Stash Queen

Done X 3

A very boring but productive week and a half, partly due to freezing rain which encouraged me to stay at home and knit.  I am enjoying Netflix:   six seasons of Bones have also helped me sit and knit.  I have read most of Kathy Reich's books about Temperance Brennan and enjoyed them, but I didn't watch the TV series previously because I was miffed that the protagonist had the same name but was a completely different character with completely different colleagues than the books.  This time around, I was willing to overlook that and accept the program as a different entity, enjoyable on its own merits.  Here's what I got accomplished while Bones solved all those cases.

The Brioche cowl is done, but not without errors.  I'll wear it myself instead of putting it in the gift bin.  The original right side with the red/purple dominant looks good:

But there are three spots on the reverse where I missed purling the YO together with the appropriate stitch.  One error shows up more than the others because it falls against a white rather than gray stitch, so the cowl is not perfectly reversible, although it might not be noticeable in wearing.  Look for the red bar over a white stitch under the first stripe in the photo below. 

This cowl uses a tubular cast on and cast off, for which I had to use the instructions in the book and internet videos.  I think I did an adequate job for the cast on; it did seem vaguely familiar.  However I found the cast off quite confusing and hard to remember.  I hope I would do better if I tried it again.  Which I probably should, before I totally forget the steps.

On the other hand, I am completely happy with my Northern Lights Cardigan.  Notice that I changed my color plan.  The green looked good with the purple, but it really dominated the yoke, and it just isn't my color.  The red, while on the burgundy side, with the purple main color reminded me too much of a Red Hatter costume.  So I resorted to off white, which keeps the color scheme a bit more neutral.  But instead of using the main color to accent the white motif, I threw in a bit of the burgundy and continued to substitute it to complete the yoke.  It's the same intensity as the purple, so the color scheme is still balanced.  I think two shades of purple with just the neutrals would have been boring without the extra shot of red, and I like the result.

The cardigan isn't blocked yet, and I will look for buttons on my next trip into town.  The pattern calls for the beads to be sewn on the sweater after the yoke is knit, so I did it that way, but it was drudgery.  If I were knitting this pattern again ( and I am tempted; maybe Mom would like it), I would probably put the beads on the yarn and knit them in as I went.  The beads I used were size 4, color Gunmetal, which ties in the bit of gray in the yoke and shows up well on both the burgundy and the mauve.  I used less than a third of a 40 gram vial of beads.

My third completed project is a quick pair of mitts from some stash Auracania Magallanes.  It averages aran weight but it ranges from thick to very thin.  It might not have been the best choice for mittens, but I didn't know what else to with one skein.  I wanted to try out Ocatillo, a new pattern that I bought from Patternfish.  The mitten fits well and is interesting to make.  It would like nice in two colours too, with a contrasting or coordinating colour for the horizontal cuff, making it a good stashbuster pattern.

I received my copy of Melissa Leapman's new book  Stashbuster Knits, and I think I'll find it useful.  Three things I really like:  1)  She shows three colorways for every design.  2)  If you want to use up lots of smaller scraps, she gives yardage for each repeat of some of the stripes, fair isle bands, and motifs.  3)  Information at the front lists how to combine finer weights of yarn to make heavier weights; you could make custom marls. 

 
So far, I'm still on track with knitting what I've got.  I don't know how long it's been since I've gone a month without buying at least one ball of yarn.  I am still allowing myself to buy new patterns, so I can update what I'd like to make with the stash.  I frogged the Celtic wrap I was making with some rose heather Classic Wool, because I know I'd get more wear from a sweater.  I'm in love with the Rocky Coast Cardigan from Coastal Knits, the other book I purchased from Knit Pick's ongoing 40% off book sale.  Can I keep myself from starting it before I finish my Dovetail pullover?  Stay tuned and see.

Everything's Coming Up Purple

(No new pictures in this post, but lots of links.  I've got a new computer that is driving me crazy.  I've had problems with four programs already and spent two and a half hours with computer support last week.  This week it's the photo card reader that's not working, but I'm going to post anyway.)(Edited to add photos two days later.)

