Carmen offered to do a "swap" several months ago, and I hurriedly volunteered....I just love to read Carmen's blog (note to Carmen: please update daily) and after some sleuthing (read: exchanging emails) I knew lots about her likes and dislikes, her address in Colorado, and we even had a deadline date. March 1st, to be exact.
Here it is, April 1st, and I'm finally sending out her package. Hoo-boy. One month late! Part of the problem is that I wanted to sew some stuff, and I'm not a good sewer. The other part of the problem is, well, I'm me. I'll post some pictures of what I worked on, but I'll wait until after I know she got the box.
In the meantime, here is a (kind of!) picture of me wearing a shawl I made at the baseball game last Saturday. That's right, you heard me, this shawl* was started and finished in about 3 hours. What what! I am kind of in love with it, and I was even able to enjoy it on the breezy, sunny days that started this week. For the last two days I've been holed up under layers of fleece, blankets, and wool socks, preparing for the flash floods. Out like a huh?
I just love this yarn. It's no special fiber, but it's soft and I just adore that brick-orange color. (I have no idea who makes it, or anything else, because I bought a few skeins second hand, and they were not labeled.) And, because I used 2 skeins to make this shawl, it must be noted that it cost less than $1.00 in materials. Which is good, because I spent about $20 on that shawl pin when I was in Ashland, Oregon last summer.
Thus, we conclude, with one of the (many) paradoxes of being me...frugal; except not....especially when it's cute. :)
* The pattern is free. You have to 'sign up', but it's nothing and they've never spammed me or anything like that. The shawl worked up FAST and easy. They have it listed as 'intermediate', but it was super easy, so I would recommend it even to a beginner. There was a wee bit of controversy in the comments about how small it worked up for some folks. I used N hook with normal worsted weight yarn (on the thin side, if anything) and it was fine. Keep your tension loose, that might solve it! It's meant to be lacy, so don't be too stingy with your stitches. If it seems small to you, there are suggestions in the comments on how to continue the pattern. Still easy! So I declare.
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I laughed out loud after the second paragraph... I mailed your box on Monday, which means I was *only* 29 days late myself! Weren't we saying how weird it was that we had so much in common?
ReplyDeleteRegardless of how our timing went awry, I had so much fun doing this! I hope you did, too! And that shawl is absolutely gorgeous! I think I'm done with exclamation points!
I like it............methinks it could be a winter project!
ReplyDeleteCarmen ~ hmmmm...I think if my spring break was last week, instead of next week, I might have been able to do it in 29 days too! haha! I do love us. :) I had SO MUCH FUN doing this!!! Of course now that I'm a month late, I'll be all tapping my foot at the post office for taking three days to get to you. lol
ReplyDeleteLinda ~ oh, totally! But be sure and make it out of fur, because it's definitely not snow proof!
I missed commenting on your last post because I was out of town without (FREE) wifi in the room and too tired after conference days and playing nights to sit down in the lobby with the computer.
ReplyDeleteBut Spinning????? Oh yeah!!!!! Your yarn looks just like every spinners first skein! Mine (in 1998) made crocheted potholders that only a mother could love (and mine did--so did her dog, who inherited them when they were done being potholders)! I then proceeded to spin about 3 lbs of wool for a "Spin List" skein swap (24 2 oz skeins). I didn't get a lot of yarn back :-( but I did get much more comfortable with spinning!
Love the shawl! Just think how it would be with your hanspun!
It's funny, Kelly, that you mention your own first try...about two hours in, our instructor hauled out her first rolled up ball from the 70s! I loved that! I love that no matter how...unseemly... it might come out, you end up loving it with a passion that makes you hold onto it for half a lifetime!
ReplyDeleteI think my skein has just enough spun yarn to make...well...I could probably make a long chain? haha!