A Finished Foggy Dew

  I finished my Foggy Dew shawl the other day! It looks gorgeous!  I ended up running a bit short on the original color I was using and has to switch to another color, but the brief contrast on the edge really sets it off (in my opinion). I’m much happier with the color change, than I would have probably been if I didn’t run short. :D It worked out alright anyway.  I definitely want to do this pattern again some point in the future—sometime after I do a ton of the other patterns I have faved and/or queued. ::LOL::

   Speaking of said shawl, I’ve been wearing it quite frequently since I finished it. I get chilled easily and my bosses are adamant about running the ac once it hits 69°F or 70°F in the office. ::brrr:: Even though the vent next to me is closed, it doesn’t help much, especially since  it’s only about 18 to 24 inches away from me. ::lol:: It gives me a good reason to wear my shawl, but that’s about all I can say for it.  OK, enough whining about the cold. ::LOL::

   In lieu of the fact that I had quite a bit Mervielle du Jour Moth Skinny Bugga! leftover from the border of Foggy Dew, I decided to use it on Liz Abinate’s Traveling Woman shawl. It caught my eye sometime back and I have enough yarn to do it, but not so much that I’ll end up with a bunch of waste yarn. :)

Foggy, Foggy Dew

   This, my friends, is a completed Citron. :) A fun and easy knit, but it started to take a bit more time towards the end. A whopping 540 stitches per row on the ruffle! Happily, it’s done and blocked (unblocked in this photo). I was in too much of a hurry this morning and forgot it at home though. :( A pity, because I’d have loved to wear it today. As gloomy and rainy looking as it is right now, I could use something bright.

   Now that I’m done with one shawl, I’m starting another-- Spring is in the Air, although I’m naming it “Foggy Dew” since mine is a fog gray with clear beads. :D This is my first time beading while knitting and I rather like it so far. I just used some beading wire to pull the yarn through the bead since it’s what I had at the time and works really, really well. :) The pattern is quite simple too, so you can usually just memorize the line and glance at the chart or written directions for reference once in awhile. It’ll be awhile before I finish this one, but it’ll be quite pretty when it’s done. :)

Citron, Socks, and a Cup of Tea

   I probably would have had Citron done by now, but I stopped so I could make a pair of socks for my mom for Mother’s Day, do some yard work, and various other miscellaneous things. Yeah, I’m quite ambitious with the spring weather around here. ::lol:: I’ll just summarize everything in separate paragraphs and hopefully, I don’t bore anyone reading this. ;)

   I thought I gave myself plenty of time to get Mom’s socks done (2 weeks is enough, right?), but I was pushing the limit on getting them done and mailed to her on time. They should be there Saturday (I mailed them yesterday afternoon), but it might be Monday depending on how fast USPS moves. Close enough at any rate. I didn’t get them blocked, but that’s alright. Between the socks and the tasty coffee, I think she’ll like them. :)

    I’m almost done with section 3 of Citron at the moment. I’m excited to be that far into it and I can’t wait to finish it. I love the color green and with spring here, this is an excellent project to be working on right now. :D I’ve mentioned before that the pattern just caught my eye when I first saw it. It’s even lovelier when you’re seeing it in person.

   I’m currently enjoying a cup of Mighty Leaf’s Pear Caramel Truffle. This stuff is incredible! A nice, rich black  tea that’s perfect for any occasion. Mmmmm. If my allergies weren’t wreaking so much havoc with me, I’d write a tea review as well, but it’s taking all my mental functions just to get this post written and not be incredibly dry. Hopefully, I get over the low brain power state of my allergy troubles soon. Until then, I have tasty caffeinated tea.

   I’ve been trying to make it outside lately--especially with the  warmer weather—and get some stuff done to my yard. I noticed a few weeks ago that there was something growing along the outside edge, but wasn’t sure if they were tulips or daffodils. Turns out they’re tulips. I moved in to this place during the fall last year, so I didn’t have a chance to see the tulips, but I’m happy they’re there because they brighten the whole place up. The yard has some dead patches, so I’ve been raking and trying to reseed it a little bit when it’s not too cold or windy out. I need to kill some dandelions as well, but at least I have my own yard to play with now. ::happy dance:: I already have the start of a small garden out there. Some cilantro, chives, dill, basil, and creeping phlox right now, but I’ll get some more stuff out when it warms up more and I don’t have to worry about snow.

   I’ve decided to give spinning a try. A drop spindle isn’t that much, so I won’t be out hardly anything if it doesn’t pan out. As for why I want to spin, well, I saw a colorway I loved on Etsy, but the fingering weight yarn was sold out. I could have asked if they’d dye some more for me, but since they had the roving in that colorway, I decided to give it a whirl (no pun intended). I ordered a Learn to Spin kit from another seller, so I had some short instructions and practice material. I got my lovely roving yesterday and I’m anxiously waiting on the spindle kit to arrive. It’ll take me a bit to get the hang of it, but I think it’ll be a lot of fun…if I can keep my dog away from it. ::lol:: I’m hoping he doesn’t decide that he should try and play with the spindle, and knowing him he might.

   Wow, this ended up being a lot longer than I thought. ::lol:: Yay for spring and summer! :D

Candied Orange Peels and Knitting Fun

     While meandering through Safeway last Friday, I found some rather large,rather lovely navel oranges on sale. This gave me an idea to do candied orange peels. I’d done them once before around Christmas, but they just sounded great then. I didn’t get the chance to do them last weekend, but I did get them done this time around. :) They’re not hard to do, just a bit time consuming with the boiling and rinsing three times, candying them, then letting them air dry. It’s worth the effort though!  The hardest part has to be letting them dry. They look so tasty and inviting that you can’t help but sneak a few now and then.

     Sometime back,  Citron caught my eye when I saw it on Yarn on the House's blog. It’s simple, vibrant, and  still incredibly elegant. I ordered the yarn last week, figuring that I’d pick up the needles at my local craft shop. No luck on getting the needles there, so I ordered them. However, that means that I have to find something small to keep me occupied while I wait for the needles.    

     After digging through my yarn stash, I got the idea to make a matching serviette type napkin to go with a tea cozy I made about a year ago. I  still had plenty of yarn left from the project to use up anyway. After combing through Ravelry, I found a pretty washcloth pattern that suited my needs. It’s my first attempt with yarn overs and this was an excellent way to fiddle with them. :D