From a bud, only a promise.
Then a gentle opening:
Rich blooming, bursting fragrance,
The fulfillment of the center.
True beauty comes from within. Our glory has nothing to do with our appearance or our occupation. Our special qualities come from an inner source. We must take care to open and bloom naturally and leisurely and keep to the center.
Deng Ming Dao.
I want to apologize for a lack of responding to comments. My dislocated finger has been a "pain" when it comes to typing. After a trip to the doctors today, it will be taped up………which is slowing me down tremendously. Thanks for your support!!
After joining a few KAL’s, I have found that I am not really not good at them…..<grin>. I am not a fast knitter and can’t always keep up, but hearing about the Gathering of Lace knit along from Margene’s page, my interest was peaked.
Even though I have not done a ton of it, lace is my favorite type of knitting. I love to watch the patterns evolve with each yarn over and knit 2 together.
I am choosing the "Faux Russian Stole". I like the fact that it has a little more weight behind it, then some of the finer laces. I want to be able to wear it without fear of tearing it.
Not knowing exactly what "Jumper Weight" is, I was excited to give a batch of Shetland that I spun and actually won a first place at Fryeburg Fair a few years ago, a chance.
However, after working a few repeats of the beginning pattern, I was questioning my choice. It felt a wee bit bulky and just not what I had envisioned for this project.
So……..I pulled out a stash of yarn that someone sent me earlier this year for Norwegian mittens and I discovered that Jumper Weight and Fingering Weight are one and the same.
Because I want this shawl to be made with handspun yarn…..deep into the stash I delved and came up with this lovely Shetland from Lynne Luker. I worked slow and steady and I think that I came pretty close to the weight of the skein of commercial yarn.
You may not be able to see the difference in the 2 samples that I knit up, as they look somewhat similar in size, but if you handle the samples, you can tell there is a distinct difference in the weights and feel in each sample. You can also see that the darker sample lays flatter as the yarn is more suited for this project.
All in all, I am looking forward to this KAL!
It’s Finished!!
Yesterday, my DH and I headed down to Concord, as he had a business meeting to attend and I had fibering business to attend to..<grin>. Of course, I also had to find a bathing suit for my 14 year old……..no easy feat……..trust me!!
I did manage to find buttons though for Paprika and here she is in all her Finished Glory. I LOVE this sweater!
Pattern: Casual Cables, Michelle Wymann
Yarn: Elann’s Peruvian Highland Wool
Buttons: Thistle, Jo-ann’s Fabric Store
YIKES!!
OH No………….she’s trying to take a picture…..eekkk!!!
The baby buns are growing fast. Eyes are open and they are on their feet and running.
Where as puppies need a lot of care and assistance, baby bunnies are wonderfully, amazingly, self sufficient. As soon as those eye open up, they are exploring every inch of Mom’s cage, including the water bottle and food. I LOVE baby bunnies….<VBG>
One of the challenges of bunnies it figuring out what their colors are. If you look quickly at these 2 babies, they look pretty similar………..but they are not……….can you guess what the difference is?
I will tell you next week :-))
I hope that you have a great week and that it is a wee bit drier in your part of the country~
The Woolen Rabbit 
The Casual Cables is beautiful! It’s a fun knit, isn’t it? I can’t believe how much the buns have grown already!
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What a great sweater! THe pattern..perfect. The color…perfect. Very nicely done. Now, if you are having trouble with that 14 year old, why don’t you knit her a bathing suit?
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your casual cable is darling!I would love to see you do that faux russian stole.how beautiful is that?? wow.stunning.I would have loved to be apart of that knitalong but I don’t think my lace knitting is up to that yet ;0) but I will have fun watching your project grow.love the bunnies,I bet their a hand full now ;0)
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Wow, all this with a dislocated finger? Unreal. I just love Casual Cables, everything about it — the color, the buttons, the style – yum!
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Paprika looks great! Someday I’ll get the gumption up to try lace, but for now, I’ll live vicariously through you. 🙂
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Wow, you’ve been busy! Such wonderful projects and such lovely handspun! Your shawl will be stunning!
The bunnies are precious. I know nothing about rabbits but the one looks darker and more cinnamon colored. They’re cute, regardless!
The paprika sweater is STUNNING! I bet you look fabulous in it!
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Your shawl is going to be GORGEOUS! I was thinking about that for mine KAL piece, too. Your sweater is also great and it would be wonderful to see it ‘in acton’.
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As always your baby animal pictures cheered me up today.
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I know how you feel about knit alongs – I am so often the same way. I want to join so many but don’t seem to have the follow through. Strangely enough for me I recently finished a couple of knit along items all in a row. I’ve seen the link for the Gathering of Lace along and am so tempted to join – alas I don’t have the book although it’s in my “line-up” of must haves. The handspun looks lovely for your project – I wish you happy knitting!
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So many beautiful things in this post. Thanks for clarifying jumper/fingering weight – was never sure about that! Sweet bunnies!
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Your cardigan is great! One thing about the Peruvian Wool is that it pills so much! Maybe I should knit at a tighter gauge!
The bunnies are sooooo cute!
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as always you make my day.
the babies are to die for.
and the opening comment really hit a spot that needed to be hit today.
thank you again so much
vi
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Great stash you’ve got there! Can;t wait to see your shawl. And those bunnies! Wanna hug them too!
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Sweet Bunnies, Kim!!!!!!! Keep me on the list and let me know:)
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Paprika looks wonderful! You really turn out some beautiful pieces. It will be fun to watch your progress on the lace.
I am thinking that the darker bunny is red, which is a difficult color to get, isn’t it? They are adorable. Makes me (sort of ) want to breed mine. But my husband would freak!
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