Here's the reveal of the last FO from 2011:

It's the Loop of Luxury from Cowlgirls, knit in Wisdom Yarn's Skye chunky weight.  I love this colorway 101, a lot of brights along with a soft gray mauve that keeps it from being too garish.  This was a gift for my daughter's birthday.  She was the New Year's Baby for our city the year that she was born.

My 2012 Knitting New Year's Resolutions are the same as every year; I always have good intentions to:

1. Knit from the stash instead of buying more yarn.

This Aestlight shawl knit in 2009 was only worn once or twice.  It got badly caught in a suitcase zipper and I couldn't get the pulled row eased back to proper tension so that the shawl looked right.  So it got frogged and became stash once again, purple Estelle Cadenza fingering weight merino silk.

It's being reborn as Shibui Knits' Draper shawl.  The larger size has a nice balance of knitting.  The triangle starts at the top centre back with some stockinette, then one lace band, more stockinette, then two lace bands, some more stockinette, then ends with three lace bands.  Even the lace chart is simple enough that it made good car knitting when I travelled down to Mom's with my husband, daughter, and two grandsons for New Year's.  I'm on the final stockinette band already.

2.  Finish some of the UFO's that haunt my yarn room. 

I was inspired to start my Northern Lights Cardigan after the Knitting at the Top of the World blogger completed hers as the first step in her endeavor to knit all the projects in the book in order.  She's halfway through the book now, and I'm halfway through my one sweater.

This thermal rectangle is the bottom of the back and fronts knit in one piece up to the armholes, as shown a year ago.  I have recently completed one sleeve and half of the other, which will be fit in with the body to begin the circular yoke.  I've swatched the yoke pattern, using a lighter mauve, grey, and black for three of the contrast colors and trying to decide between  burgundy and leaf green for the most contrasting colour. 

3.  Try some new techniques. 

I've never tried Brioche stitch before.  Last fall, I discovered that several staffers at the library are avid knitters, and one has fallen in love with brioche and has been encouraging me to try it.  When I was checking out books a few weeks ago, she tried to describe how to do it, and it sounded pretty confusing and complicated.  This week she showed me the cowl that she had knit, and I went from curious to converted -  I had to try it.  I knew I had some patterns with some instructions, and settled on a smaller neckwarmer from Melanie Falick's book Weekend Knitting.  But I found the instructions and photos from this free pattern helpful as well. 

Brioche is a kind of rib, and the technique involves slipping stitches purlwise with the yarn in front to create a double-faced fabric.  Normally when you are moving the yarn back and forth from a purl to a knit position, you have to be careful to keep it between the needles and not over the needle, creating a yarnover.  It's easy to make that mistake.  So when it clicked that brioche is all about creating those yarnovers with every slip stitch and then working them together with the slipped stitch on the next row, it's really pretty easy. 

 I'm using two colorways of an older wool from WalMart, Sean Sheep Armitage.  One ranges from red to purple, and the other is grey to white.  On one side the red/purple stitch is raised and the grey/white recedes, and the other side is the opposite.   The fabric is thick and squooshy.  Very warm, and very cool at the same time!

So far, I'm on track with the knitting resolutions.  Much better than the diet.

Now It Can Be Shown

Hope Santa was good to you and that you all had a wonderful day with loved ones.  We are fortunate to be able to enjoy good food made by loving hands.  The gifts we receive are also an expression of love, especially if they are handmade.

Now I can reveal my projects which did make it under the tree on time - the last end was darned in at 10:38 Christmas Eve.

I'm sure you'll recognize this one now that some stitches have been dropped:

My daughter's Silk Garden Clapotis.

 

She picked out the colorway a long time ago but had no idea that I was knitting it now.  She loves it and the green and black shell shawl pin that I gave her to wear with it.

The sweater that I was madly knitting down to the wire was this one:

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It`s Baird, a KnitPicks pattern by Elizabeth Green Musselman.  I knit it in Comfy Cotton instead of the wool the pattern called for.  I love its retro look; it's kind of a grandpa sweater for a little boy.  I got a little bored knitting it only because it was actually the second one:

I knit stranded patterns with one yarn in each hand.  In this photo you can see the difference it makes whether the darker or lighter yarn is held in the right hand.  I did deliberately choose to change the emphasis in the second sweater by switching yarn positions.  But I was very careful never to switch while knitting each sweater.  For the larger sweater I had the dark brown in my right hand, and for the smaller one, the lighter brown. 

