Greetings!

It was a very short work week what with the holiday and all (though a custom bag is on its way to France!) and I got a call today that my mom was having a rough time, so spent some time with her. How nice it is now to spend time with her.

That said, I hope you all enjoyed your long weekend, and there are very pretty bags in line for Thursday evening! The new machine is working swimmingly, powerful and solid. :)

Woody called last night and they’re in Ohio… he said everything is much flatter than Vermont, and not as green, but they’re doing well, putting into practice their new strategy of biking for two hours and then resting. He said it’s made a huge difference and the 60 miles a day they’re averaging feels like much less. Balance :)

My needle work this week consisted of that large project I can’t really mention ;) but I love working on it, and poring love into it as I do. I’ve had requests for my original pattern, the Queen Anne’s Lace Shawl and again, I wish I’d taken better notes. But you know how it is…. you cast on, start knitting and it’s going so well you hate to stop to do anything, especially take down notes. So in a very loose nutshell, here you go:

Notes

This was a ‘wing it’ project from the get go! I saw this cotton and knew I had to work with it. The shading is so lovely… I started by casting on 7 stitches, purl the next row, and garter from there on out with YO inc’s every other row at each end AND in the center. I changed color (to # 84) for the boarder and kept with the garter stitch until the YO, knit 2 tog across rows. I did a picot bind off. On all edges (save the picot bind off) I worked a single crochet with a size G hook, changing colors when needed. This gives the cotton a nice stable edge. The drape is so pretty and the colors are so soft, that it reminded me of Queen Anne’s Lace. Maybe I’ll have to work a burgundy french knot in the center! Because it’s cotton, it stays beautifully on the shoulder, perfect for the cool breezes of summertime….

If the notes make no sense, I suggest cast on and just going for it as opposed to trying to figure out what’s ahead. It’s a live-in-the moment project!

I am behind so off I go. Stay well and cool good women and knit on!

Oh, for dinner we’re going to try a cucumber and chick pea salad…. if we give it a thumb’s up, I’ll share it next week.

Warmly,

Martha.

“One of the great dangers of transformational work is that the ego attempts to sidestep deep psychological work by leaping into the transcendent too soon. This is because the ego always fancies itself much more ‘advanced’ than it actually is.”

– Don Richard Riso and Russ Hudson