Waiting for Winter

 

Progress on my quilt is nil, and work on the newest prayer shawl is ... well, it's a lot of garter stitch right now, until I get to the fun part, the lace edge. Does not make for an exciting picture, yet I'm making progress. But I always have more than one project going at a time, so I thought I'd show you my recent completed items --

This little scarf was so much fun to make! It's called the Mermaid Neck Warmer, the pattern for which came from this wonderful little book...

I've used several of the patterns in this book and always love how they turn out (including three of the ruffled scarf pictured on the cover, upper left.)

Back to Mermaid: you can see how her tails fans out -- hence, her name. And the fun button that I found at One City Market (read about this lys here: http://www.ravelry.com/groups/one-city-market) matched the yarn perfectly. (Can you call it a "local yarn shop" if it is 70 miles from your home? It's the local-est one to me, anyway.)

What can I say to explain how lovely this yarn is? It's Manos del Uruguay Silk Blend (color 3016) and is so much fun to knit. But the very neatest thing about Manos is the how the company operates. They are a part of a non-profit that "aims to bring economic and social opportunities to rural women" in, of course, Uruguay. These women are brought together into cooperatives scattered across the countryside.

The label on the yarn ball tells you the artisan's name and her location. This gives me the feeling of a real connection. Can you imagine this difference this opportunity brings to these women's lives? I love to support an effort like this, and the yarn is just fabulous. This is truly a win-win situation.

The handwarmers were knit from a pattern by one of my favorite designers, Susan B. Anderson, of Itty Bitty Knits. You can see it here on Ravelry: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/waiting-for-winter-mittens--fingerless-mitts.  This is another great pattern by Susan, simple with lots of helpful advice, especially for new-to-mitten-knitting people like me. I made the cuff a little longer than the pattern specified, to suit my long arms (it's so hard to find a coat with sleeves long enough, and I hate the gap between sleeve and glove) and I love how they turned out.

 After finishing the fingerless mitts, I decided to give the mittens a go -- I don't LOVE them as much as the fingerless version, but they are okay...a bit long in the palm, I think. If I make another pair, I will do the next size down. But still wearable, and the sensational Noro Kureyon yarn makes these special. I'm toying with the idea of felting these -- would then probably fit a granddaughter. Stay tuned for further updates.

The pattern's name has been the story of our winter here in the Ozarks: Waiting for Winter. Well, it looks like our wait might be over -- the weatherman tells us to expect ice, sleet and snow tonight. So I may get to give my mittens and mitts a wear, after all!