good ol' summertime

Memorial Day 2009 was spent with a couple of families of friends, enjoying the sunshine and time together, then back home for a shift of gears (let the dog out, pick up our picnic contribution) and out again in a different direction for a cookout. With the exception of the bird who shat upon my shoulder while I was sitting under a big ol' tree, it was a perfectly pleasant day. We were up early and out the door, home again in time to fall into bed. Whew -- all that romping and relaxation tires a person out. :-)

I have a recent FO to share!

Pattern: La Novia by Anne Hanson
Yarn: Celestial by Dye Dreams, bought at CT S&W
Modifications: Where the pattern called for a P2togTBL, instead slipped the two stitches knit-wise with the yarn in front and then purled them together, like a SSK, as suggested by Rebecca Z.

I like this scarf, but I didn't enjoy knitting it. This is no fault of the pattern, which is crystal clear, as are all of Anne's patterns. I was aiming for one of those patterns with a repeated small motif, where I could get the chart into my head and just zip along without too much counting, tracking, or referring to the chart. Since this is only a 6-row repeat, I thought it would fit the bill, but that wasn't the case at all. I had to look at the chart for every single row, keep track with a row counter, and count stitches all the way. Nothing difficult about it, just not the intuitive little lacy thing I wanted to work on. Maybe I'm just dense. I did like how it was turning out, though, and it moved along quickly with this worsted weight yarn, so I just stuck with it, mostly knitting it while on the porch at my grandma's in the early morning quiet hours before everyone else got up.

Anne suggests a light blocking, but mine looked a little too chaotic, so I blocked the heck out of it. The alpaca, merino, and silk blend is heavenly. I adore the deep teal (I know it looks blue in the pic, but it's darker and more green). I'm very happy with the end result of this project and equally happy to be done with knitting it.

After endless stockinette slog, I have FINALLY reached the patterned portion of the body of Scott's gansey -- yahoo! Done with the fiddly mathiness of getting the pattern set up, I should be able to move along smoothly with it now. Best of all, this entire week appears to be a continuation of the weekend's festivities!