I put down the Colinette and started the Shetland Triangle with Trendsetters Kid Seta, color #1007 yesterday.

It’s a lovely, bright sort of lavendar but the website calls it… Mauve? (I just looked it up).

Eww.

I’m resisting the inclination I now have to dislike it. It’s really a pretty color, and I’m liking it even better knit up than I did in the ball, when I was still skeptical. (Oops. Resisting, I’m still resisting. Mauve?).

I’m inexplicably depressed today. I have absolutely no reason to be. The sun is out. The floor is mopped. The kids are in school. I’ve completed all of my obligations at school for the week and plan to spend the day quietly with yarn and laundry.

Besides, it’s Leap Year. Right? Happy, happy.

I should be.

I stopped eating sugar on Monday, (because I was out of control. Again.), and I think that’s the culprit. I’ve heard about this happening a few days into a sugar fast. Sometimes it happens to me and sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve been having a great week. I feel great, my skin is better already (which was the main reason I started. I may be significantly overweight but darnit, I have pretty skin. And when it starts getting blotchy, I get upset. Call me vain).

I’m not craving anything. I just want to cry and go to bed.

This is so lame.

I was going to talk about this in Health Group tomorrow, but I’ve already started here… I’ve been drinking a ton of water, and I’ve started my wheatgrass up again so I can cleanse. It should be ready to juice in a few days. Kind of like spring cleaning on the inside. That’s how it feels. It feels good. Until I wake up incredibly depressed.

I actually didn’t wake up depressed. I was awake at 5, laid in bed with my thoughts ’til 6. Got up, read a little, did my physical therapy, drank some water, and the switch flipped. Happy-and-content to melancholy. Just like that.

But the lace is pretty.

So, I’ve spent a couple days of knitting time messing with the Colinette.

Circular start is annoying. I’ve done it twice now. I say “twice”, but really, it’s more like 2 dozen times, but only for two projects, the red shawl, and now this one.

The colors are interesting. It’s brownish, blackish, lavender-y, and kind of a champagne color. I’m planning on making this a multi-colored shawl, but I don’t know what other yarns I’ll use yet. Kat Coyle’s multi-colored lace shawls have always been inspiring to me, and I’m finally going to try it.

BUT, I said I was only going to test the yarn out, and now I need to get started on the Shetland Triangle.

Before I go, I wanted to show you the gorgeous yarn and pattern that arrived from Carol’s sock club a couple weeks ago.

I’m a sucker for red anything, and the color is called “Thirst”, which I think is perfect!

I think this yarn is the most incredible thing I’ve knit with. It has to be. It’s gorgeous. It’s amazingly soft, and warm, and I feel beautiful in it. Wrapping freshly blocked lace around my shoulders always feels fantastic, but this is something more. It’s something you can only appreciate in person, I’m sure. So go out and buy Artyarns Silk Mohair and knit a shawl!

Wow.

I want one.

So, it’s Evelyn Clark’s Angel Shawl pattern. It’s a very easy knit. I used size 4 needles as the pattern called for, I did 15 repeats instead of the 13 in the pattern, used significantly less yardage (2 skeins with quite a bit left over instead of the 2 + I expected), and it blocked out to the appropriate pattern measurements. That doesn’t make any sense to me, but that’s how it worked out.

It’s so pretty. I keep saying that, but it really, really is.

Now, I should be casting on for shoulder shawl #2 for the purposes of which I’m being mysterious, but I couldn’t help myself. I balled a skein of the Colinette Parisienne I bought for myself while buying the yarn for shoulder shawl #2, (It’s no Artyarns, I’ll tell you that right off. But the colors are lovely), and have started on a shawl I’ve wanted to knit since I bought the book.

Just to see how it works up, then I’ll get right on Shoulder Shawl #2, which will be a Shetland Triangle.

Honest.

The Angel shawl is off the needles and is waiting to be blocked. I mostly finished it at the cabin over the weekend, but decided at the last minute to add beads to the last row. So yesterday, Clark and I went to the yarn store to buy those tiny crochet hooks used for beading. I already had some iridescent glass beads, and yesterday afternoon, Clark and I beaded the shawl.

