Hello, hello, hello.  The past few weeks have felt like a work out circuit more so than working on any given project.  A little of this, a little more of that, working on a lot of things and not really getting anything that I had planned in my head done.  When I get into this kind of a funk, I am more prone to rip things out that are not making me happy.  That said, I was able to complete a shawl with the yarn that I head previously used for a vest, which I totally ripped out after having completed it – yes, I had bound off the last row, sewed the seams and woven in the loose ends.  It was an interesting experience, and having lived through it, I am actually glad I did it.  It was empowering.

What I ditched was the Die Cut vest by Sara Morris; what I valiantly attempted and completed to my satisfaction (but not without a few expletives ) is the  Mount Vernon Shawl by Tanis Grey – with much better results. I still have a lot of the same yarn left.  I might use it to work on mitered squares, or use it as a back drop for some of the weaving samples I just took off my workshop loom.  Ah.  That was another whole project!  I had about 2 yards left on the warp from the Bonnie Inouye workshop, and so I used all the leftover weft bobbins, with various different treadlings from the workshop.  What resulted is a collection of various sizes, shapes and color combos that are quite interesting.  That will have to percolate in my brain for a while.

Speaking of completing things from workshops, I also got busy carding and finishing off the cotton lint (dyed and natural) from the Joan Ruane spinning class.  It’s the skein that is on the top of the picture.  That will have to be used as a weft – I am not going to knit with it because I don’t have enough for something substantial, and I hate a short scarf.  What was really great about this was that I was getting pretty good at spinning at a higher speed and with shorter fibers (no less), so when I work on the good stuff I will be a regular whiz at it.  Life is good.  The skeins that you see below the cotton are this fabulous merino/silk blend from Handwerks, my friend Laura’s hand dyed yarn.  I am using a pattern from DanDo – it’s called Urban Chic and I just started it.  Of course, that was after I ripped out another pattern I was working on that I had saved from 2004.  The directions were terrible, so I won’t embarrass the author.

Can you get the feeling of circuiting through different fiber crafts, picking up one and leaving the other hanging until you circle back to it?

Lastly, here is the finished product of the circular scarf (mobius to those of you who know what that is) that I was working on before Denny’s hip replacement.  Let me tell you, even though it was 90+ degrees outside, the yak/silk/mohair combination was perfect for inside the hospital.  Got a lot of complements, too.  It pays to rip out what you don’t like.