Monday's Musing - better late than never edition

"The truth is found when men are free to pursue it." - Franklin D. Roosevelt

Nose to the grindstone, shoulder to the wheel this week. ;)

Stay tuned for some muse news!

Decadent

I am inspired, but I'm not sure what I am inspired to do. At least not quite yet. You know when you get a really special skein of yarn and you want to do a project that will properly honor it? And if it's a fuzzy, yummy, soft skein of yarn, you want to wrap it around your neck and snuggle with it? I have a dilemma. Or two. One is a beautiful shade of gold.

And the other is a lovely shade of violet.

They are both soft, and I've been told by Craig at Great Northern Yarns that they become much softer as you knit them, plumping up to their full mink-y, cashmere-y fluffy, fuzzy goodness.

But now I have to decide what to make. I know which one I need to knit up first; it reminds me of my childhood. And here's a funny story for you. Most kids have a security blanket or two that they carry around with them, and I had two of them. Only they weren't quite blankets. My grandmother gave me two of her old cashmere sweaters, and I called them "Blue" and "Gold." I was obviously too young for creativity, but definitely not too young to appreciate some nice fiber! I carried them around with me until they literally fell apart, and the color memory is still strong today. This gold is exactly the same color as my old "Gold." I am so going to enjoy this!

Whew

I am always always nervous when I do a club pattern and then send out the packages. I keep thinking "what if no one likes it?!"

Well, I am over-the-moon thrilled to say that when the pattern hit and the boxes started getting to their destinations, people reported love! I feel a little like Sally Field, but I am just super happy. :) I can't show you the pattern here, because there are still people who haven't gotten theirs yet and aren't peeking, and in case they read this, I mustn't post pictures just yet. But here's a blurry picture that caught my fancy. Don't worry! It's not the right color. :)

Now go look here and you can see the whole thing. And if you want to join my little club, the pattern only subscription is still available through the end of the month! You can find it on Ravelry or on my site! And then you can knit along with everyone in my Ravelry forum. It's party time over there!

Feeling good this evening. Planning for Stitches West (I'm sharing a booth with Kristine from A Verb for Keeping Warm!) and relaxing just a little teensy bit. But not too much. :)

Monday's Musing

"Perfection is a trifle dull. It is not the least of life's ironies that this, which we all aim at, is better not quite achieved." -William Somerset Maugham

Here's to being interesting! :)

Monday's Musing

“The ultimate measure of a [person] is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” - Martin Luther King, Jr.

In honor of MLK, Jr. Day....

Have a great week, everyone!

Monday's Musing

“Pick the day. Enjoy it - to the hilt. The day as it comes. People as they come... The past, I think, has helped me appreciate the present - and I don't want to spoil any of it by fretting about the future." - Audrey Hepburn

As I am trying to be calm in the face of impending craziness, this quote is so comforting! Me to myself: "Live for today. Do everything you can do today. Repeat until the craziness has been conquered."

Have a great week everyone!

Rounding out the round-up

Whew! Where did the week go?! I think it was lost amid the thick pre-teen angst at Chez Romi these days. I started this post on the third and now it's the sixth already! I'm definitely needing those extra vitamins. But now, I'm finally back to do the rest of my 2011 round-up!

Other than the list of shawls I posted the other day, there were a few other projects I designed in 2011 (though nowhere near the number I did in 2010). I'm actually not sure how I managed to do all the designs I did in 2010. I think my family must have missed me!

First non-shawl project up in the year was the Heliosphere Tank for the first summer issue of Knitscene, my favorite knitting magazine (both because I love the aesthetic and because editor Lisa Shroyer is so fantastic to work with).

It was a super fun project to design, with a cowl neck...

and a racer back.

Next up was the Ileana Pullover, also for Knitscene.

It was knit from yummy aran weight Road to China.

I enjoyed every minute of knitting it!

And I about fainted in ecstasy when it made the cover!

At about the same time, my Gothic Tam came out in Interweave Knits Accessories. Knit out of Pico Accuardi Dyeworks aran weight merino/alpaca blend, it was a fun quick project. I made a few of them and gave them to friends, but I couldn't say anything because the pattern wasn't out yet. ;) I'm so sad to say that Pico Accuardi has now gone out of business. I will miss them.

Oooooh, sultry!

And last of all, I released the Poinsettia Tam.

It comes in the Canadian-style lined

and the California-style unlined versions.

The lined version calls for mohair/silk laceweight (here is the inside - we were wearing it both right-side and inside out at my knitting group).

And there's a bonus pattern for little mitts to use up extra yarn. They're layered with some lace on the outside and a liner of mohair/silk laceweight on the inside.

They look great under your coat, sort of peeking out.

My wonderful Canadian test knitter whose gorgeous head of hair is pictured above in the green tam wears them in addition to gloves and mittens, to keep cold air from blowing up her sleeves!

Well. That's it for the extra projects. 2011 was kind of a lean year, design-wise, but a very busy year family-wise. 2012 is already shaping up to be insane. Ulp!