Truthfully the boys think clothes are mostly boring at Christmas time.  They preferred the bright red Marvel hoodies with Spiderman and other superheroes on the front, which I purchased on sale at Sears.  But I knew they would, so I wasn't disappointed.  My daughter loves to dress the boys the same in classic little man styles when they go out, and she was surprised and loved these sweaters enough to make it all worthwhile. 

Now the rush is over, I am looking forward to rechecking the UFO's and the stash and planning the new year's knitting.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year to all!

That Time of Year

Cold enough for snowmen.  It was -23 C when I woke up this morning.  Definitely cold enough to wear my new Mulberry Hat.  The cute little Brattleboro beanie tends to ride up and not cover my ears.  The Mulberry does the opposite, tending to slide down, but at least covering the ears and forehead well.  The pattern calls for an elasticized velvet ribbon that I can't find anywhere.  I sewed regular ribbon as trim on the outside, but I may have to sew on or weave in some kind of elastic on the inside to keep this in place a bit better.

This is the only thing I've completed for myself lately.  Please excuse the arms length, self-taken photos.  DH has been far too busy making pasta for the annual fundraiser at the Italian club.  It's that time of year for him too.

I went out this morning to the Little Dude's Christmas concert at the Y.  Seeing the little ones onstage is one of the best parts of the season.  Some were born performers, others cried or stared at the audience like reindeer in the headlights.  Then there was the little girl who kept lifting up her dress to play with the hem and the little boy who picked his nose.  And they were all so cute.

Our guy managed quite well in his two numbers.  He's grown up so much since he just sat down on the stage in an act of non-participation last year.

On the home front, my Christmas knitting is coming along.  What makes it less stressful is the fact that four people in our family have birthdays in January.  There's a reprieve for anything that doesn't make the Christmas deadline, although I'd prefer to start the new year with a clean slate.  I'll show you a few sneak peeks without revealing what or for whom:

Now you'll have to wait for Christmas for more.

I Said I Never Would

But I did ... cast on 648 stitches for Barb's Koigu Ruffle. 

My mom's been here visiting for the past couple of weeks.  When I went down to pick her up, we went to Carol's shop for a catch up visit and grabbed up most of her Wisdom Yarn North Pole sock yarn.  Mom liked the Victoriana colorway with the creams, taupes, dark red and green, and gold metallic.  She said she would probably wear a glittery Christmas scarf more than socks.  Anne Marie is on her third ruffle and assured me it wasn't so terrible using the cable cast on for all those stitches, and the rest of the scarf knit up quickly, so I went for it.  What does it really matter if you're doing one long row or six short ones.  I knit it in three sessions.

I think it turned out lovely.  I've never ironed my knitting before, but in this case it did make all the difference.  I used a medium amount of steam with the lowest setting that would make steam, and the yarn survived fine with no damage to the nylon content or the metallic thread.

I've also finished a few little things that were almost done.

The other pair of little boy mittens, this time in some Bergere de France Jaspee leftover from the nineties; also the second pair of little boy socks in Patons Kroy ragg stripes (see picture of the first pair in previous post).  Now they've both received new hats, socks, and mitts for early winter.

The Deborah Norville Serenity bamboo blend socks.  I thought I had a whole sock to knit, but when I pulled out the bag, I discovered the second sock was only ten rows from toeing off.  Why the heck didn't I finish these earlier! 

I was knitting a pattern which called for the lace chart to continue down the top of the foot, but it wasn't lined up nicely and necessitated continually fudging the yarnovers and double decrease at the edge.  It just pissed me off so much that I ripped back and knit the foot plain.  These are going into the gift bin for someone who will never know how they were supposed to be.

As a finale, I sewed on the soles of my slipper socks, then sat back and relaxed.

 

 

Cruising for a Cure and Full Steam Ahead on the Knitting Front

The highlight of the past week has been the annual Grand Desserts Night fundraiser for breast cancer.  This year's event was the biggest yet.  Our table's theme was "Cruising for a Cure."  We had a new hostess this year, Stephanie, who is carrying on the tradition of her mother with the help of all her friends.

