Pimlico Shrug

I finished this awhile back, but I am posting about it now because I don't have any fascinating insights to share. This pattern is from Knit 2 Together by Tracy Ullman and Mel Clark. I liked the pattern; it's good for a beginner, as it's like a sweater but requires no shaping. The ribbing gets awfully repetitive, but in the end it's worth it. There were modifications, of course, because patterns are merely SUGGESTIONS of what MIGHT HAPPEN. I didn't knit a full 34" in length--I stopped at 28" and it's plenty long.

Knit in Berrocco Alpaca, a lovely and much more reasonably-priced alternative to Koigu's Kersti.




I swear my ass doesn't look that robust in person. But maybe that's the advantage of not being able to actually look at it: I can just pretend it looks exactly the same as when I was 18.

Yarn Porn

From the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival this past weekend--all about the lamb, from birth to kebab. I didn't eat the kebabs. It just felt wrong. I had never been to Sheep and Wool before, and boy was it worth it. There was enough yarn to keep me in projects for the rest of my life. Plus, the entertainment value was unmatched. Any time I am feeling particularly weird (often), unhip (like when I am wearing my dorky sun-hat), or obsessed with knitting, all I have to do is think back to the knitting FREAKS who had camped out the night before the festival (please note: plumbing consisted of port-a-johns) to be the first through the gates to line up at the "Socks that Rock" tent. People, this is yarn you can order online. It is not a reason to sacrifice personal hygiene and comfort. It was so crazy in there that there was a "looking line" as well as a "paying line." The only way I would ever be in a looking line would be if George Clooney were the end point. I might even sacrifice personal hygiene for that. But I digress. Back to the craziness: we parked next to a couple of nice young men who had gotten up at 3am to drive in from RHODE ISLAND to attend. And they were prepared: they had hitched a small trailer to their car so they could haul back all their loot. That brings crazy to a new level. Also bringing nuttiness to new levels were the women who were shopping with baskets strapped to their backs. Baskets. Like we are living in the land of Laura Ingalls. Seems to me that ripstop nylon might be a lighter and more convenient way to store yarn purchases, but then again I don't wear braids or birkenstocks.

So here's what I bought. Destinations unknown at this point, but the possibilities are endless.

Malabrigo. This is an introductory hank, as i have never knit with it before.


Some Tilli Tomas "Rock Star." Tilli herself was working the booth. She seemed nice, but I am partial to any vendor who offers discounts at Sheep and Wool.


More Tilli; this stuff is called "Hope."


Tess Designer Yarn, in a color that made me think of the Pacific Ocean, which I miss possibly more than everything else about the west coast. Except maybe the fish tacos.


And my most favorite purchase, the yarn that makes me salivate: Tess, silk and wool. To. Die. For. I don't know what it's going to be, but it will be fabulous.