8.30.2006

Smitten as a cat, yeah as kitten as that

A great end to a great summer. I'm just saying is all . . .

Yesterday I had date #4 with The Boy. I know I haven't shared much about him, but I don't want to jinx anything and I don't want to get too excited about it yet, but things are going well. Plans are in the works for date #5. Yeah, and I'm pretty sure he likes me too, so that's a nice bonus. Yay me!

I also got my last package from my secret pal. I'm very excited about it, but this has been so much fun that it's sad for it to end. Elizabeth has been a great pal, and I love all the stuff she sent me. When things calm down a little around here again, she should watch the mail. I'm just saying is all. Yikes! Just realized I reused the box she sent the goodies in. Elizabeth, want to e-mail me your address? Pretty please? Thanks a bunch! Here's what I got from the best pal around:



Cute packaging, don't you think? And inside those packages:



A neat little blue glass doo-dad (well what would you call it?) with a sheep printed on it, some yummy Trekking yarn, some yummy Cascade Fixation for some fun ankle socks, point protecters in all different sizes for my needles (how did she know I needed these?), and of course some delicious treats! There was chocolate, Skittles, chocolate, maple sugar candies, and did I mention chocolate? Thanks Elizabeth! You're the best!

And that FO I promised you, here goes (sorry, not the best photo - an experiment with the self-timer):



You thought it was going to be something different, didn't you? An Eyelet Chemise or a Baby Hoodie? Nope, fooled you all - hah!

Specs:
Pattern: Shrug from Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, size 32-34
Needles: US 3 and US 6, both circulars
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Pure Silk, color #10
Pattern Notes: The pattern is very Debbie Bliss, meaning it's a puzzle. It was a fun challenge that I really enjoyed. There's something about the way she writes patterns that infuriates some people, but personally I love it. I'm not sure if it's the added excitement about interpretting what she has written or the fact that it makes me feel like I've really accomplished something when it's done, but I love her patterns all the same. One thing that really helped was putting a small sticky note on each of the stitch patterns. See, she gives these two different stitch pattern repeats and they have different numbers of rows. It's a little confusing, but with the sticky-note-system I was able to just move the sticky notes as I went along. There was just no way I would be able to keep track by using row counters since I'd have to remember which row counter went with which stitch pattern. Did that make any sense at all?

The only thing about this shrug is that apparently my gauge was really tight so it's a drop small. I'm hoping it will grow a little the more I wear it. On the plus side of that trauma, I managed to complete it using 5 skeins instead of 6. More yarn store credit! Am I good or what? Below you can see what was left over from 5 skeins. A close call there!



Well, this weekend is my brother's wedding, so I've got to go finish packing now. Details after it's all over.



Previous title: The Clash, "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"

5 comments:

Emma said...

Ooh, lovely pink shrug, and yay! for Date #5!

Elizabeth said...

Glad you liked all the loot! I had such fun picking it out. The blue thing is a sun-catcher; you're supposed to hang it in a window.

Now I can use my real email, and not have to remember to be anonymous.

Sarah said...

Shrug looks great! Have you blocked it yet? If not, it might bloom a little and give you some more room. Not that I think it needs it -- it is a shrug, after all!

Yay for good dates!

Sarah said...

I haven't blocked pure silk, but the shawl I just completed was in a silk blend, and I just blocked as I normally do without any issues. Maybe spend some time on Google and see what you come up with?

Heather said...

stash monkey? are you my pal???
:-)