'Tis the Season to Bust Out the Serious Projects

Hi Y'all,
Well finally-- TRUE KNITTING SEASON is upon us. Maybe it arrived for those of you in the North last month. Down here in Austin we had a big storm roll in on the heels of Hurricane Patricia that brought tons of rain and dropped the temperature about thirty degrees lower than a week ago. I used that as an excuse to bust out some leftover Blue Sky Extra I had to start a scarf. That stuff is so soft (alpaca/merino) I kind of want to just wrap myself up in it. Maybe I can go as a hybrid yarn ball/mummy for Halloween.

As you can see above, I FINALLY finished my Color Affection Shawl. Actually, I finished it on Monhegan Island though I have yet to block it. Since I used fingering weight and tiny needles, it's more like a hoodie scarf, which is fine. The hoodie part was unintentional. If you've not made one of these before and are planning it, bear in mind that unless you add a yarn over at the beginning of every row, and then drop that on the return, you'll wind up with some major curvature. I was given that tip a few inches in, did all my yarn overs from that point on, and still had this problem. Although I am, as ever, going with convincing myself that any problem in a project is actually an "element of design." I wish I could remember who taught me that notion-- I owe them so much.

I have made some more progress in my Norah Gaughan NYX Cowl, which I (barely) started on Monhegan Island. I temporarily set it aside for good reason. Those of you on the Monhegan trip know I'd been hustling to acquire a ranch just outside of Austin. For those curious: I GOT IT! The big move begins this week, and so until I get that all sorted I will focus what little knitting time I can gather on the aforementioned 2-2 ribbed scarf, since it's simple enough to work on in the dark and/or in my sleep. But I really can't wait to get back to the cowl. 

I also knocked out yet another (my 10,000th it seems) Umbilical Cord Baby Hat from the original Stitch 'n Bitch book. While I do love picking up new patterns every year, I definitely have my standard go-to projects. This hat is so fun. Knits up in about ten seconds, always well received, and another opportunity to work with ridiculously soft yarn.

 To your right-- another spectacular view of the Color Affection Shawl, displayed by my favorite model, Rebound. She is quite often the beneficiary of my finished projects. You can see her appreciation written all over her little smooshed face.

I know some of you are fixing to head to Quechee, Vermont in a couple of weeks for the weekend knitting retreat with designer Rachel Kahn. I'm bummed I can't join you, but I'll be down here hammering out the details of my new Green Acres life. That trip is sold out but you can CLICK HERE to get on the waiting list.

And mark your calendars. Registration for both 2016 retreats opens on January 1, 2016. We'll post more details about those trip soon over at the Knitting and Yoga Adventures website.

Happy Knitting Y'all!
Spike