...the mindless knitting of the Plassard blue and white variegated yarn otherwise known as "Rhapsodie"?




I knit and knit until it became a mini poncho. Or capelet, for those who have issues with ponchos. I have no issues with ponchos as I used to wear them when I was a kid (ponchos were "in" during the 70s), and I am cool so ponchos are, too. Because I say so.

That's not all. No, I have no other finished projects to show you. If I did I'd write about them today, promise. It's something else. I actually went to the yarn store again (remember, the last time I went I learned that I hadn't been there in over two years), just to look around, and found something that made my eyes pop out.




Looks like nothing special, eh? It's a huge ball of 200 gram yarn that is equivalent to four skeins, all wound into one. It's by Schoeller and Stahl, and it's called - surprise! - "Big Ball". When I saw this little monster sitting on the display stand, I asked the yarn shop owner if it was a basketball. (Yes, you may have already seen this Big Ball of Yarn. But remember that I rarely darken the doorstep of a brick and mortar yarn shop now as I enjoy the comforts of ordering yarn online from Rike's Wollmaus, so seeing this honking big ball of yarn in person is big entertainment for me.)

Of course, I bought the Big Ball.




Okay, I have one more little shocker. I am knitting something else. It's no specific project, I just cast some yarn on my circs and started knitting. It's entirely mindless and freeform, and it is telling me that it wants to be another simple accessory. I will show it to you tomorrow. So you all come back now, ya hear?

Marlena asked me if the flower shown on the capelet is one that I made. Why yes, it is! These brooches are my own design, crafted and hand-stitched using needle and thread and no glue whatsoever. Each is one-of-a-kind. I sell them locally but every once in a while one will pop up in my online shops. (I am eternally grateful to the people and retailers who respect independent artists and our creativity by purchasing our work instead of copying it and/or mass-marketing it.)




The story of the Big Ball continues. I did see it swatched in the shop, but Marnie mentioned that she'd like to see it swatched so I went ahead and swatched it:




The main color is mostly cream, and I love the subtleness of the gray and beige. They blend so well that they go almost unnoticed. The shots of black add a little edge. The yarn is acrylic and it feels like it when I knit it, but the fact that it won't pill and those shots of black make everything just right :-)

...but I'm too busy keeping my neck warm and toasty.




It's a neckwarmer, dudes! I used no pattern but my own. I was inspired by tree roots when I made it, and I used a soft wool/alpaca/acrylic blend. No dancing shots, unfortunately. It's already on its way to someone in Ameeerica. (You have to read "America" out loud in a sing-song voice like Rita Moreno in West Side Story.)




Speaking of America, I'll be there this summer. Any good yarn stores in Austin?

As of today I'm officially on vacation and on my way for a visit to America. Yay! I really need it because I've been insanely busy - I was practically chained to my drafting board and sewing machine for the past few months, so this a going to be a great, relaxing time. I'm not taking any knitting with me, but I plan on visiting some yarn stores while I'm there and hope to find something that inspires me to knit something bigger than a cuff. (Last time I visited I taught my sister-in-law to knit, and I am SOOOOO grateful that I did that because now she's a big-time knitter and is going to take me to all of her favorite yarn haunts. Can you stand it???)




I've got my camera, my laptop [gotta love wifi] and a couple of circs going along with me, so I hope to share some updates while I'm overseas. Plus, I have to show a photo of Captain Destructo before his front teeth grow in because he looks cute with his toothless grin. And he's so big for his seven years that he almost fits into my shoes. If he had been born a girl I bet he'd be wearing them right now. Dudes! Where's the time going???

Thanks for checking in, and have a great summer!