Jewel's Purls

Introducing Kilkenny

It's finished!!  YAY!!

I'm really happy to show off Kilkenny.  It was knit in Jamieson's Soft Shetland in colorway Cedar.  This pattern is by Lorraine and it was a great knit. 

I still have my Mohana shawl to finish but I'm eyeing other stuff in my stash too.  So much stash.  So little time.

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

I like doing two sleeves at a time when I can. That way when I whine to myself about how long its taking, I remind myself that when they're done, they're done! Seriously though, Kilkenny has been a joy to knit.
I could have had it done by now had I not been working on socks and other things. Anyhoo, here's a picture. It's from my camera phone taken at work, but it's better than nothing.

Kilkenny, Stash Augmentation, and a Prize!

I have to start this post with one of the most wonderful things that has happened to me in a long time.  I won a Rainey Sisters Mug!  Woo hoo!  I entered their anniversary contest and submitted my most disastrous knitting story.  It's too painful to go into detail again but you can read all about it here.  My morning coffee definitely tastes better in a Rainey Sisters mug.  Thanks, Susan and Sally!

The Rainey Sisters are just so cute.  Look at Susan's Kauni cardigan.  This weekend it was in the 80s and I can't fathom wearing wool right now.

Okay.  Knitting content.  I've been merrily knitting away on Kilkenny.  I've finished the front and back and am doing the sleeves together at the same time.  I like knowing that when they're done Kilkenny is just about finished.  It seems to take forever to do them, but I know they'll be identical. 

There has been much stash enhancing going on in the last few months.  I hold Lorraine mostly to blame.  Her birthday was last week and in honor of her birthday I purchased more yarn.  I think it was a wonderful tribute to such a dear friend, don't you?

Here is the latest from The Woolen Rabbit:

From left to right:  Scarlett Devil lace, Scarlett Devil sock, Calendula Sock, and Tequila Sunrise sock.   Scrumptious. 

And here is the latest from White Willow:

From left to right:  3 hanks of Snowflake lace, Sandstone rose sock, and Spot sock yarn.

That's about it for now.   A quick drive by blog post is better than nothing, no?

My Knitting Blahs

I've been suffering from the knitting blahs lately.  I still have Luskentyre languishing on the sides, but I've been craving texture work, something with thicker yarn.  So, I've been having start fits.  In the last week I've started about 4 different projects and felt "meh" about them.  So, I frogged them and looked for something else.  Meanwhile between my start fits, I've managed to start and finish a few quick things.  Here is Hot Waffles by Anne Hanson.  The yarn is Beach Fog in Dream in Color Classy.  I see more of these in my future as gifts. 

I also did a scarf as a gift for my older son to give and did the Paris-Roubaix scarf, again by Anne  Hanson.  This is knitted in November Muse in Dream in Color Classy.  Another great pattern that I'll definitely be digging out again.

So, once my start fits were through, I finally settled on something that I loved.  Kilkenny.  I'm using Jamieson's Soft Shetland in Cedar.  It's tough to get a picture that captures both the color and the cables, so here are two photos side by side.  The photo on the left is very close to showing the true color and the one on the right shows the cables better.  The photo shows the completion of almost one repeat.  I'm currently just finishing the fourth repeat.  I'm so in love with this project!

As I'm getting older I'm finding it harder to remember what projects I've knitted with superwash yarn and what projects need to be handwashed.  So, I've come up with a solution.  I suppose it takes away from the handknitted feel but if I give something to someone I want them to remember how to take care of it.  Heck, I want to remember how to wash something of my own!

I found these labels when I placed my order.  I couldn't resist. 

Not only will I remember how to wash my handknitted items, I'll remember my name, too!

Kilkenny

Meet my new friend. I'm knitting Lorraine's design, Kilkenny, in Soft Shetland in the color Cedar. I apologize for the not-so-great photo but this is a post from my Treo phone.