I thought I’d be doing it alone, but shortly after I poured a few beads onto the table next to me,

and knit a couple on,

Clark picked one up

and, quite determined, ended up putting it on the crochet hook himself.

He was extremely pleased with himself and beaded half the shawl before he turned back into a normal 22 month old boy and began dropping them everywhere. He eventually lost interest (about the time he lost the freaky-accurate fine motor skills) and moved on.

It was incredibly cute. I wish I could have taken a video, but as it was, I’m lucky to have pictures. Every time he put a bead on the crochet hook, he said, “thank you very much!”

Ooh, I could eat him up.

So, I’ll block the pretty shawl, and then put it away for a month or so. It’s so lovely. It has me wanting to make oodles of soft, lacy things.

We had a great time at the cabin, the kids and I.

The weather was gorgeous, and the girls spend most of two days on the trampoline,

while Clark walked endless circles around the house.

It was very relaxing, and nice to be up there, just the 5 of us.

We did manage a trip to the beach at low tide, which wasn’t that low. Must be a seasonal thing.

The walk down

The beach

Clark was thrilled to have his own bucket, which Liv filled to the brim with oyster shells, and even more thrilled when he realized we were taking the shells with us. He carried that sucker all the way back up the significant hill to the cabin. Then quite conveniently forgot about them. (We don’t take the stinky shells home with us).

While at the beach, we walked down the death trap of a dock. (It’s extremely high, narrow, old and wobbly, and the railings are high enough off the walkway that any of my kids could quite easily plummet to their inevitable deaths.

But it’s pretty from up there.

Anyway, a good time was had by all. I minimized my stress by allowing the girls to entirely pack themselves. I didn’t even check their bags, I just told them not to bring too much. Surprisingly, it worked out perfectly.

I spent the entire day at my LYS taking a color design class with Ruth Sorensen and I didn’t bring my camera. She had amazing knits there, and we all handled and examined them. Most people took pictures.

Oh well.

The class gave me some neat ideas for things I’d like to design and knit. Man, I wish I could knit faster. There’s so much that’d be fun to do, and not nearly enough time.

Tomorrow (Thursday) I’m taking the kids to my in-laws cabin for a few days of down time. I’m bringing my guitar and lots of knits. The girls are bringing ipods, books and various other activities, as well as high hopes for beach-combing. Plus, there are games, puzzles, and old videos up there already. We’re all really looking forward to it, (except for Nate, who will be ditched and working), and by golly, I should have some neat pictures when I get back!

I’d gone through the entire shawl without a mistake (that I can see, anyway). Once I hit the edging, I was pleased and confident that I’d make it to the end without incident.

I’d nearly finished the edging.

Then I saw it.

8 or so rows back, I’d messed up a yarn over right down the center stitch. The weird thing is, I totally would have caught it if I hadn’t also created a yarnover in the wrong place a few stitches over, because I would have had the wrong number of stitches to complete the pattern. Anyway, I spent a great deal of time trying to fix it, gave up, ripped back to where I thought I could salvage, put it back on the needles (which takes forEVER), realized I hadn’t ripped back far enough, spent more time trying to fix it, lost my patience, ripped back another couple of rows, put it back on the needles AGAIN, (which takes forEVER), and am now in the process of correctly orienting the stitches on the needle and picking up those that have dropped here and there in the process. So, I have a massive tangle of hairy mohair laceweight, that most people at Madrona thought was actually cobweb weight, and I’m 4 or so rows into the edging.

Oh, I’m happy.

I’m going to go practice guitar for my lesson today. Madrona ate my practice time this week, and I’m going to be pitiful at my lesson.

As with Madrona last year, there’s just so much to talk about, it’s overwhelming. It was fantastic. I’m finding that when I’m out and doing, I don’t want to bother to stop and take photos, so I don’t have many.

BUT, I’m 10 rows away from finishing the Angel Shawl.

I worked on it a lot at Madrona in the downtime. I ended up adding one more repeat than I meant to, but that’s ok because I don’t want to overly block and stretch it out. The stitches have an amazing, three dimensional texture to them. The swirling stitches are raised above the circle of yarnovers in the center, and they look like waves. I’m hoping it will still do that after it’s blocked.

