The Woolen Rabbit

"Boing!"

Peacock iridescence in veridical shadows,
Violet blooms spread to noonday sun.
The world's beauty is a swirl of color,
But in the flower's center is bright stillness.
Deng Ming~Dao

Whereas Anne's Boing is a wild child in her bright and happy colors, mine is a bit more fragile and subdued....a quiet but beautiful sister.

This is another beautiful lace stitch pattern that creates a little extra something to wear around your neck when it is not really that cold, but cool enough to warrant a bit of extra warmth...or to dress up an outfit.   I so enjoy knitting these little scarves, as they are easy to knit and finish in a short period of time.  Perfect for a gift as well. 

Pattern:  "Boing!"
Yarn:  300-400 yards (depending on desired length)
Woolen Rabbit Whisper Lace Yarn ~ Rhubarb
Needles:  US 4
Another fun knit!  (Available starting Friday)

Chambord anyone?

I bet you thought you were going to see a picture of a completed "Boing!"

Not today as Boing is getting a good soak in some hot water and Eucalan.  Later this afternoon I will block her so that hopefully I can take some pictures tomorrow when the sun comes back out....featuring my favorite shy model again.

The picture above is another one of Anne's patterns, Tesserae, done in some Harmony sock yarn in a colorway that was another nameless one until today.  Every time I looked at it, I could only think of the yummy frozen Chocolate Chambord drink we used to make years ago at a restaurant I used to work at.  YUM....

To give you an idea how much I enjoy working on this sock, I show you this picture...hee.

Those who know me well, know that this doesn't usually happen so soon after the first sock is completed.....however, this is such a neat pattern!

It's 2 groups of 6 rows each so it is easy to finish a repeat quickly and very easy to find where you left off without dragging the pattern around.  When I want mindless knitting or a glass of wine, I work on the sock :-).

Now that "Boing!" is finished, I am moving on to the next little nothing.  I really enjoy knitting these little scarves as they are easy to complete and fun to wear tucked into a sweater this time of year.  Simple lace stitch patterns perfect for those new to lace.

Now you may be wondering what that pretty background in all of my pictures is...or maybe not, but I will tell you anyways. :-)

Yesterday I met Terry for an afternoon of shopping and lunch.  Of course meeting in a fabric store in Portsmouth that has some of the best selection of fabric crammed into a very small space was the perfect reason to purchase something a bit more challenging for me in the sewing department.  Now that I feel like I have finally caught my breath, I am going to sit back down to the sewing machine again. :-)

As a footnote....thank you all so much for your camera suggestions!  Even though the Canon seemed to be the larger favorite, I am pretty sure I am going to get the Nikon.  After reading the online reviews and speaking with some diehard camera buffs, even the Canon folks were impressed with this new Nikon.  So now I have to save a few more pennies, but it will be worth it :-).

Boinging along.....

Spring was a time of swaggering declarations.
Reaching autumn, one finds few absolutes.
Life is mystery and ambiguity,
Toward winter, that now seems agreeable and comfortable.
Deng Ming~Dao

I love this quote from my favorite little book.  I am definitely approaching that autumn time in my life :-).

As you can see in the picture above, I have not quite yet finished Boing, although she is bigger now than in the picture.  I am hoping to finish her up tomorrow then on the blocking wires she goes.

Thank you all SO much for all of your colorway name suggestions...they are great!  So far I am leaning towards a Rhubarb theme, but I think I am going to wait to see how it blocks out first.

The show this weekend was great fun!  Skyy only placed in her class on Sunday, but it was a big class with many lovely puppies, so we were pleased with her placement.  She is still a baby with many shows ahead. 

One of the things that made the show even more enjoyable was the company of Scottish Lamb,Jean and her family.  Over the last year since they have returned from Germany, Ken and I have really enjoyed getting to know them better and this weekend was no exception!

Now....I did take my knitting and my camera.  Did I knit...nope.  Did I take pictures of Jean's family....nope.  You know how it goes....too much yakking and not enough pictures.  The kicker is however that Jean brought her fabulous Canon SLR camera that I used all weekend taking pictures for a dog show magazine.  Oy~vey, you would have thought I could have taken one picture that was not dog related...LOL.

I will tell you however, that I NEVER should have touched that camera....and you know the reason why I am sure.  Yep.....you can't want what you don't know...but once you know, you are sunk.

As soon as I got home, the research began.  A girl can get dizzy reading all of the reviews and of course choosing between a Canon and a Nikon is like choosing between a Toyota and a Honda.

I have narrowed the choices down to these 2 cameras.  A Nikon D300 and a
Canon 40D.  Both of these cameras are way more camera than I probably need, but I really enjoy photography and hope to take some classes.  Between the dogs, fiber and family, I do take a ton of pictures and one of these cameras should get me through many many years.  The hard part is going to be choosing which one. 
Any preferences out there?

Off to New York............

I had all kinds of things I wanted to show you this week, but alas Mother Time didn't allow for it.  Ken and I are heading out of town for the weekend to celebrate our anniversary and to attend the CKCSC,USA National Specialty.

She who would be naughty and chewed her ears will be staying home, giving her younger sister a chance to shine on her own.  Wish us luck!

I hope you all have an enjoyable and restful weekend!

Spring Beginnings.....

Imagination song, the soaring spirit.
Separate them to know them as aspects of the whole,
Join them to know the mystery of totality.
Deng Ming~Dao

In my little book Deng Ming~Dao goes on to talk about how powerful the mind can be when it is focused and  how many of us are lost in the vastness of our own uncharted minds.........(yep...that would usually be me and my ADD)

Many people tend to get a bit unfocused come Spring time, hence the term Spring Fever, but for me, I find Spring to have the opposite effect.  I become very focused and rejuvenated. 

Today I played with my little Peat Pots.  It is too funny to watch them grow when you add water the bottom of the tray....like little  brown Stay Puff Marshmallows...LOL

We have decided to double our garden this year, so I am starting some plants from seed and will sow the rest into the soil directly.  It's hard to believe that Spring is really here, but after a week of 70 degree temps, most of our snow is finally gone..whoo hoo!

Ok, so I bet your wondering what that lovely little bit of lace at the top of my post is.  Isn't it pretty?

This is another of Anne's Little nothings....."Boing".   It hasn't been released yet....but soon.  I know, it's hard to wait, but this one will be worth it....trust me!

You know how much I loved working on Alhambra...well, I think I may love this one even more!

In working up these little scarves, I am trying to come up with colorways that I think will complement the pattern. 

Where as Alhambra really needed to be more of a semi-solid color to show off the texture, Anne went more in a varigated direction with her sample.  Following her lead, I went a bit softer in contrast, but still varigated enough to lend some depth to the scarf.

My scarf in person looks very delicate and almost Victorian.  I have to admit though that I am a bit stumped on what to name the colorway, so feel free to send me a suggestion. :-)