Houston, We Have a Problem...

"There is a time in the life of every problem when it is big enough to see, yet small enough to solve."
- Mike Leavitt

So, in yesterday's mail, I got the additional skeins of yarn to complete Pumpkin Patch and Rapunzel. I only order one skein initially to play with and figure out if I want to complete a design with it. Then I order more. This is one reason I often swatch long before I really get going on a project. I need to ensure I can still get more in the same dye lot.

Uh-oh...

Do these look like the same color to you?

If the answer is yes, I suggest you recalibrate the color on your monitor.

Or get glasses.

These aren't even close.

But I got on the horn with Nancy and she has one lonely little skein of pumpkin Camelspin left in stock. it is on its way even as we speak. Hopefully it will match one of the two I already have. After all, the frost will be on the pumpkin before we know it. I need to get this one out to a test knitter asap.

I found this cute crossed rib pattern that looks (to me anyway) like cornstalks, so I knit a little row of them into the lower edge of the scarf. But I can;t go any further until I know which skein to use.

In the meantime, I put in a little time on my Maidenhair stole, which has a new name. All I could think of when working on this luscious blend of silk and mohair was:

Aspenglow.

See what I mean?






And yes. It IS that gorgeous. The color (safari) positively glows.






I am using a simple little four row texture pattern. By knitting it on a much larger needle than the recommended size 6, the pattern takes on a very open and drapey quality.




I am also planning to add a cable and fringe panel to each end.









And this afternoon, I swatched for another stole pattern, called Copenhagen. This photo, taken along one of Copenhagen's many canals, where we had dinner one evening, is the inspiration for the piece.

It has been floating around in the back of my noggin for a while now, and when Evelyn got these two beauties in, I couldn't resist any longer.


This is Camelspin.


Glacier Bay (for the water)







And Morgana (for the colors of the buildings along the canal)









The stole will feature traditional Danish star and check motifs, done fair isle style. I am going to line the stole with Merrimekko fabric after blocking, to hide the carried yarn on the backside.

The photo doesn't do it justice.

I know I have to get back to Sunflower, but my hands needed a break from all the beading.

Back to the salt mines...