Dear Kay,
It’s the first day of school here for the fellas. WHAT????? Twelfth grade and eighth grade. IMPOSSIBLE!
It has been an odd summer in a number of ways, in and out of town, back and forth to the hut in Monteagle. I finally took to bringing a gallon of milk back and forth whenever I got in the car, because I was never sure there would be milk in the refrigerator I was heading toward. Coffee without milk is a sign that something is really, really wrong.
So much was odd: the weather, number one, because in all my life I have never experienced such mildness, such everlasting green, all the way through the dog days. I was hot exactly twice. Nashville looks incredible: lush and heavy. And in Monteagle, the mushrooms and moss and lichen and ferns were ferociously busy. I took to Tweeting the Mushroom of the Day.
I had the good fortune to hang with some favorite knitters who were wandering through Nashville teaching at the Super Summer Knit Together hosted by podcastresses extraordinaire Knit Girllls Laura and Leslie. It was a warm night on the porch with Gale Zucker, Susan B. Anderson, and Amy Christoffers. Definitely the least odd, most delightful evening of this very odd summer.
Knitting has been a lot of fits and starts. I am almost done with my sweater of a thousand shades of Shetland yarn, but I am having trouble getting out of my chair to go across the room to dig it out of Tote Bag Number Seven to take a picture of it. Maybe I’ll get over there next week.
Directly in front of me is a piece of snack knitting that has been more troublesome than I would have guessed it would be: the Imagine When shawl thingie.
This project is the only time I have ever directly responded to an email instantly, with a click ‘n’ buy so fast that I forgot I had done it until the yarn showed up in my mailbox. This was back in March. It may be the only time I’ve bought yarn while not actually conscious. At any rate, at least I have the sense to buy Sundara when I have the chance:
This is Sundara fingering weight cashmere merino in a shade called Imagine. As with many Sundara yarns, it came and went in a limited edition. But if you sign up for Sundara’s emails, you’ll have the chance to buy beautiful yarn in your sleep, too. Plus 10% off your next order.
The pattern is by the lovely Joji Locatelli, who lives in Buenos Aires and probably doesn’t realize that we’re all going to show up at her doorstep when we end up in Argentina someday. Her blog is 100% cheerful and inspiring.
The only issue I had with the Imagine When pattern was that I had a LOT OF TROUBLE Imagining When to repeat certain rows. It’s like my brain got set to Symmetrical and could not keep track of the various asymmetries that make this piece so cool. Certain sets of rows repeat over and over, and I inevitably overshot or undershot. Gah! The end result is not a perfect Imagine When, but I still love the idea of this pattern.
Love,
Ann
It’s always a treat to see a new MDK blog.
That is a pretty stunning shawl! Swoopy and dense all at the same time.
You know we would love to see the thousand-shade sweater. That sounds divine.
And school! No way. Labour Day or bust, as we say around here.
Maybe it’s just how it shows up on my device, but the mottled, worn-looking ness of that yarn in a cashmere blend…well, I’m swooning.
what a lovely blue!
The shawl is gorgeous, both in construction and color. I can only imagine how luscious it must feel.
I can relate to your difficulty in keeping track of repeating certain rows. I’ve just finished a shawl and discovered, when I laid it out to block, that I’d clearly lost track of increases along the way. Instead of nice smooth lines, there are zig-zags — the road less taken, perhaps?
Not starting school here in Boston until Sept. 3. Grateful for that.
Love the knitting. Love the depth of color and the wonderful garter stitch. Especially love that you are back.
Oh, gorgeous. i am swooning too! and not just because summer is *this close* to being over!
Beautiful shawl! Now I want one. Look what you’ve done! And I’m usually set to symmetrical, too.
Well now I’m a little sorry I took so much time off from twitter. I would have enjoyed Daily Mushrooms.
And the colors in that yarn are gorgeous, as is the project.
Oh! This is aboslutely unexpected Ann! What a treasure. I am aboslutely surprised and delighted to find out you made and Imagine When, I am sorry it gave you the headaches!
And girls, you have to come down here to Argentina. You will love it here! I’ll be waiting for you at my doorstep.
Love,
Joji
Thank you for the posting, Ann. I love hearing from you and Kay. The shawl is just lovely. Beautiful work!
Love the phrase ‘snack knitting.’ I started the Mitered Crosses for Japan blanket as my portable project, but will refer to it as my snack knitting from now on.
Ditto annhb.
that blue is the most beautiful and I love the shawl!
Beautiful beautiful blue. Also love the simple complexity (complex simplicity?) of the shawl quietly going different directions.
Holy cow, what a beautiful pattern! If I weren’t at work I’d be clicking the “buy” button right now!
I’m sure I’m dating myself right now but school starts the day after Labor Day and not a day sooner. There’s something so wrong about going back to school in August.
I have Imagine When on the needles in Sundara’s lovely merino silk in Sky thru the Cedars, a lovely mix of greens with shots of clear blue. Great yarn, great pattern. Glad (sorry) to here I’m not the only one having trouble memorizing the exact pattern.
That is one gorgeous shawl, and I call tag-along dibs if you make a trip down to see Joji in Argentina 🙂
PS really back to school ALREADY??!!!!
You’re very clever!! Good job!
candiedfruits.wordpress.com
You’re very clever!! Good job!
candiedfruits.wordpress.com
Ha Ha!! I love the shawl and love the color.. How deep and rich it looks..
I am laughing because that is exactly what I did…twice! Dropped at her doorstep!!
Was on a cruise to BA and found out about the yarn district and went with a few of women.. the first time I was a novice and Joji helped us out.. but I had no idea who she was, other than a very lovely woman who knew yarn, knitting and spoke English.. BUT… the second time I went.. this time I brought with me over 10 women and thank God Joji was there.. because this time I knew exactly who she was.. Felt like I was in the presence of royalty.. I can vouch that Joji is one of the sweetest well versed in all things knitting and helpful women around.. I can’t wait to make that trip again!!
It looks like a lovely shawl to me.
I get the Sundara emails, but I have only a single skein of her yarn. It’s like I’ve been stalking them for years and am always too late.