:05 PM
Ooh, that looks like it will be cozy and wonderful. It'll probably even start fulfilling its warming function (more as a lap blanket than a shawl) while you're still knitting it, which is a nice bonus.
Posted by: Rachel | December 31, 2007 at 10:30 PM
Lovely Knittin' and Kitten!! Yes, there still is an Australian Creative Knitting but now it is just a perfect copy of the UK Simply Knitting, with a different cover. Very sad.
Posted by: 2paw | January 02, 2008 at 10:42 PM