It's hard to believe that almost a year has passed since I lost my good friend Donna.  Her absence was noted by the evening's emcee.  Also, recently the hospital honored her on their Pink Day, a fundraiser she initiated, and hung her portrait in remembrance in the department where she worked.  One person can make a difference.

Moving on to the knitting.  I am trying not to give in totally to the lure of new yarn.  I have been knitting from the stash.   Stephanie was the recipient last year of the Peace Out Earflap hat, and there was enough yarn left for some mittens.  I started one during the summer (yeah, knitters are kinda crazy that way) and decided I should get the pair finished for her.  They're a little big, she's so tiny, but they should be very warm for yard duty and might even fit over a thin pair of mitts or gloves if desired.

Next, the mitts below were knit not too long after the publication of Sally Melville's garter stitch book, but never gifted because I had two more skeins of the Colinette Skye yarn to make something else to match.  I considered a hat and cowl.

However, the lucky combination of finding the Knitting New Scarves book on sale and learning to knit and purl back backwards led to the choice of this scarf.  The new technique made knitting the short-row side ruffles on this scarf much easier.  I wanted to relax the garter stitch a bit, but I left the scarf soaking too long so that the ruffles flattened out more than I would have liked.  Lesson learned for next time, and there will be a next time - I do like this pattern and can visualize it in a lot of different yarns.

Then, browsing Ravelry one night, I found the Mustikka pattern and couldn't wait to try it out.  I grabbed some old Pingouin Tempo sportweight acrylic and wool blend yarn, and voila, new fall hats for the boys.

Which reminded me that I had promised to make my daughter a Brattleboro hat from the remainder of my Misti Alpaca Tonos Worsted and had even bought the buttons for it.  Done, in one evening with a bit of finishing time the next morning.

Back to the boys, to complete a little pair of socks from Patons Kroy. 

Now, I'll have to do another pair too, but I won't bore you with an identical photograph when they're done.  Instead, I'll sign off with the highlight of the boys' week - Halloween!  They went to the mall and chose costumes which reflect their age difference and current interests:  Thomas the Tank Engine and Optimus Prime, Transformer.  (Note the Little Dude has his Mustikka hat on backwards.  He'd lost the Thomas headpiece at daycare already.)

 

Cruise Finale: Boston and Home Again

After Halifax, we had one very rough day in the wake of Hurricane Ophelia.  The pools on board were drained and covered with nets, deck chairs were lashed down, the rock climbing wall was closed, and the ice show was cancelled.  Imagine jumping up into a double axel not knowing what angle the ice surface would be when coming down. 

We all walked like drunks, and some people resorted to antinausea patches, not me fortunately. Donna Druchunas decided to teach her finishing class sitting down; she said she couldn't think about how to balance standing up and what she was trying to say at the same time. The tips I learned about seaming garter stitch were worth the price of the class. I want to knit some more Elizabeth Zimmerman garments and I've never been happy with my skills in that area.

Finally, the next day was the first of the trip to dawn sunny and clear.  Two of the women on the cruise lived in Boston and offered to show us around their city, including their favorite LYS.  So we started out at The Stitch House in a lovely tree-lined neighborhood in Dorchester, in the midst of traditional three-story, three-generation homes.  I loved the gold house on the corner.

The shop had a lovely atmosphere, a great selection of yarn and fabric, including Amy Butler sewing patterns, and very helpful and friendly staff.  I limited myself to one skein of sock yarn again, this time a lovely blue Malabrigo.  I bought a Classic Elite Yarns book of scarf variations called Panache, and have started "Glamour" with the yarn.  It's unusual to see a rectangular scarf knitted in a lace pattern from the long side.  It will be a nice change from triangles.

Boston is a beautiful city, and we very much enjoyed driving around seeing some of the sights.

 I really wanted to see the Italian neighborhood, so Spence and Robin took us to Hanover Street for a late lunch at the Bella Vista Ristorante, where I enjoyed spaghetti aio oio (in garlic and olive oil) with broccoli and chicken, and a charming display of Venetian glass shaped like handbags.

That night, our table celebrated Diane's birthday. 