So, a couple highlights…

I looked around the ample marketplace for a shawl pin I liked and couldn’t find anything I thought I’d wear, (though many were cute), until the teacher’s gallery/show on Friday night.
Ruth Sorensen’s display was stunning, and she had 6 or so shawl pins attached to a swatch. I hadn’t seen them in the marketplace and asked her about them. She said that her husband had just started making them from some kind of horn, and that they’d be on her website soon.

I asked if she’d sell me one that night.

She said yes.

I ran upstairs to my room

(where poor Hayden was spending a quiet, solitary evening because she got sick on some bad coffee creamer)

and grabbed some cash.

I bought two.

They’re. Gorgeous.

And reversible.

And look quite nice on the scarf I’m making for my brother.

Next, one of the things I was MOST excited to see was the Philosopher’s Wool booth. If you recall, I was quite smitten with their book and technique back in October/November, and was thrilled when I saw them on the vendor list.

I met and talked with both Ann and Eugene for great lengths of time. They’re incredible, beautiful people, and extremely kind. Have you been around people whose kindness is physically tangible? When you can literally feel it just by standing next to them and making eye contact?

Anyway, it was quite an experience, and I loved it.

I bought a kit in the Navajo colorway

to make a Kilim shawl from the book I bought.

Ann took my picture in a striped, garter stitch shawl on display in their booth.

And despite the fact that I really don’t like garter stitch, it was gorgeous and it felt incredible.

I’m very excited to make my shawl. It’s looking to be the year of shawls for me, and I’m ok with that.

Anyway, moving on, I bought a Mother Mackenzie dye kit,

went to the banquet where the Eastside Spinners sat together and listened to Judith’s fascinating talk on bison in the United States, (the picture won’t load for some reason), and had an overall, fantastic time.

The classes were great, the hotel was very cool, they over booked the hotel and had to put us in a suite, which explains the swanky pictures above. I didn’t pay full price for that fancy room, but it sure was cool. It had TWO bathrooms! What hotel room has TWO bathrooms? Considering Hayden got sick, it turned out to be quite convenient.

Poor dear.

A very happy Valentine’s Day to you all!

I’m off to Madrona, but at this moment, I’d much rather cuddle on the couch in the basement and watch a movie with my sweety.

Nate, you rock my world. I am continually in awe of your love for me, and I’m so grateful for it. Happy Valentine’s day, my love. I miss you already.

You’re probably not going to see much of me for the remainder of this week and next. This week is insanely busy with Valentine’s Day (I’m co-planning Veronica’s school party and I’m not even going to be there, which makes it more stressful), and I’m going to Madrona Thurs, Fri, and Sat.

Being the week of Valentine’s Day (I’m super mega grumpy about Madrona being this week), I have more to do than I would otherwise. I’m coming back home Thursday night to have a late dinner with my sweetheart, and I need to plan and shop for that. I want the house clean so I can just come home, light some candles, and spend time with him. I need to get Valentines for the girls. I need to shop for the supplies I’ve been assigned for the different school parties. I need to finish laundry, make bread, take and print cute pictures of the girls for their class Valentines (it’s become a tradition of ours), get my stuff together for Madrona…

I know I’m forgetting half of it, but I don’t want to look at my list right now.

Next week, the girls are home from school for Mid Winter Break. As you can imagine, I’m not going to have much free time.

All of this topped by my ever increasing guitar obsession. I’m enjoying lessons (I have my 3rd today), I’m enjoying practicing and playing, and I’m enjoying hunting down guitar stores in search of the “perfect” instrument. I found one on Saturday but it was expensive and I didn’t want to spend the $$$ right now OR impulsively, and when I went back yesterday to play it again, it had sold. Apparently 2 hours after I played it on Saturday, according to Jesse, the cutie-long-hair sales guy.

As pathetic as it sounds, I cried. Not in the store, thank goodness.

I really love the Breedloves. They’re the only guitar I’ve found so far that sing to me, and even then, it depends on not only the model, but the individual instrument. And they’re freaking expensive. Of course. But I’m determined to end up with one eventually.

Anyway… blogging will be sporadic for a couple weeks, but I’m sure I’ll check in now and then because I really do enjoy talking to you all.