Birthday Blog

It's my birthday and I plan on working with yarn today. Not necessarily knitting per se, since I am working on a new project that answers the intriguing question of 'what do I do with this yarn?'

It's a GORGEOUS 2-ply, handmade, hand-dyed yarn from 'Baba Black Sheep Yarns'  made from 75% Blue Faced Leicester Wool and 25% silk. I bought it online from Etsy (I think). It's so soft has a wonderful sheen thanks to the silk.

Oh it looks so gorgeous sitting there in a festive little ball don't you think? But I guess the problem is, it's not much use to anyone in it's current form. I tried knitting it with large needles and I thought it just lost so much of it's personality when it was knitted! I mean all the colors were there but it just didn't look as pretty to me. So I started thinking of a way to use this yarn that would preserve it's rich, stranded beauty. I think I finally came up with something, but will wait to reveal in another post (but you won't have to wait too long, promise).

The sun is out and my husband is scuttling about the kitchen making my birthday cake...a lemon and pistachio crunch 3-layer cake. I love watching this cooking drama unfold. Our own little version of Master Chef.

In other news, I finally finished the Ariosa Wrap Cardi from ages ago...last July. I was so happy to discover that before I had shelved the project, I had actually completed the second sleeve. Whew! I had to go 'offroad' on the pattern for the sleeves as they were too small when I followed the pattern exactly.

Here it is, happily blocking in the sunlight...

Ok, so there are some things that bug me about it, but hopefully after blocking, and maybe a couple of strategically placed buttons, it may be something I want to wear. One of the issues is the 4x4 ribbed band going all the way around. It pulls up on the bottom edge and so I've pinned it to try and block it into submission. Also the increases around the collar create a line that is quite visible to me, but hopefully the blocking has worked a little of that out. But yikes, I can still see it in the photo...so I guess it's something I'll have to live with.

It may need a belt too...I'll have to see about that. Something in a dense stitch, like linen stitch maybe.

I LOVE the color though...and the idea of a short-sleeved cardi. I'll work with it some more and see what I can do.