Isn’t it gorgeous? I just picked up a copy of Folk Style today, and I’m thinking that the lovely green shawl in there (Kate Gilbert’s “Paisley Shawl”) might be the destiny of this yarn.Oh, and regarding the blog post title from the last post? It wasn’t size that Steph was talking about so much as… um… on-display-ness, if you will.

Charlotte’s Web is still cranking along – I’m almost to the point of doing the final color by itself, and then I just need to do the crocheted edging and block it!

Speaking of blocking, did I remember to tell you about my Mystery Stole? I wore it on Friday, including out to dinner Friday night in Philly. When we got back to the hotel and I tossed it onto the bed, I looked at it and thought it looked odd. It was so hot and humid that night that my stole started to UNBLOCK! I kid you not – the straight section is now narrower than the wing, and the edges are curling a little. Annemarie and I cracked up. So, it’s time for another wash and block. I’m wondering if I can pin and spritz or steam instead of doing a full-on wash, though, because the wing still looks good.

Yes, that’s right – for you, my dear readers, I even broke out the blocking wires. (OK, and I really, really wanted to see what it looks like so far.) It’s a GORGEOUS pattern – I can’t wait to see how it continues to progress. There are all sorts of theories about the theme bouncing around out there, but I have no idea what it is.

That and Norberta are about the only things I am working on right now, so that is it for the WIP portion of this post. Now, we move on to some overdue thank you pics.

WAAAAAAAY back when, morgsarah and I struck up an agreement to do a fiber festival swap. I picked up some things for her at Maryland Sheep and Wool, and she picked up some stuff for me at… erm… Taos? Damn, now I don’t remember which festival it was. These are the gorgeous goodies she sent me:

In the front is some hand-dyed Wensleydale roving dyed by a friend of hers, behind that is some merino-tussah and some Navajo churro, and in the back is a Corriedale-alpaca blend. All so, so beautiful!

I also got a lovely, thoughtful gift from Bezzie recently, tucked in a box of hats. (And yes, I swear I will update the Hats for Alex blog soon. Hopefully tomorrow.)

It’s a Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign, and it has some very personal significance that I’m not getting into here. Just let it be said that I cried when I saw it, I’ve worn it every day since, and I am unbelievably touched by her sweet gift. Not to mention the 19 (!) hats she sent.

I won a blog contest over at AKKnitter’s blog, and check out my prize:

8oz. of beautiful alpaca, and a grow-your-own pet.

Finally, my lovely, lovely Knittyboard SP9 pal “Marie Dent” (who also goes by “Mostly Harmless”) sent me my first package last week:

We have a Wizard of Oz mini activity book, Koigu’s “Take Along Socks” pattern book with three hanks of gorgeous Koigu in front to make a pair of socks from the book, Pez and a cute-as-a-button lamb Pez dispenser, and a Hemp for Knitting kit. The pattern is called Kathy’s Fingerless Gloves, and the yarn (one ball is next to the kit) is Cashmere Canapa in that awesome green. It’s a cashmere/hemp blend and is just so soft. I can’t wait to work with it! Thank you, my dear Marie! You clearly know me really, really well. And I have NO CLUE who you are.

I also picked up some yarn recently for a new crochet project, but I think we’ve had enough pictures for today, so that can wait for tomorrow.

Last week, I showed you this picture, but like I said then, that wasn’t an accurate depiction of where I was on the project. This is a little more accurate picture of where I was:
Since then, I’ve gotten to here: (And yes, I know this is a crap picture. I’m babysitting, and therefore can’t really get everything up to Kris’s studio with the good lighting.)
I’m hoping that I will be able to finish this up sometime this weekend. I have 4 more rounds left to finish the sleeve on the right, there, and then I need to catch the other one up and finish it. Once that is done, I have to weave in the ends, and voila! On the recommendation of some of my knitting group buddies, I found a denim jacket at Old Navy’s website, and I’ll be attaching the sleeves to that instead of a sweater. I think they will look really cute with the denim.

And the Mystery Stole – thank you all for your input and opinions. Most of you agreed with my feelings, which was that the Charcoal (which I had labeled as “Steel” in the pictures… *sigh*) was the better color. The bead opinion was pretty split, and I wasn’t sure which I liked better, either, so I swatched:
The bottom repeat has the #901 beads, the middle repeat is without beads, and the top has the #912 beads. You don’t see them? Yeah, me either. It looks like they matched the yarn color a little TOO well. Bummer, because I really liked them. That’s ok, though – I like the way that the #901′s look. And I like the fabric I got on the US3′s, so it looks like all I need to do now is wait until the first clue comes out! Think I can get the sleeves done by then? Here’s hoping!

ETA: And I completely forgot that I wanted to mention this! I saw on Annie Modesitt’s blog (while looking for something else) that her husband Gerry has been diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which completely sucks, to be blunt about it. She has a pattern posted for the “Red Carpet Convertible”, and she is using the sale of that pattern to help offset some of the expenses of Gerry’s treatment. (If you remember the stories of the knitted Emmy dress last year, this is that pattern). So, if you have a couple of bucks, why not pop over there, pick up a gorgeous pattern, and help a knitter who is in a cruddy situation.

Here are your options (I’m posting two pictures so you can see each of the beads next to each of the yarn colors):

So, what do you think?

Oh, and if you are reading this in Bloglines, the poll doesn’t show – if you want to vote, you’ll have to click through to Blogger. Sorry about that!

This is some Jacob Humbug (which I think means the mixed colors, but please correct me if I am wrong) that I picked up from Flying Fibers at Maryland Sheep and wool. I didn’t get a picture of it before it was spun, because I started playing with it when we got back to the house Saturday night after day one of the festival, and it was completely spun up by Sunday night. This was the first time I have spun something and felt really good about how it was coming out. It’s about a fingering weight, although I need to re-count my wraps to see how much yardage I have. It’s not perfect, but it’s overall the most balanced thing I’ve ever spun. I credit Cristi for helping me to figure out how to get my scotch tension set up a little better, which made my Ashford spin SO much easier!

And you can all laugh at me for this one, but I’ve signed up for the 3rd Mystery Stole KAL, hosted (and designed) by Melanie over at Pink Lemon Twist. I’ve drooled at her “Leda’s Dream” and “Scheherezade” patterns, and as they were the first and second Mystery Stole patterns, I can only imagine that this one will be equally as lovely. I’m still debating what yarn and beads I’m going to use, but I’m sure you’ll see it here once I make that decision and as the stole progresses.

And if you are wondering about the title for this post, I’m writing this as I watch the Tony Awards. I adore Broadway, and you’ll frequently find me listening to some musical or another on my iPod. (I’m no mtwelovett, but I do have about 5 and a half days worth of showtunes on there…) There are a lot of shows that I can listen to anytime, that I can sing along with at the top of my lungs in the car, that I simply adore. The one song, though, that gives me chills every time I hear it, is “Being Alive” from Stephen Sondheim’s Company. I love the performance of it by Patti LuPone from the Sondheim Celebration at Carnegie Hall back in, erm, 1990-ish. Tonight, Raul Esparza performed it, and it was amazing. It’s such an incredible song, and he did just an incredible job with it – so much emotion and passion. CHILLS, I tell you. I hadn’t ordered the cd of the cast album for this revival because I already have the ones from the original and the 1995 revival, but after that, I’m getting it.