Happy Bunny Day to everyone! We had a really nice Easter breakfast here with the best coffee I've had in a while. I bought Casi Cielo whole bean from Starbucks . . . mmmMMMmmmMMM!! I haven't had coffee this good in a long time!
Lots of stuff and pics to share, but I don't have any new pics of my Hypoteneuse yet. I'm up to row 6 and will be working throughout the day today. I'm hoping to get to the 10th row by next weekend. *sigh* The 17 row total seems so faaaaaaaaaaaar away!! I'm still loving the pattern and the yarn, so that's a good thing. Otherwise, I'd be putting this away for a while. But I'm anxious to finish it. It's also giving me ideas about splurging for a blocking board. Do any of you have any? Do you have any good recommendations? I want one big enough for future projects but I really don't have a huge amount of room either. I've heard that blocking boards are really only good for sweaters and lace . . and that you can block on just about any surface that's flat -- just use towels and pins. Is that how most of you do your blocking?
Okay . . . on to some amazing goodies I've purchased in the last couple of weeks that have just arrived. First off, I came across a find on Etsy that's about as good as any I've had since I've become aware of that great website: KaratStix. I emailed Karen right away and asked for a custom order. Here are the items she made for me:
Aren't these tools just wonderful?!?!? She's so talented!!! All I had to do was mention that I loved butterflies and dragonflies and she came up with exactly what I wanted. I have another order to start with her soon . . . but I'm going to keep that quiet for a bit because it's a very special gift for someone.
I don't often get all dizzy over yarn . . but when I saw this on Sockpixie's website, I almost fainted:
I swear, this has to be one of the most beautiful sock yarn colorways I've EVER seen! I could not pass it up. She based her collection on a series of paintings and this one was of the Comtesse de Grammont-Caderousse. I've placed the exact painting she used to inspire her for this colorway under the picture of the sock yarn above. I love her concepts and her interpretations of art into her work!! She is truly an artist.
And finally . . a bit of my own stuff. This week a co-worker taught me how to make a Granny Square. Yeah, it's apparently so easy . . . and it became so after I got the hang of it . . . but I'm the kind of person who learns best from someone sitting down and showing me once -- then I'm off. So, reading patterns in a book isn't the easiest for me. If you show me how to do the stitches, then I've got it. I used to be the same way when I played the violin. I could never learn how to read the music, but I learned how to play by listening and watching my teachers. Okay . . okay . . enough about me . . . here's my First Granny Square (felted):
I felted it only because . . well . . I didn't really have any idea what to do with it. *LOL* I used one ball of the Paton's Soy Wool and I've always wanted to see how that felted. Eh, I'm not too happy with it. It's really, really fuzzy when it's done and it takes a lot longer to felt up . . compared to Cascade 220. I know that there's some "shaving" you have to do when you're done . . and I did shave this one a lot . . but I'm not crazy about the hairy way some wools felt. For the time being, I've decided to use it under my favorite little statue of Pygmalion and Galatea that I bought on Madison Avenue when I was in New York City back in 1999.
I found a really nice pattern for a granny square blanket I might try to crochet at some point. It's the Granny Square Afghan with Wide Knitted Border from Knitting Loves Crochet by Candi Jensen. I really like the rose/blush/terracotta colors . . but I think I would do a tan border/edging instead of the green that was used.
Okay . . well, the Hypoteneuse is calling me so . . I have to go knit! I hope you've had a nice and relaxing weekend. :)