mmmm, yarn

I have been quite a busy knitter since my last update!



I was very happy to finally finish my Clapotis, by Kate Gilbert. It took longer than I originally anticipated,mostly because of a mistake I made, and couldn't fix or live with, halfway through. It is beautiful, and I'm glad I made it- even though it won't get much wear until next fall, probably. If I make one again, I will not make it out of 100% silk. Dropping those stitches was not an easy task with that silk!



My new favorite baby sweater is the Tulips Cardigan, from Dream in Color Designs. I bought the kit from Eat. Sleep. Knit. in the "rubies" version, and I've got to tell you that the service was great, the color combination is even more beautiful in person, and I am now in love with Dream in Color yarns!!! The colors and the squishiness of the yarn are almost too much to bear. Love, love, love. This little sweater is for the niece-to-be of one of my very best friends. I wanted that baby to be a girl SO badly so I could gift this to her... I swear that I willed her into being a girl with my knitting needles alone! :)



I was finally able to use the yarn that I used for Dewey's Knit-a-long. Robin was kind enough to send me some Noro Kureyon with a scarf pattern when I won the challenge in January, but as you can see, I did not make a scarf. I learned while starting to make the scarf, that Noro is simply too rough for me to wear up against my skin, and if I wanted to use the finished item, it was going to have to be something that didn't come into contact with my skin too much! Luckily, I found the pattern for cosmicpluto's Simple Yet Effective Shawl, and it was just the right project to use this yarn for! Even though I do not love Noro's roughness, I do really, really love the colors and stripes! What a great pattern to showcase those two things.



Last, but not least, I wanted to tell you about Cooper's Flock. A fellow knitter lost her sweet baby boy (whose nickname was Birdy) in December after having heart surgery. She would like to collect 100 (or more!) knitted birds to hang on a tree at Cooper's memorial on May 2nd. The birds will then be donated to the children's hospital, to be given to children who are undergoing cardiac surgery, so that they will have a member of this flock looking over them while they are in the hospital. You can read more about it by clicking on the button above. I have already made two birds for Cooper's flock, and I plan to knit at least a few more... and I would love it if you would join me! Once I have my little family of birds complete, I will post pictures of them. All I can think of is what a simple way this is to let a grieving mama know that we are thinking of her, and cherishing her sons memory.