Sometimes It Pays
I’m still in Pattern Purdah, but I’m popping my head out from under that rock to offer a brief Public Service Announcement, to wit:
Sometimes It Really Pays To Suck Up
The evidence is simple and unequivocal. A wonderful thing has happened to me. I oohed and ahhhed so much at Cathy-Cate’s flamingly gorgeous hand-dyed Suri Alpaca laceweight that… after the Wedding Pi was finished she sent me the remnant as an L-birthday present! How cool is that?!?!
Some remnant, too. I’m estimating about 775 yards.
I’m not going to bother taking pictures right now. What’s the point? Her pictures are always way way better than mine; and, accurate though I now know them to be in this case, even they don’t do full justice to the in-person beauty of this yarn.
The only way to thank her sufficiently is to make something very lovely. (I question whether it would even be possible to make something unlovely out of this stuff, but I don’t intend to find out if I can help it.) So… in my Copious Free Time, I’m thinking.
What I’m thinking at the moment (and this thinking is, as always, subject to change without notice) is a center-out square, which with 775 yards of 2/17 should equate to something between an oversized scarf and a mini-shawl, depending on needle and gauge. (Or maybe I’ll go bigger-shawlier and make the triangle version that would result from half of the center-out square… but then I wouldn’t be working in the round-ish, and working in the round-ish does appeal to me I have to admit.) I’m toying with the notion of adapting the Ivy Leaf pattern in BGW II, adjusting the stagger/drop between motifs so it will fit neatly into the 45-degree angle. I charted the original back when I was doing that swatch in the purple cobwebweight, and the base motif certainly looks like the right shape - of course the aspect ratio is a bit deceptive in the chart, but that’s what blocking is for.
Mind you, I am totally not allowed to do anything about this yet, not even sketch it, which is why there are not even any quickie scribbled drawings here to show you what I mean. (Have I made any such? I respectfully decline to answer the question on the grounds that it may tend to incriminate me.) I’m barely allowing myself to look at the stuff or touch it. I did permit myself to skein it up for storage. Partly because I’m not sure how long it will be before I get to use it, and I think it will be more comfortable marinating that way. Partly because that gave me a chance to get a little more closely acquainted with its lovely color variations. But mostly… for the sheer pleasure of the Fondle Factor, which is very great indeed.
So ’scuse me, but I gotta get back to work, because now I have this extra incentive. I’m experimenting with a balance of carrot and stick. How well that will work remains to be seen, but it sure is tantalizing to have such a beautiful carrot to look forward to….
November 17th, 2007 at 6:59 pm
Woah! Lucky Lisa! What a fabulous gift, and it’ll be great to see what you do with it. Also very entertaining to see how long you can manage to not start any swatches. Perhaps we should start a pool?
November 18th, 2007 at 2:31 pm
I’m glad your blog is now dispensing invaluable life advice! Who am I to argue?
Gee, thanks for all the compliments! The Ivy Leaf pattern would be awesome in the autumnal yarn. It was one of the patterns I considered just because it would be such a good fit of yarn to pattern, but I ran out of room to put it in, and I think the stitch #s didn’t fit as well into what I needed for Pi-ness. (Piosity?) But you can see that stitch pattern in the Recipe post, in the runners-up photo — because the yarn was strongly considering Ivy Leaf! (It must have been murmuring that to you while keeping you company in Pattern Purdah.)
I feel slightly guilty for distracting you. (But not too much.)
November 21st, 2007 at 9:11 pm
What the heck is Piosity???
(Or even Pi-ness!)
Sorry if I have just inadvertently confessed my Muggility.