Pi Shawl Section One

Directions for the first section were posted Sunday morning. Here is a link to the PDF.

We had brunch with friends and I cast on as soon as we arrived home. At first, this shawl and I appeared to not be getting along, but my eagerness was the culprit. Everything finished up pretty well later that afternoon.




The next section comes out this Wednesday. It isn't too late to join if you are just yearning for a way to celebrate Elizabeth Zimmerman's 100th birthday.

My morning did not begin as expected. Today was my annual exam and I know we all dread it. Once the process is over, I feel empowered and accomplished. Last year was my first in our new location and I saw a new Doctor. My appointment was in the afternoon and after waiting a good, long time they told me that she was in delivery at the hospital adjoined to her office. She was nearly finished and then arrived a small while after they informed me.

Fast forward to this year and keep in mind that I am not typically a ultra patient person. My appointment was for 9A and I arrived 10 minutes early to update paperwork. They took me back at 9:20A and gave me instructions for the paper gown... Time ticked away and all of my feelings about the previous year were bouncing around in my mind. I was cold and by now I needed to go to the restroom. No option to solve either problem. It felt like it had been for-ev-er since I'd disrobed, there was no clock to help me with the time. Finally, I got up, got dressed...and left. Boy, was I angry! Fortunately, my daughter's doctor office was right next door and they had a new patient appointment in less than a month.

It is incomprehensible to me that a medical 'professional' can be so unprofessional in the treatment of their patient. My time is just as valuable as hers. I guess that is why it is so easy to just choose a different provider.

Later in the day things began to work a little more smoothly and the afternoon has been peacefully nice.

Olympic scale knitting

When the Ravelympic goal was set it made me nervous. Uncertain that such knitting could be accomplished before departing for Stitches West loomed in my mind. Turns out that President's Day and the Mardi Gras celebration actually helped me reach my goals!















As if that wasn't enough help, we went to see family last Sunday. The car ride was an hour and half there and by the time we returned, I was knitting straight stockinette and could pretty much do that in the dark.

The yarn is Briar Rose Fibers Heritage which turns to softness when washed. It blocked nicely. Needles - US 4 and US 6

There is one more UFO in my basket that should be finished before departing for Stitches. Susanna Hansson's classes have me very excited and I have a little surprise project waiting for me when I return.

Rivolo Finished (finally)

Anne Hanson is genius!

The pattern is Rivolo which I simply doubled in width.

There were two skeins of Malabrigo Sock in the colorway Velvet Grapes. I knit and knit until the yarn was gone.

FYS is back from his summer trip and took photos for me.


I would really like to keep this wrap, but I've been wanting to gift something to a certain someone and this seems just the ticket. It may be tucked away for a few weeks in case I change my mind.

Two weeks and $12.00

Two weeks ago today I showed up for knit cafe without knitting. No place better to pull this little stunt because they had everything needed to make this shawl.

2 balls of Jojoland Melody and a new set of needles later, I went to work. This is the Aeolian Shawl from Knitty written by Elizabeth Freeman. The pattern is well-written, don't let the number of pages fool you. This is a shawl pattern that I will make again.

My blocking job could definitely be better to showcase the pattern, but laziness overtook me.

Look it - Lacy top

The Lacy Tea Top is finally finished.

It was thrilling when our postal carrier brought my belt buckle and I was able to find two more buttons at a different fabric store near home.

In trying on, it is apparent that a skirt would be just the ticket. A nice white linen has come in at work and I will try to go by there today and see how it fits. FYS took these photos for me after work yesterday and I know the jeans just do not do it justice.

After looking high and low for matching ribbon, this woven became an easy choice. Nothing else came remotely close to matching.



Originally, the design contained a ribbed sleeve which I converted to the overall lace pattern.

4 balls Kidsilk Haze in color #582, Trance

Needles US sizes 1 and 2

See it on Ravelry

My view

Time just slips by and March arrived before I knew it. Every day has been a good day since we've moved. Even I am amazed at the turnaround of my outlook.



Every morning, I awake to this view from my coffee pot. There may have been one or two days that the sun hasn't shown at some point. That is pretty good for 3 months. Whew! we have been here for 3 months already.



It has turned a bit colder, but it warms to the upper 50's during the day. The sun shines and there is no snow...no chance of snow. I am happy.

Sunshine is good!

The days do fly by quickly. I have found a nice stitch shop which has open stitch once a month and a very friendly yarn shop. My LYS has much to offer and I don't just mean fabulous selections of Rowan yarn (they carry other brands, too). I can stop by any time and find a multitude of different knitters talking fiber, planning their next project, or just enjoying the camaraderie. Jason's intro in the newsletter hit home and describes my exact feelings this move brings.

