Tag Archive | scottish highlands shawl

FO: Scottish Highlands Shawl

Feb25

I’ve got another finished object to share and I don’t want to wait for next Friday. I bound off and blocked my Scottish Highlands shawl a few days ago but today was the first day warm enough to get outside for good photos. This a beast of a shawl — look at it all pinned out!

I didn’t weigh my leftovers but I’d estimate I used probably 85% of the purple and 95% of the cream. The purple was from gnarledpaw, a skein of Frida Helix Fat that was 600 yards and had a bit of cashmere in it – yummy!!! The cream was Deluxe Sock from Honey Girl Farms and was squishy and soft. It had flecks of purple and burgundy that perfectly complemented the main color. I loved knitting this shawl, except for the last bits of garter stitch where I got a bit bored and ready to move on to the fun lace. And I love how the lace turned out!

This was a satisfying project from start to finish, and honestly, it really underscores for me how different knitters are fulfilled by different things. I adore knitting big shawls with complicated lace but several of my knitting friends don’t. So it makes sense that it would work the opposite way for other things. I can let all you colorwork lovers make your beautiful sweaters and cowls, and know that it’s not for me. Heck, why would I stress myself out trying to knit colorwork when I can make things like this, and enjoy the process??

Other things I’ve loved lately: Book: The Bookish Life by Abbi Waxman. It’s a light read but perfectly delightful, particularly for book-loving introverts. I’ve already started the sequel. Movie: The Lost City. I expected it to be silly and slightly ridiculous, and it was, but it in the best way. It was my kind of absurd humor. TV: Extraordinary, on Hulu. Bonkers and absurd in good ways that make me laugh, but also explores some deeper topics. I haven’t finished the season yet but probably will soon. I also started watching the first season of Abbott Elementary. It’s not quite as good as I expected based on everything I’ve read/heard, but it’s getting better as I go on, and makes for good knitting background.

Happy Saturday, friends.

It never fails

Jan21

I feel like I do this every year: I cast on ALL THE THINGS in January and I’m so excited about all the variety … and then I get toward the end of the month and feel like I’m not close to finishing anything because I’ve just been flitting about between all my different WIPs. Progress this month was also slowed because I got kind of obsessed with my sock yarn scrap blanket. I guess I shouldn’t say progress was slowed, because I made great progress on that blanket, and I do want it it to continue, but now I want to resume progress on my main WIPs.

This weekend I hope to be watching some tennis so simple projects will be the best. I think I’m going to focus on my Turtle Dove II (still in increase phase) and my Scottish Highlands Shawl. I didn’t realize how much garter stitch this one had because my eye was so entranced by the lace border, but I have at least one more garter section to get through before I get to that.

The birthday dinner with my mom last night was very nice. She seemed to have a wonderful time, loved the margarita and queso, and the company of course! I also treated myself a bit yesterday and bought tickets to see KT Tunstall, a Scottish rock musician I love. You’ve probably heard a couple of her songs – Black Horse & the Cherry Tree, or Suddenly I See, from The Devil Wears Prada? I’ve listened to her for years and can’t wait to see her live. The closest she’s coming is Des Moines, which is only about 2 1/2 hours away from me. But she’s from Scotland — who knows if she’ll ever come this close again?? I knew I’d regret it if I didn’t go. Life is short, friends — do the things that bring you joy! Live music does wonderful things for my heart and soul. Anyway, I’m not sure yet who will be my date. I’ve asked a friend but if she can’t come, the husband said he would. Even if the seat next to me is empty, I’ll be there!

I’m looking forward to a lazy weekend. The only thing I want to accomplish is go to the library to pick up a book for my book group (Talking to Strangers by Malcolm Gladwell. So not excited about this one but I’ll give it a shot.) and maybe wash my sheets. Other than that, it’ll be knitting and tennis all day long over here. Hope you all have the weekend you want, too!

Happy Saturday!