So Warm!

Yarn Swap Part Three - It's Finished and It's Warm!

The Chickadee Cowl from throughtheloops was my chosen project for my yarn swap skein. It's knit entirely in linen stitch, so the fabric is very dense. No cold air is coming through this thing. Six inches seemed short to me, but look at how high up it reaches. I will be one warm chickadee! It very nearly covers my ears! My fabric is not as drapey as throughtheloops', but I knit it very tightly. I'm sure I could make it relax with some blocking (we knitters can make fabric do anything we perceive possible with a little bit of blocking, no?) The reverse side is fun too. The stitches are bobbly and show off splashes of color. The linen stitch side (right side) displays a more muted blend of colors, given the tight weave. How fun is this as an accessory? Pull it over a bit and it becomes a nice warm cowl collar! Even more and it can be worn indoors to compliment a lovely blouse or long-sleeved t-shirt!

The roll over can display the linen stitch or the reverse fabric bobbly looking stitches.

What fun! I loved my yarn swap challenge. Well, now I need a verdict from my swapper, Voie de Vie, and you as well. Check out her blog site. Someone who would send off such a lovely skein (3 actually) of this yarn has fabulous inspirational projects of her own.

Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Voie de Vie: thank you so much for the fun and challenging project! Your yarn swap choice was excellent. Should I have never received this, Chickadee would have remained in my queue for years! I just don't get around to making myself winter wooly warmies! (too busy doing gifts)

And now, it's back to stealth knitting.

Why?

Yarn Swap Part Deux, (or Why I Sent the Skein I Did) My ravelry yarn swap recipient, pinkundine, received her skein of yarn from me. She sent me a lovely message indicating that the color choice was a good one for her. I am glad. I waited eagerly to see if my swap choice was a success or failure. Like every other prudent knitter, I always purchase extra yardage when beginning a project. I always have a skein (or two) left over from my project, and I never return them to the yarn store. They just get added to the stash. There are plans in my head for baby sweaters and accessories... I chose to send a bluey/purpley tweedy wool that was leftover from my Wicked sweater. It was girly enough, wool was practical enough, and there was enough yardage to create an accessory. It's hard to imagine an accessory for someone when you don't know the color of their winter coat, or if they require a winter coat, but it did seem like it would appeal to a person of the female persuasion. It would likely languish in my stash for years, as we keep have grand boybabies. I can't wait to see what she makes of it!

Yarn Swap Arrives!

My Ravelry blogger yarn swap package has arrived! The swap is for stash only, one skein leftover from a project. My yarn swapper actually included three skeins of the following with a note to let me know why she felt that those three were actually one. I admired them, put them in a lovely bowl, and for a few brief seconds, contemplated what they would become.It was only a few brief seconds because I remembered a little project I was coveting for myself. A little piece of warmth. This would be perfect! It has begun, thus only two skeins in the bowl. The third is on the needles. Project underway! Feels fabulous to knit for myself as I'm doing lots of gift/stealth knitting right now. Thank you Denise. Can't wait for you to see what this becomes!

Check out this lovely gift blogger Denise.

The ABCs of Knitting - B is for...

Big Beautiful Ball of Bear Creek Bulky in Blackberry:

which plans to be this hat.

Baby Boy (stealth knitting): Back-up Bag (alternative knitting project). Bring it on! (ravelry queue!) For more of the ABCs of knitting, check out these projects for B is for....

Swinging in the Apple Tree

This week I traveled to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to attend the burial services for my mummu, who passed away this past February. All of her children were there as well as many grandchildren. It was quite a gathering. The last time the family all gathered was 20 years ago. While there, I met my eldest aunt and her children, whom I had never met before. If you remember from a previous post, the family is scattered throughout the United States and get-togethers were difficult and rarely coordinated. Let me tell you, it was a wonder to be together again! At meals and for visiting, we would cluster together and the stories would fly, and laughter was abundant, and our jaws ached from the smiling and laughing. What a remarkable family we are. Every which direction you turned, there was a conversation to hop into, a smiling, welcoming face, the same sharp witted humor in each of us. The air buzzed with our energy. It was very nearly a palpable thing. Not all of the grandchildren were able to attend, and I believe if we all had, that the family energy would have been visible from space! (captured on satellite: the Great Wall of China, The Las Vegas Strip and the J++++ family gathering).

Not everyone "gets" or appreciates my sense of humor, so it was remarkable to be in a room where not only did everyone "get" me, but everyone had and expressed the same sense of humor. It was an amazing few days being with my family. I was very nearly high at the experience of love and belonging and connectedness.

I am known for my sense of humor and goofy nature, my quick wit, my devil-may-care attitude, my easy-going, fun-loving spirit. A few years ago, a colleague of mine met my parents and after spending time with my father and me she commented that "the apple didn't fall too far from the tree". Ladies and gentlemen: I spent the week swinging in the apple tree!

The picture below is of the siblings, less their parents, from the picture opening this post.

A fine looking clan, don't you agree?

I vow to not wait another 20 years to connect with family. Even if mummu's longevity is passed on to all, it is too long to wait to be together; to be in touch. Phone numbers, email and residence addresses were shared, and I plan to use them. So if you are family, and if you are reading this, consider yourself warned!