A word from Jason about .Who.s ya mama?..
The phrase might seem cliché by now, along with .Can you make a roux?.. But even so, it.s one of the most frequently asked questions in our area . but not because folks are being nosey, no. It.s all about establishing a connection. In the big picture, there really are no strangers: everyone is connected somehow, even if it.s through a close relative or as distantly as the neighbor of your aunt.s baby sitter. That.s just the way we are here in Acadiana . an intriguingly fascinating people salad.
We belong together, and that.s fine. We search for connections, because they unify us, knitting us into a network of friends. Besides the yarn, needles, hooks, bags, patterns, and notions, this is what Vermilion Bay Yarn is all about: bringing people together and establishing a connection, building a community of fiber friends. .Jason, why don.t your chairs match?. My answer: .Why should they match?. A strict designer might advise that our knitting area would look trendier, classier, glitzier, slicker, were everything the same, a uniform circle of perfectly coordinated seating and perky side tables. That.s nice...for a bouncy magazine spread, but that.s really not our look. Our knitting area reflects the beautiful diversity of the folks sitting there: Cushy upholstered love seat, fluffy ottoman, leather lounge chair, wicker settee, art deco seats, farmhouse rockers, cane rockers, and often for Knit Café, plastic folding chairs and a 1960.s pipe organ bench. Who is VBYC? We.re teachers, artists, nurses, homemakers, engineers, lawyers, musicians, counselors, designers, paralegals, office managers,
secretaries, dreamers, administrators, bankers, husbands, wives, partners, children and everything in between. The binding thread? Our fascination for and love of working with fiber and creating wonderful, delightful things for ourselves and the people close to us. .How do you know her?. .We knit together on Tuesday nights, and we both love Rowan Kid Silk Haze.. What a tremendous, amazing gift! VBYC celebrates difference, because just like our dear Acadiana, we seek to establish connections with our neighbors to create the most beautiful
patchwork of friends. Pass the word to those you know, whom we may not yet know and
invite them to join the community of knitters, crocheters, lace-makers, sweater creators,
and lovers of fiber at Vermilion Bay. Oh, and by the way, to start your gumbo, take
equal parts fat and flour to make that roux. Let it cook in the pot until it.s a dark, mahogany
brown like your Nana.s sideboard. All the while, keep stirring so it doesn.t burn!

...I LOVE it!


I must divert to a cute little fellow that FYS brought home

This is the tiniest frog I've ever seen. FYS found him on a plant outside the door.

As for knitting, there has been activity. It was instant love when I saw this pattern by Erika Knight. My LYS was on the way home from the bookstore and the Kidsilk Haze fell into my possession. This color is difficult to match, but interesting alternatives have been chosen and we shall see how that works out. My original intention was to make this in every color - heh, heh, no surprise that the plan has changed and this will be one of a kind.

Angella and I also started making Rivolo out of some Malabrigo Sock. Mine is in the Velvet Grapes colorway and hers is in a beautiful green.

We opted to double the scarf sized pattern to make a wrap. It will be incredibly soft in this yarn.

It doesn't look like much right now, but the proof is in the blocking.

I finished some bulky lace

When the Winter VK arrived with patterns in bulky weight yarn, I saw an opportunity to finish something. Long, long ago I had acquired a lot of Tibet yarn by Naturally with the intention of making a sweater...bear with me - it was just one of 'those' purchases.

The sweater front, back, and most of one sleeve were complete before my sanity returned and I admitted that ever actually wearing the sweater was unlikely. The discarded UFO has sat in a bag for years, probably 5 or 6.

With this VK issue, I saw possibilities of things that could be and frogged all of the knit up sweater.

Two strands of Tibet held together and 19 needles made this project go quickly. My version is quite a bit smaller than the model. I don't know anyone in real life that can pull off 140" of super bulky anything so mine is 87" long and 14" wide.

This will be going into a Valentine's Day box and shipped off to Bugg at school. Kentucky has been very cold this winter and I can see her snuggled up in it while thinking of me enjoying 70 degree weather.

Finding time to knit

Thank you so much for your well wishes. It is a whirlwind of activity and it overwhelmed me a bit yesterday afternoon. My strategy when the feeling hit was to get out the post it notes and trash bags. We've moved and let them just pack everything before and I don't want to make the same mistake again. Three main areas were gone through and it made me feel better. After that the yarn closet was tackled...there is SO much yarn and spinning fiber. Maybe half of it is in plastic storage containers and we'll go get more today. I hope the movers can move the plastic containers as-is.

There were three projects nearing completion and two are finished. Handspun Angel Lace was blocking when we left to visit Louisiana last week. What a thrill to know that this yarn was spun by me on Georgia.

Originally, the plan was to dye this shawl after it was complete, but given the timing it will remain natural and may be dyed later.

