treeskin

Speaking of temptation, let me lead my fiber-enabled friends to Catnip Yarns, who carry the complete line of undyed yarns from Henry's Attic (who manufacture all those luscious balls of temptation you see at Yarn Barn, gloriously hand-dyed for your appreciation).

And now, on to the

The UnSock Report--Temptation Wins

I was planning to not start on the silk shawl until I had more of The Sweater done. The best laid plans, etc.....The yarn, a couple sizes of needles, and the pattern went into my bag and off to the HSA safety defrag on Sat night--just to swatch a bit, I told myself. Got part of the yarn rolled into balls, swatched once, decided it wasn't quite firm enough to hold the pattern, and gosh, wasn't I clever to include a ball of that laceweight wool single-ply....swatched again, and here I am today, about a foot into the Spinoff Magazine version of the lily of the valley shawl. The two yarns together are about dk weight, and I'm using a 6mm needle, so it's not that lacey. Almost an embossed texture, but I like it. And very very soft already; after the first wash, I expect it will feel like petting a cloud.

I'm already plotting a second shawl from this pattern, maybe in a fluffy mohair blend, and larger needles. It's fun to knit. The gossamer version in the last issue of Knitter's is much more daunting; I'd still like to knit it someday, but not soon, I think.

The UnSock Report--Finished projects, and other responsible knitting

Finished the second crocheted rug. 40" finished diameter, and the shaded reds and oranges on the last 6" turned out great. It's still sitting on a box in the living room, waiting for me to weave the ends in, so it's a cat bed right now. I'm planning to do more, since I got that yarn from Robyn's mom. Probably not as fancy, though...the "radiant sun" points aroudn the circle on this one took forever.

The Sweater: Nearly done with the first set of keywork tiles on sleeve #1. It finally fits on the circular needle. LIfe is better now.

Tigger Afghan: haven't picked it up in a week, but last time I worked on it, I got 8 rows done (that's a lot, with the number of color changes per row). Sis says that yes, the baby's due in late Aug, but the afghan doesn't need to be done until Oct, when it starts getting cold.

The Sock Report: Am half done with the heel on By's second sock. Once that's done, the rest goes quickly.