Getting my mail recently has been like Christmas. I’ve received a number of really lovely skeins of yarn, and I just have to share. So…. starting with the package that arrived earlier this week:
This is two skeins of CashSilk Lace from Sweetgeorgia. Sweetgeorgia is located in Vancouver, BC and makes some really amazing yarn. In the picture is Boysenberry and Botanical. Of course I managed to forget to take a picture prior to winding one of the skeins…… but that only means that I’m eager to start. I have a few projects on the needles right now, but this one is right near the front of the line after I finish those.
My plan is to use all 400 yds of the Boysenberry for a lacy scarf. The Botanical might just be the perfect colour for a winter project I’m cooking up at the moment. We’ll see. I won’t wind that before September. Really. 
Slightly earlier, I received a package from Lisa Souza. It contained a few skeins of Sock! Merino – a light fingering weight yarn – in St. Valentine and Ice Ice Baby. The white yarn (Ice Ice) looks slightly blueish by itself, but when paired with the red yarn it looks like pure white. The two yarns are being used together in a double-knitting project. I’m actually almost done with it, although I won’t have any pictures to share for a little while, as it is slated for publication later. Suffice it to say that it’s a new type of garment to add to my designs, and that it is perfect for winter.
She also sent me this amazing Cashmere Silk Fingering weight yarn in Garnet. The picture doesn’t quite do the yarn justice – the colour was very hard to capture. But it’s a really deep, dark Garnet colour, and it’s amazingly soft. I have a new design ready to go for this one, and will be casting on as soon as the Sock! Merino project is done. This will turn into a lace stole.
Finally I received an amazing box of goodies from Bev of Land o Lace. Land o Lace specializes in yarn for lace knitters, and their colourways are designed specifically with lace projects in mind. This means no crazy variegation that might obscure the lace pattern. I don’t even know where to begin in describing the yarn she sent me so I think I’ll just go ahead and share some pictures. First up we have four skeins of ShaSha in Regal and Grant. This is a fingering weight merino yarn, in absolutely gorgeous colours.
Two skeins of LouLou – a delightful mix of alpaca, silk and cashmere in Royalton.
And 3 skeins of Krissy in Little Falls, Waconia and Bruno, as well as 2 skeins of Lady Katie in Jeffers and Andover.
This will keep me busy for quite some time. In fact – I’m so beside myself that I don’t even know where to start. They are all fabulous, and I sense a lot of Land o Lace projects coming my way. I’m working on a design for either Krissy or Lady Katie, and then we’ll see what comes after that. Fun, fun, fun.
First up, in September, is L’Anse Aux Meadows, a triangular shawl knit using one skein of Nightfall from FibroFibers. I used the colourway Ivy.
In October, we will be visiting Tanumshede on the west coast of Sweden. Tanumshede is known for its Bronze age rock carvings, with various motifs featuring longships, animals and people. These were carved into the granite rocks 1800-500BC. There are close to 1500 known rock carvings in the area, and more are being discovered. 
In November we’ll head south to Jelling, Denmark. Jelling is famous for its rune stones, erected back in the 10th century. One of the stones was erected by King Gorm the old, in memory of his wife. And the other one was erected by their son, Harald Bluetooth, in memory of his parents, as well as in celebration of his conquest of Denmark and Norway, and the conversion of the Danes to Christianity.
The third and final shawl in the Norn series is now available to the members of the KAL. This is Urðr, the Norn representing the past. It is from her well that the Norns draw the water needed to tend to the great world tree Yggdrasil, so I made the shawl circular like the well. It starts out deep blue in the centre and spreads in water rings towards the edge. The edging shows the water lapping agains the edges of the well and have white crests like waves.
It is a very large shawl – 180 cm (almost 6 feet) in diameter. But it makes it a great shawl to wrap yourself in.
What I usually do with circular shawls is to fold the top part a little bit and then drape it over my shoulders.
A great big thank you to all the amazing knitters who participated in the Seasons of Lace – Summer KAL with the Norns shawls. I am thoroughly enjoying your company, and the finished shawls on Ravelry are truly amazing. I hope to see you all during the Autumn KAL with World Heritage sites, where we will be continuing on the Norse/Viking theme. The three shawls in the fall line-up are from the World Heritage Sites L’Anse Aux Meadows (Newfoundland, Canada), Tanumshede (Bohuslän, Sweden) and Jelling (Denmark). More on those in later posts. They will be released in that order, so first up is L’Anse Aux Meadows in September.
I got this wonderful little surprise in the mail the other day. It’s a package from Meg at Twisted Fiber Arts. The two wound cakes in the middle are Arial fingering weight yarn in Firefly on the top and Shadow on the bottom. Those two I already had a plan for – they will become a double-knit scarf. I’ve already started and knit almost half of it. The yarn is amazingly soft, and the colour transition on the Firefly is very subtle, which is lovely. It’s knitting up really well, and I can’t wait to show it off, although I’m afraid it will have to remain a secret for a few months. By Christmas I should be able to share though.
The two skeins on the left are Kabam (merino/bamboo/nylon) and on the right is Playful (superwash).
She also sent me two mini-samples of Muse and Catnip, and I have to say that I immediately fell for the Catnip (on the right). It’s an aran weight silk/merino blend that is just stunning. I don’t really knit a lot of things in aran weight, but I’m simply going to have to come up with something as an excuse to use this yarn.
On a completely non-knitting related front, today is an anniversary of sorts for me. It’s now been twenty years since I emigrated from Sweden. Twenty years today. I can’t believe it. When I moved from Sweden to the US, I had planned to stay one year. But then it became one more, and then perhaps a few more, and then I met my (Canadian) husband, got married and moved to Canada. Twenty years ago, staying in North America for so long seemed inconceivable, but it’s been amazing. I’m curious to see where the next 20 years will take me.
The Spelunking Cardigan is a waist length, lacy cardigan, perfect for cool summer evenings, spring and fall. The lace motifs remind me of the stalactites and stalagmites found in caves, hence the name. The cardigan is knit using only one skein of Wollmeise Lace-Garn in the colour Pfefferminz Prinz.
The front of the cardigan just hangs open. There is a garter stitch edging along the opening which wraps around the collar in the back, for a more finished look. The body is knit flat, bottom up, and separated at the armholes. The sleeves are tapered and knit in the round until the sleeve caps, and are then sewn onto the body.
This has quickly become one of my favourite cardigans – and I’m quick to pull it out in the evenings. It works well both with jeans and the ubiquitous little black dress. Since it’s been published, I have found out that a “Spelunke” in German is a grungy little pub – not quite the imagery I had in mind. But I guess the cardigan could be worn while visiting pubs.
Or a giant squid monster known as Kraken.
Or even while just strolling around downtown.
It’s really very versatile. And it was fun to knit too.
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