Finished Jacket, and Gorgeous Shawl Pins

First, I have to brag a little about a finished object. It's a bulky top-down jacket in seed stitch, and it was my first top-down pattern. But it definitely won't be my last. The combination of the top-down knitting and the bulky yarn made it go super-fast and kept my interest the whole way. The pattern is called Verandah (I think) and it's from the Knitting Sweaters From the Top Down book, which has a bunch of other lovely patterns in it, as well as general instructions on how to design your own top-down patterns.

Here's a photo of the finished object. Hope you can make it out...I think I need a new camera. ;-)



The only change I made is leaving out the button(s) at the top. The original design has two ties at the top with large buttons sewed over them. I was just going to do a button and button loop. But the jacket is also designed to not quite meet in front...and with my...ahem...generous proportions, I figured if I just buttoned the top button and the rest gapped, I'd look like I made it a size too small. So, no button and it looks great.

Second, I recently asked Rosemary Hill of Designs By Romi design a shawl pin for me. It's a simple design, but one that seems to really speak to me. Here's a picture:



The spiral design seems like infinity...world without end...life goes on. And that message is very important to me right now.

While I'm on the shawl pin topic, here's a picture of a gorgeous shawl pin I picked up at the New Hampshire Sheep and Wool Festival last May:



Not the best picture, sorry about that. The pin comes from Gita Maria. This is a link to the pin I bought, just in case my photo above is less than adequate. ;-)

So between the two gorgeous shawl pins, I have something to go with every shawl. So far. But just looking around at those two websites makes me think I need more...

Okay, enough for now! Talk to you again soon.

Fun Quiz, and Ravelry

First, here's a cute quiz to try:

What kind of yarn are you?

You are Merino Wool.You are very easygoing and sweet. People like to keep you close because you are so softhearted. You love to be comfortable and warm from your head to your toes. Take this quiz! Quizilla | Join | Make A Quiz | More Quizzes | Grab Code

Hope I copied the code right.

Second, I finally got my invitation to Ravelry! You can find me there as "delisi" and I hope you check out all my ongoing projects and finished items, since it took me an entire day to post what's up there. And that's not even all my stuff. ;-)

I organized some of my current projects into separate bags...mostly grocery bags, but some tote bags or knitting bags where I could find 'em. Now I can see how shamefully many projects I have planned or started! Takes over a whole corner of the living room, right next to my side of the couch, which is where I usually sit to knit. But did that stop me from starting a new one? Noooooooo.

Heeheehee! Yes, I freely admit I'm not only yarn/fiber addicted, but also new project addicted. And I don't want to be cured!

I try to justify it by telling myself I only have this many projects going right after my birthday, when birthday money was spent on as much yarn as it would buy. And that's true. But...some of the projects I've bagged up to start are with yarn I bought with LAST year's birthday money. ;-) Oh well!

Okay, back to work but needed a break to post the yarn quiz. Hope to see you on Ravelry! Add me to your friends lists.

Liz