My Day Was Made

So, the Okemos Lace Knitting group met again last night. I couldn't make the January meeting because - well, you know - I was at DISNEY WORLD! Now I'm back and so the Laceknitting group is the next best thing to Mickey Mouse:-)

This shawl is another Sharon Winsauer creation knit from Alpaca With A Twist Fino. I think it's the snowflake shawl but I didn't write the name down. That's Sharon behind the shawl. I love the shape of it and I love the lack of the toilet water skimming point. Not that I don't like the pointy shawls but this shape is so practical for every day, including the bathroom when you forget to remove your shawl.
Here's a close up of the center of the shawl. There was some talk last night about angles and stuff but I was too busy wiping drool to listen to Sharon's AHA moment with the angles. Email her. I'm sure she'll be happy to fill you in on her moment.
This is a shawl in progress by Faina Letouchia. She's dedicating it to a mutual friend of ours. It's knit from handspun alpaca and is just beautiful. What doesn't show up are all of the beautiful nupps. The shaping is going to be very nice and it should be a comfortable shawl to wear.

Closeup.

Here's the border. I think all Faina decided last night was that it needed to be blocked a little harder to open it up more. It is so soft and lovely.
Then we talked about a design project. Faina has designed 3 sweaters. Last night she had the swatches and the drawings. Now as a group we will come up with yarn and we will knit these sweaters from her drawings. I am so excited about this opportunity because, as I was telling the girls last night, I have a couple of sweater ideas swimming around but I'm not sure where to begin. So with this excersize I will be able to work with two of the best designers I know - Faina and Sharon - to end up with a sweater. I will see what the whole design process is like and then maybe will have the courage to move forward with my own ideas.
The above swatch is for a man's gansy with a worsted weight yarn. The sweater I'm interested in pursuing is a matching woman's sweater with a finer yarn using the same lace stitches but with a more open look.
And, I got anew shawl last night. handspun and knit by Faina. It is a lovely everyday shawl. It is spun from kid mohair and plied with silk.
Here's a blurry closeup shot. I will be wearing this everyday at the shop - o.k. not in the summer.
The next thing has to do with Ryan. Check out his arm.
Closeup of the arm. See that? It's a list from the babysitter. Things that Ryan asks for every day. 1. Chocolate Milk 2. Gum with a little smiley face. I think I highly recommend this method of list making. I think I may adopt it for all of my list making needs. Could get cold for Ryan in the frozen section of the grocery store but, you know, I think it's really better for the environment in the long run. Trees will be saved!!!!

And now for the Make My Day. Ellen from the world famous Sheepwreck blog pointed to me as one blogger who makes her day. I have been reading her blog somewhat regularly for a while but I'm not a huge blog commenter because I don't often feel like I have a huge amount to add to the conversation. "hey, that looks great" gets a little old. So when she found me through Abby i was quite a little giggly. I often feel like I am just this round red haired girl having a shop and writing a blog and kind of anonymous. Then people, who I admire, find me and it makes me...giggly. So now I have to name 10 bloggers who make my day - out of the way too many that I read. It's kind of hard to narrow it down. So here's my try:

Erika She gives me a little guilt about my non cleaning but also some great history and food for thought.
Shannah Well, what can I say about the Okitten. She's darling and even in her down times I feel good around her.

Kate Has the degree I wish I would have been smart enough to pursue and again lots of stuff to look at and think about in her blog.

Abby O.K. lots of people are choosing Abby but I can't help it. She makes me feel like I can actually do this and be successful. Always encouraging and though she is so talented she's one of the most regular girls I've ever met.

Jenny Plenty to practice and think about and again always encouraging when you have questions.

Tammy My sister. Crazy and funny and quite outspoken.

Donna - Spinning Day Dreams - She's always got something inspiring on the wheel.

Michelle - Maddiwood Farms - She doesn't update her blog nearly enough but she does come to the shop a lot. Always quick to be helpful and she does make my day happier when she's around.

Lee - Baabins - She is a beautiful writer, spinner and photographer as well as a lovely person.

Carla - Siege - Holy crap. I loved Carla from the day we met and I'm not sure if it's mutual but she has the most lovely smile.

Jillian - KnittingFrau - all I can say is moist - and you know what I mean Jillian. She can make me spit stuff out my nose.

Brittney The oldest daughter. Away to London for a semester. I worry and then wait for blog updates.

Michelle - Again needs to update more often but she's quite lovely and calming and makes me feel like a success

I have to stop because I'm already way past 10. So there you are with those off the top of my head but there are many more - oh yeah, Ask The Bellwether, Farm Witch, .....