Ish-pirations

When listing of what I think of as *my* colors, anything eye-wateringly bright is nowhere on it. Neon friggin pink? That's on another plane of existence from my list.

So why the heck is this...

*THIS* my new favorite shawl?!?!?!

Teroldego started as an explosion of inspiration from an instagram post by Diana (@pepperminta on instagram). The colors she picked just made my little heart explode and made me want to start one of my own immediately.

So I did.

And I can't take it off.

Seriously. 

It's become my go-to, I'm-kinda-chilly shawl.

Along with my fabulously comfortable new dress there.

But who cares about that? Let's keep looking at the shawl.

For the yarn I used Three Irish Girls Adorn Sock in Kraken, Malabrigo Sock in Fuschia, and Manos del Uruguay Alegria in Leo.

I actually ran out of the first skein of Kraken, but had some left over from a different project, thankfully.

I modded this shawl so much from the original pattern, it might as well be called Teroldego-ish.

One of those mods included replacing bobbles with beads.

As for the rest....

Well, here's my list from Ravelry:

-Beads instead of bobbles

-Fewer stripes in the middle section

-Fudged some increases to get to 200 stitches

-Started lace rows with 82 stitches on the left, 118 on the right (not including 4 extra icord stitches)

-Less lace rows in the second section (think I stopped at row 68)

-I-cord edges

Final section

-garter instead of stockinette

-doubled the increase/decrease pattern to end more quickly

-more rows in this section as a consequence of less lace rows

-icord bind off

All of the above changes were to accommodate a limited amount of yarn. I would have run out of the pink and possibly the gold if I would have done the full size.

There's not much else to say about it, other than it feels like a dream to wear, so let's just look at more pretty pictures.

OH WAIT! There IS something else I can talk to you about!

So, it actually took us TWO DAYS to take these pictures because Yours Truly thought that she could outrace the weather. We'd originally tried to go on Saturday, but as I walked to the park, the sky looked like this.

We had a big storm incoming, which also wreaked havoc on my hair, so I wasn't exactly feeling pretty.

See?

It was so dull and lifeless.

And the light kept changing wildly, which made the pictures even worse.

We tried to get a few interesting, arty shots with the storm clouds in the background, but no luck. It just washed out my shawl.

Though I am rather fond of this one.

Anyway, second day went better and you get to see the shawl in all it's bright glory, as it should be.

Along with a smiling, happy knitter utterly enthralled with her knew creation.

Just as it should be.

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Typical...

It's going to be nearly 90 degrees tomorrow.

Do I really want to wear a 12 foot wide shawl thrown around me in that heat?

So, I may *allegedly* perhaps be trying desperately to finish Teroldego before tomorrow.

It may be a case of "weaving in ends as we drive there" but I think I can do it.

Let's just hope the hands hold up.

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Tidbits

I really haven't worked on any sort cohesive projects that require an entire blog post dedicated to it, so I thought I'd just kinda show the little things I've been doing and working on.

I did get one little knit project done a few months ago that I just never shared here.

I made a mini me in a black goat outfit!

I even have a lil tail.

But that's not all.

Afterall, who would I be without one of my signature shawls?

Yep! It's a mini Rainbomb!

And yes, I'm seriously considering making mini versions of all my favorite shawls.


John and I had fun with a quick bit of thrift shopping recently.

My faves were these incredible, brand-new boots.

And these two new purses.

We did our annual clean-all-the-crud-off-the-porch and, damn, it's looking so good.

We also discovered some new residents on said porch when we were cleaning. We're now playing host to a hive of carpenter bees.

If you look closely, there's one on the bricks to the right, as well as one in one of the tubes in the bottom right.

They don't really pose a threat, so we're going to let them do their thing.

We've also been busting our butts on our flower beds, especially the problem one in the front.

I ended up with some new color varieties of marigold in the planter boxes.

The left one is called Fireball and the left is Strawberry Blonde.

I also got these gorgeous petunias.

But my absolute favorite is the coleus we ended up planting in the front flower bed.

This seriously is my new favorite flower bed. Lets just hope that things actually grow like I want them to.


I got a fun new book to read.

I haven't had a chance to really dive in much. I want to take my time and really take it in rather than do my usual C O N S U M E style of reading, which allows me to just get lost in the book and process it all later.

What's that? The project underneath?

Yeah, okay. Teroldego has made it out of purgatory. I've made it to the lace section now. I haven't touched it in nearly a week, though, since we've been working outside so much.

As for Cloud Illusions (the shawl I said I wanted to wear to GLFS)... well, the more I thought about it, the more I kept looking at Rainbomb.

Rainbomb is an absolute spectacle and really friggin impressive. I *want* to show it off. And where better to do that than at a fiber show?

Speaking of fiber, want to see my newest wool pretties?

First up is what I ended up getting at the latest pj party, a pretty skein of TIG Adorn Sport.

I've seen this poor loner on the wall forever and I felt bad, so I brought it home. I just wish I could actually get a halfway decent picture of it. It's absolutely gorgeous in person, but was being particularly persnickety about showing that off.

