Sunday, January 15, 2006

I've said it before, I'll say it again....

Mmmmmm, Malabrigo. I finished my shrug last night:


Here's a shot of the back:


(The reason you don't see my face in any of these pictures is because I rode my bike for a couple of hours this afternoon, so I have major hair issues. Aah, the weekend is a time for unattractiveness. And yes, I spend a lot of time in white camis and black workout pants. I realized last night that I'm wearing them in a lot of pictures. It's what I live in when I'm at home, especially on the weekend.)

I. Love. This. Shrug. I love the design. I love the contrast of the green against the purple. I love the purple. I love the incredible, ridiculous softness of this yarn. But you know how they always say that if you're using a variegated yarn to work with 2 skeins at once, switching after a couple of rows? If you look at the sleeves, you can tell I didn't follow that rule. I never have and it's never been a problem. Until now. One sleeve is definitely darker than the rest of the shrug. Dammit. I noticed the difference when we were winding the last skein. Hell, my husband even noticed the difference. I just tried to ignore it and hoped that there'd be enough lighter parts to make it flow. I don't think it looks like crap, but I do wish I had followed the switching skeins rule. But I'm not redoing it - I have too many other things to knit. Chalk it up to handpainted yarn and a lesson learned.

And here's a question I need your opinions on: should I get some kind of closure for the front? The shrug they had in the shop was worn open, but I kinda like mine closed:


What do you think? If closed, what kind of closure? I definitely don't like the idea of crocheted ties, I know that much. I'm leaning towards some kind of metal closure. Throw some ideas at me, please!

Speaking of other things to knit, I told myself last night that I would only work on my never-ending Gryffindor scarf this week and not start anything new. I really would like to get it done before Harry graduates from Hogwarts. It's so mindless, though, that I get bored. So we wound the beautimous skein of purple silk that Wendy dyed for me and I'm going to start something tonight. (By the way, Wendy, my husband and I want to compliment you on the way you wound this hank. It was by far the easiest stuff we've wound!) It's been calling my name for too long, and I can't ignore it anymore. I'm thinking of the Chevron scarf from Last Minute Knitted Gifts or Edgar from Knitty. Two totally different ideas, but I like them both. Kinda like the fact that I like both Miller Lite and Guinness Stout beers.

Off the subject of knitting, I rode with my friends today, and we made a stop at this little country store that lots of cyclists stop at. They've got picnic benches outside and bathrooms, so it's a great place to take a break, buy a candy bar and a Coke, and socialize a bit before getting back in the saddle. It's an odd store: it's a deer check-in station, a little grocery store, a meat-and-three where you can sit and eat a good country breakfast or lunch, a nightspot for musicians who live in the area (and in Nashville, there are plenty!), and I think you can buy gas. When my friend and I went inside, there was Michael McDonald and Kenny Loggins! They were just sitting at a table in the middle of the store, eating and talking. We Nashvillians have celebrity sightings quite a bit (Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, both Brooks & Dunn guys, Pam Tillis, Alan Jackson, Clint Black, Ray Stevens, and Dolly Parton are the ones I can remember running into), but I think it's really cool when I run into musicians that have been around a long time. I used to listen to the Doobie Brothers a lot when I was little, so seeing Michael McDonald was really cool. And Kenny Loggins is on Hayden's Elmopalooza DVD which he has been watching all weekend. I kinda wanted to tell him, "Hey, I've been hearing you sing "One Small Voice" on Elmopalooza all morning long!" but I didn't. They're people too, and I'm sure didn't want to be bothered.

Okay, I know this is turning into a long post, but here are my goals for the week:

1. Get 3 more repeats done on my Gryffindor scarf.
2. Start a scarf with my silk yarn.
3. Order the rest of the grey yarn I need for the MC of my Fair Isle cardigan. I'm using Brown Sheep Nature Spun Worsted, which my LYS doesn't carry, so I'm getting it from Patternworks. My colors are grey, 3 shades of pink, and 1 purple. Purple - can you believe it?
4. Do all the workouts on my training schedule (over 12 hours' worth - yikes!).
5. Buy some size 1 dpns so that I can finally jump on the Jaywalker bandwagon.

5 comments:

knitncycle said...

Hey! I dig the shrug! I'd look for a really interesting metal brooch or pin to use as a closure. Definitely metal would look really nice! Good luck on your WIPs. Got your post and would love some spin recommendations! Thanks, Alicia

Wendy said...

You could also fasten one of those wee, discreet hook & eye closures (like on the back of a bra). I prefer the look of it closed as well.

Here's more info about the Disney half:
http://tinyurl.com/ar4t5

The race is on the 17th.

Wendy said...

Oh, and thanks for the winding compliment, I have it when skeins are wound all weird, I definitely have better things to do than untangling yarn, ja?

Jen said...

LOVE the shrug (bolero?) beautiful color contrasts, and I like it closed too. I agree with Knitncycle that a brooch pin would work well. I lean towards stuff like that because then I don't have to sew anything on... d*mn finishing! I can't really tell in the picture that one of the sleeves is darker than the other, but maybe that's just the lighting.

Hey, at least you're wearing actual clothes. I spend so much of my time in pajamas from working from home.

Michelle said...

Closed or open, either way, it looks great! I like the idea of something discreet, too, so that you can choose either way without it looking like it's meant to be closed on the days you feel like wearing it open.