Sometimes it’s just ok

Maybe you can tell how excited I am about a project by the amount of time it takes me to blog about it. Usually, I finish something and I’m so thrilled that I have to get a photo right away and post it.

My Damson shawl was finished back in May, and you might recall that I was lukewarm about the colour from the start. By the time I had finished and blocked, the colour had grown on me. But it turns out my real gripe is that it’s tiny* and I found myself adjusting it every 20 minutes so that it doesn’t fall off. A shawl pin would help…I think I’ll have kinder feelings towards Damson once fall weather rolls around.

The yarn, on the other hand, was so soft and springy; I enjoyed working with it, despite what I’ve recently learned about the superwash process. Are you reading, madelinetosh? I’d love it if you offered more non-superwash yarns…

Pattern: Damson by Ysolda Teague (Ravelry link here)
Yarn: Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light in Earl Grey

* Not sure if tininess is the problem, or if it’s more of a length vs. depth issue. The top edge of Damson has increases on both sides, not just the right side as with other shawls I’ve knit. This gives it a deep v-shape at the neck, yet the ‘arms’ still aren’t long enough to get a good wrap-around. Get it?

Spring cleaning

For a number of reasons, I’ve been away from the blog for the last few weeks. There have been some changes around here, to say the least. I:

1. Left my job – what I considered my first grownup, long-term job – at a landscape architecture office in Vancouver. It was just time. That’s not to say it was an easy decision, but I think it was the right one…I’d been thinking about it for awhile, and I’ve got lots of plans, both non-work (fixing the damn kitchen faucet, making progress on the exercise front, cooking healthy food again) and work (trying out some business ideas, designing, knitting).

2. Signed up for a summer typography class at Emily Carr. What can I say, being a student is what I do best.

While on Granville Island, I had to swing past Maiwa Supply and look at their Manos display. Just to look. Juuuust looking…

3. Picked up some knitting again – both the birthday socks and casting on a Damson shawl (shown in the top photo) with the Madelinetosh I was so excited about a few months ago. It’s hard to say how it will come out; the individual blues, browns, and greys are amazing but I worry a bit about the mud effect.

Urban Yarns is hosting a Clapo-tea Party on May 6, but just to be different I think I’ll bring my Damson shawl. Speaking of Urban Yarns –

Kynna gets ahold of my camera and photodocuments Urban Yarns sample monsters

So all in all the spring cleaning has been a bit extreme this year, but needed. Sometimes I think that people my age have a kind of learned-ADD; being taught we have so many options and that we can do whatever we want to do, we’ve taken it to the extreme and can’t settle on just one or two things.  I can’t comment on whether that’s good or bad – I’m just an in-progress demo. But it feels right to have all these changes happen this spring, doesn’t it?