"All our progress is an unfolding, like a vegetable bud. You have first an instinct, then an opinion, then a knowledge as the plant has root, bud, and fruit. Trust the instinct to the end, though you can render no reason." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Fear not, Garden Varietals, work continues on Sunflower. I am just finishing up the central mahogany section of the shawl/scarf and ready to begin the tiger section.I don't know if it really shows up in the pictures, but I am pleased at way the lace pattern is forming.Once blocked, I think it will be lovely.
I love how a lace pattern transforms into a completely different animal when you knit it circularly. Too much fun...
For example this little arrowhead like pattern becomes concentric flower shapes once knitted.
I love the way a circular piece looks; I am less enthused by the fact that it keeps getting bigger.I am already up to a 32 inch round, and I have a 45 and a 60 inch waiting in the wings.Hey! There's a reason I gave myself an extra month on this one!
Evelyn tells me that the Poinsettia sample is in. She is going to send me a picture. Don't worry, I'll share.
*****
Here are some alternate yarn suggestions for the AspenGlo Wrap, since the Maiden Hair is a fairly new fiber:
Handmaiden Fine Yarn Silk Maiden
Any of these would be lovely.
You know, one of the reasons I am publishing the Aperitif Collection is, quite frankly, self serving.
GASP!
Last year I really struggled to come up with inexpensive, yet thoughtful, gifts. I just hate to feed the Xmas machine that runs at the local mall 24/7 from mid-October on.
Luckily, Ravelry came to my rescue with an endless assortment of lovely, quick, cheap...
(I think we should rehabilitate that word. Cheap has taken on an undesirable aura in recent years. Perhaps now that gas costs $4 and the princes of Wall Street are running for the hills, we can begin to value again the virtues of frugality, rather than consumption. Okay, I'm done now. Time to climb back down off of the soapbox.)
Gift ideas. If it weren't for Jared Flood's hat pattern, I would have been lost. I made a ton of hats last year.
And I just figured I probably wasn't alone.
Speaking of Aperitifs, Maria - the wonder knitter - has posted first pictures of her Leaves of Grass scarf. Only she made it a shawl by using a larger needle size and some Noro yarn she had lying around. And hers is red. I'm guessing she won't call hers by the same moniker...unless her grass is a radically different color than mine.
You can take a look here:
Nice, huh?
Pattern will be on the market sometime next week, as soon as I finish mine and get some decent pictures. (I'm going to try and corral my DH into taking some of Zinnia, AspenGlo and Leaves of Grass actually being worn. What a concept!)
*****
I ran across this great joke when I was researching Soulful Parent, Soulful Teen, about the difference between leaders and managers:
Any of these would be lovely.
You know, one of the reasons I am publishing the Aperitif Collection is, quite frankly, self serving.
GASP!
Last year I really struggled to come up with inexpensive, yet thoughtful, gifts. I just hate to feed the Xmas machine that runs at the local mall 24/7 from mid-October on.
Luckily, Ravelry came to my rescue with an endless assortment of lovely, quick, cheap...
(I think we should rehabilitate that word. Cheap has taken on an undesirable aura in recent years. Perhaps now that gas costs $4 and the princes of Wall Street are running for the hills, we can begin to value again the virtues of frugality, rather than consumption. Okay, I'm done now. Time to climb back down off of the soapbox.)
Gift ideas. If it weren't for Jared Flood's hat pattern, I would have been lost. I made a ton of hats last year.
And I just figured I probably wasn't alone.
Speaking of Aperitifs, Maria - the wonder knitter - has posted first pictures of her Leaves of Grass scarf. Only she made it a shawl by using a larger needle size and some Noro yarn she had lying around. And hers is red. I'm guessing she won't call hers by the same moniker...unless her grass is a radically different color than mine.You can take a look here:
Nice, huh?
Pattern will be on the market sometime next week, as soon as I finish mine and get some decent pictures. (I'm going to try and corral my DH into taking some of Zinnia, AspenGlo and Leaves of Grass actually being worn. What a concept!)
*****
I ran across this great joke when I was researching Soulful Parent, Soulful Teen, about the difference between leaders and managers:
Two people were managing a work crew cutting through a thick forest. The leader climbed a tree, looked around, and shouted down, "Halt! We are going in the wrong direction!"Sometimes direction is more important than progress; think I'll go find me a tree...
The manager said, "But we're making GREAT progress..."