"But Ashtan! What are you going to do with a single skein of sport yarn? Also... they make sport weight yarn? I thought only bulky, worsted, fingering, and lace existed in your world..."

Yes, yes, I know. But I actually already have a plan in place! There's actually some other TIG yarn in the same weight that is going to pair beautifully with this. So, I got my next purchase already sorted.

The other yarn I got was a Limited Edition color from Leon Alexander Yarns. It was part of their May the 4th collection. It's called Eulogy and it's dedicated to our most beloved Rebel Princess and General, Leia Organa.

I'm kicking myself for not buying a second one. Isn't it just lovely?

And to finish us out, how about I show off the LAST FRIGGIN CHRISTMAS PRESENT I did last year? No, I still haven't managed to send it to Lily. But I at least showed her pictures! So, without further ado, behold! The spider cowl!

This really was a labor of love because there was So. Much. Purling.

But I can't really argue with the results.

I absolutely adore how each spider looks completely different and unique from the other ones.

I actually love it so much that I *may* or *may not* be considering making myself a matching one. Assuming I can convince my hands that all that purling is worth it again.

I think it is. Don't you?
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*Star Trek: The Next Generation Theme Plays*

Captain's Log: Stardate 96840.98

We seem to be stuck in an anomaly.

Progress on the Teroldego Mission had been progressing smoothly. We had reached the second sector with only minor incidents, though it all had leveled out.

It was when we started progressing into the Gold Fields in the second sector that we ran into problems.

We seem to be stuck in a time vortex. The Fields are going on evermore, ceaseless. Just back and forth, first in a swirling midnight, then deepest gold.

Down.
And back.

Down.
And back.

Morale is starting to deteriorate. I fear a mutiny.

We may have to reassign duties to pacify the crew.

For now, we shall continue forward with the mission, and hope that we discover an end to this nightmare.

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Bliss, Twist, Pissed... So List

So, a day... A SINGLE DAY... after posting about how great my new phone was, I picked it up off the desk AND THE SCREEN WAS CRACKED!

I hadn't dropped it, tossed it... indeed, I was being purposefully careful and gentle with it since our cases hadn't come in yet. Needless to say, I was pissed.

And through a bunch of bullshit, we have to pay a bunch of money to have it fixed.

So a comprehensive blog post isn't really something I can do today.

List post it is.

1. First and foremost, I want to take a second to acknowledge the conversation happening about racism in the knitting community. I apologize for my lateness in saying anything about this on here.

This article from Vox gives a good overview of the situation.

Please take a few minutes to read it and understand what's going on.

I'm working on a longer, more in-depth blog post about the whole situation, including links to BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Other People of Color) artisans who have been generous enough with their time and energy to help us white yarn crafters as we start to acknowledge and work on unpacking our own racial biases. I'll also have links to resources to help in that regard.

As you can imagine, it takes A LOT of emotional and mental energy when you really start digging into biases and racism that you didn't realize you were participating in. So it's taking longer than I like, and I apologize for that.

But I'll leave you with this statement: I refuse to be part of the "silent majority" that some of the worst perpetrators of the racism shown in the knitting community claim I am a part of. I will work on unpacking my own biases, do my best to listen to BIPOC when , apologize and change my behavior when I stumble. I will also do my best to amplify and support the voices and businesses of BIPOC yarn crafters.

2. I got some amazing squish mail today from Knitcraft & Knittery including this indigo test skein...

And these GORGEOUS skeins of her fingering weight in a fun AF colorway name, Drunk Mosquitoes.

These might actually be contenders for my ceremony shawl because...

3. I'm changing shawl patterns... again.

I KNOW, OKAY! I'M A TERRIBLE PERSON WHO CAN'T EVER MAKE A DECISION!

But to be fair, I also JUST found my dress, and it was not I expected I would end up with.

There are some minor changes I'm planning on making, but I am SO in love with it.

But you can see how having my super large cape-like shawl is going to cover up and overwhelm the dress.

So I've decided on a Boo Knits pattern instead. Still gorgeous, full of beads, but a better compliment to the dress.

But that means that I'm going to have to decide on what yarn I want to use.

Joy.

4. I'm still cranking away on Teroldego. I'm through the colorwork section and am on the striped section before the big lace section.

I was hoping to maybe have it done in time for the next pj party, but I don't think that's going to happen. Especially because my wrists have been bothering me, so I've been trying to give them a break.

5. I GOT MY BULBASAUR FUNKOS!

I want like 80 more, but John says no. :(

6. In addition to the new phones we got recently, we were able to get an iPad tacked onto our plan for just a couple more bucks a month, so I've been having fun playing with Procreate and the Apple Pencil.

7. I'm particularly proud of how this bujo spread came out.

8. It was hair color time for us. Saturday, John went to a purple with more blue undertones.

As for me, mermaid is officially out.

And witch is in.

I am SO in love with how it came out. I can't wait to see how it fades.

And in case you were wondering what I look like as a blonde...

9. And here's a picture of Oj to finish out the post.

If you'll excuse me, I have about a billion different green yarns to look through. 

Until next time.

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