Hidden Beauty

This morning while photographing the first skeins of yarn I spun on my spinning wheel, I noticed the reflection of my Valentine roses in the granite counter top.  Such a nice, unexpected thing.

Here is the yarn.  It is about 250 yards of 2-ply wool.  I haven't checked the wraps per inch yet, but I feels about sport weight.  After a soak it became very soft.  I love how it feels and am getting excited about working with it.  I'll have to browse on Ravelry to find a suitable use for it.  I do have a little more to ply.  I need to wind it into a ball so I can pull from both the outside and the center to get more 2-ply.  

Last weekend I visited my mom.  Waiting for me at her house were bags of yarn from my sister's friend.  This friend rescued the yarn from a house that was set to be demolished.  There is an unbelievable assortment of very nice yarn.  There were a dozen balls of Rowan Super Chunky Tweed in the bags.  The rescuer has asked for an infinity scarf out of this blue wool.  The majority of what I brought back with me is still in my car.  Some of it is moth-eaten.  I want to leave it in there until I'm sure there aren't any more moths lurking in the skeins. 

I made a little progress on my silk scarf.  I'm into the second band of eyelet lace.

I just love how shimmery it is.

True to form, I finished a project and gifted it without taking a final picture.  I gave my niece the pug I made for her.  I need to ask her to snap a photo and send to me.

Project Updates

Just a quick update on what I've been working on this week.

My first Prayer Shawl is finished.  I put fringe on it and tossed it in the washer and dryer for a spin.  It came out soft and fluffy.  I was worried it was going to be dense and stiff.  It is patiently waiting for next month's meeting to be donated.

Prayer Shawl #2 is started.  I had some Lion Brand Wool-Ease in my stash.  I've combined it with some black yarn I picked up at the Prayer Shawl Ministry meeting last week.

I've based this shawl on the cover pattern from this book, which I borrowed from the library.  Sorry about the rotated picture. I'm not sure why that one rotated when it uploaded from the camera.

I worked a few rows on the blue silk scarf.  I'm into the second band of eyelet stitch.

 That's all I have for now.  Have a great week.

Ohio Weather

In the past week, the weather here in central Ohio has gone from winter to spring and back to winter. Wednesday the temperatures reached into the 60s (F). I noticed my daffodils were starting to poke above the soil in the front flower bed. I'm sure they are frozen now. Thursday a blast of cold air moved into the area. Today has been grey with steady snow. If the radar is correct, the snow should stop in a couple hours. I'm not sure I believe it though, particularly after the weird sight on Thursday. As I was leaving work, it was snowing quite heavily. I had to brush off my vehicle before I could drive home. As I was walking around my car, I happened to look up. The sky was blue above me. There were wispy clouds off to the side, but none above me. The wind was calm. I was totally baffled as to where the snow was coming from. Unfortunately I didn't get to watch the news that evening so I'm not sure if the local weather crew commented on the phenomenon.

This is the prayer shawl I started a few months ago.  The group meets on the first Saturday of the month.  I brought this with me hoping the other ladies would agree that it is big enough to declare done.  Unfortunately the unofficial leader of the group threw a tape measure at me and said if it doesn't measure 60 inches I need to keep at it.  I'm about 12 inches short.  I guess I'll keep at it.  I'm getting quite bored with it.  Luckily crochet goes fast.  I just hope I have enough yarn to get it to 60 inches.  If I run out of yarn and it isn't long enough, it will just have to do.  My goal is to finish it before next months meeting.

One of the ladies at the gathering this morning brought in a bag of yarn she had around the house.  All of it was old, acrylic yarn.  Most of it reminded of the 1970s, bright orange, yellow and red.   I hadn't intended on taking any but at the last minute took 3 skeins of black.  I figured I could combine it with some varigated yarn I had in my stash.  Above is the beginnings of my second prayer shawl combining the black acrylic with some Lion Brand Wool-Ease.  I honestly don't remember where the Lion Brand yarn came from.  I know I've had it for a long time.  Well, at least it will get put to good use now instead of taking up space in my basement.  As far as the pattern goes, I'm adapting a scarf pattern I saw in a book I borrowed from the library.  With two strands of yarn and size US 11 needles, I suspect this shawl will work up a lot faster than the blue one.