Bluegrass socks are also complete. This pattern is from 2-at-a-time Socks but were knit one at a time. The 2 at a time approach leaves my arms

aching and turns out to be more of a chore. This is Sailor's Delight and I decided to work the foot in stockinette to avoid any chance of the sock twisting when worn. The yarn is Brown Sheep Wildfoote which was a birthday gift from my friend, Mitzi. This sock has a little of my favorite things - coming from Mitzi and being the colorway 'bluegrass' - for Bugg's foray into Kentucky.

As if this wasn't enough to do, the bunnies need clipped. This is my first attempt and I hope bunnies don't get pissed when you butcher their beautiful coats...because I did.

...wait for it...

I need to re-watch the tutorial. to maximize the amount of fiber and minimize the shame this poor bunny must feel.

Then there is Bella who also needed a haircut. After seeing Edward, I didn't have the heart. The tutorial will hopefully help after re-watching.

Finished lace - Ring of Lace

This is another item that was finished during vacation. It waited until we arrived home to be blocked.

The pattern is Ring of Lace by Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer and is available through Heartstrings.

The yarn was a gift from Kristy way back during the International Scarf Exchange 3. Kristy knit my scarf (which I dearly love).

Needles: Size 6

See it on Ravelry

almost forgot...the crochet cast on was new for me and it worked beautifully.

Satisfaction in completion

This week has been very good to me. The Zombie socks were a breeze to knit and fit well - they will go into the sock drawer for Bugg around Halloween. Some sort of sock counter or gauge for my sidebar would be nice. There should be 8 pair for Bugg and we are up to 3...I need to get knitting!


I know another pair of Zombies are in my future as soon as enough yarn for FYS's size 15 feet is acquired. He loves handknit socks.


Chris gifted me The Eclectic Sole and there are quite a few patterns that call to me. Some discussion has been had about the preference of patterns having 64 stitches, but I will look further into that once it is time to cast-on for one of the patterns. No decision has been made on the next endeavor, but some ideas are floating around






The Northern Lights is finished - yay!

This skein hung balanced immediately and feels so heavenly. I am in love!

567 yards of fabulous fiber. I started spinning it on 6/22/08 and finished 7/4/08. Pretty dedicated for me, but it went so quickly being pencil roving and it was difficult not to obsess.


There was no goal in particular for this handspun, it was just enjoyable to relax and experience pencil roving for the first time.


The only two wip's now are the Ring of Lace and the Feather and Fan Shawl.

Ring of Lace is most likely be finished over vacation. The F&F shawl languishes for reasons that escape me. With a lot of car travel coming up, it may be finished before winter.

We had company last week - my grade school friend who moved to California when we were Freshman in High School, her 3 little boys, and my dad. More on that later.

after a quick trip to Kentucky

We made it back from Kentucky and Bugg's classes are scheduled (mostly). A little tweaking and she will be set. I've been strong up until now, but the tears are knocking on the door. She is ready, I will be strong.

After spinning the laceweight, I was struggling with what to put on Georgia. The Northern Lights won out and it was the most excellent decision. Becky summed it up the best when she told me that "pencil roving is the schizzle". It certainly is! Makes me realize that my drafting skills need a little work.

Zombie Socks are half finished...which means there is one sock to show you.

Hints were sent my way about the looseness of the fabric once stitches were dropped. The solution used on this sock was to cast on, work ribbing, and two repeats using size 1 needles and then switch to size 0's. I continued with 0's until the gusset shaping was complete then switched back to size 1's.

The fabric on the top of the foot concerned me as possibly being loose and I considered using size 0's for the top of the sock only, but it worked out fine on the 1's.

This sock went by pretty quickly, but the second is languishing. Oh, and you will notice that these are not size 15's for my son...not enough yarn!

The languishing is possibly due to the cast on of another project...

this is the Ring of Lace Wrap pattern from Heartstrings. Kristy sent this lovely Cherry Tree Hill Silk to me long ago and, although the color repeats are not what ROL calls for, I thought it perfect for this design. This gift was a special treat as the yarn is heavenly to work with.

Up next:
Visit with a grade school friend

Earth Song Lace Vest

This pattern came from Louisa Harding's Modern Classics. I love this book because the patterns are timeless and are arranged by yarn weight. I adapted the neckline and length a bit because I plan to wear it over a crisp, white shirt (if I ever get one ironed...the dry cleaner never gets the collar right!) Anyway, once I iron the shirt - I will, I promise - and get someone to snap the photo, I will post the picture.

Thank goodness I finished something!

For my next amazing feat, I will be finishing the sleeves to my 'v' neck sweater knit out of Briar Rose Legend...remember? (I know, it looks blurry)

I've also procured some of Chris' fabulous Grace. Once again, she amazes me! 60% superwash, merino, 30% bamboo, 10% nylon. I have the perfect shawl pattern chosen.