There was one final day of classes, in which Joan Schrouder taught us how to construct a Shetland shawl, using traditional lace patterns.

And our trip was over. 

It's taken me a month to post all this; since I've been home I've been sick with a cold, had company for the weekend of our annual Abruzzese banquet at the Italian club, and been called out of town for the funeral of an extended family member.  But I have finished the Romi Hill pattern, Merope, that I started on the cruise with the Ruby Slipper colorway of String Theory Caper sock yarn.

And on the out of town trip, I had enough car time (my niece Jenna can drive now!) and visiting time to knit most of another Romi Hill pattern.

This one is the Live Oak Shawlette from the Fall 2011 issue of Knitscene.  This Java colorway is String Theory yarn too, but it's Lux with a higher cashmere content.  Based on these two beauties, I think the third skein of String Theory should be another Romi Hill design.  Luckily I have the 7 Small Shawls ebook, so there are still lots to choose from.

But winter is coming and I have a few other small projects to finish first.

Cruise Catch Up - Canada

Our first Canadian stop was St. John, New Brunswick.  It's an old city, not particularly beautiful downtown, but the nearby Bay of Fundy park area was a delight for the photographers and birdwatchers.  Anne Marie and I got off the ship just long enough to visit the Cricket Cove yarn store in Brunswick Square, where I scored this:

 

A special Fleece Artist worsted yarn dyed for Knit East the previous weekend!  I'd like to try making a fascinating scarf that one of the knitters on the cruise was working on.  It starts with I cord fringe, that's then braided for a few inches, and then the stitches are laid out on the needle and become a ribbed scarf section, then divided and knit as I cord and braided again before starting another flat ribbed section, repeat I cord braids before the final section and end with braids and loose I cord fringe again.  She said her pattern was from Classic Elite Yarns and I searched for it in the next yarn shops but couldn't find it.  I think I can make something close from her explanations and seeing what she had done so far.  She was using three different colors; I'd like to use the green colorway here in the middle and the blue for both ends.

I also picked up this beaded wool metallic from Blue Heron Yarn, which has already become another Beech Wood Cowl.

I wish the textured stitches showed up better in the photos - I love this Ilga Leja pattern.  The gold thread in the yarn sparkles more in real life too.

My other purchase here was a skein of Opal Handpaint in blue with multicolors.  I really liked this fingering yarn when I knit my friend Jude's orange vest and socks, and I still have some left to knit her a small scarf.  But I "needed" some in my colors.  Dixie B and her daughters Linda and Lorrae were wearing some lovely shawls by a designer new to me, Kitman Figueroa.  (They were actually collecting clues for her current Mystery Shawl while on the cruise.)  So I checked her out on Ravelry when I got home and bought her ebook.  My Opal will make a beautiful Peacock shawlette.

The next morning found us in Halifax, where the knitters had their own bus again.  We crossed to Dartmouth to visit well-known Canadian knitting instructor and designer, Lucy Neatby. Her business, Tradewind Knitwear, is internet based, so it is in her home, and that is where we pulled up and invaded her basement, office and kitchen, currently under renovation.  She also had a house guest, Cat Bordhi.  They were both very friendly and gracious.

I was now in the guilty hangover phase of my yarn shopping spree, so I limited myself to only one skein of Lucy's Cat's Pajamas in tonal mauves.  I'm looking for a very feminine sock pattern that is worthy of this, the most expensive sock yarn I've ever purchased.  But Cat Bordhi said I had to try it;  how could I not listen to the sock maven!

Back in Halifax, we were treated to a demonstration of the dying technique used for Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarn.  It was mindblowing to see how they can put all those beautiful colors in each skein using only one waterbath and ordinary home appliances and utensils. 

The dyer artist knows her colors, amounts, and timing.  You and I would end up with a swampy brown mess, I'm sure.  Our guide was Handmaiden herself, in the pink tee below.

 After our demo we visited LK Yarn, where Fleece Artist and Handmaiden yarns are among many lovely brands for sale.  But I resisted further spending.  I did a mental check, and I have five Fleece Artist/Handmaidens projects in the stash back home.  I will return instead with new inspiration from this port.

 

Thanks again to Sabrina for some of these photos.

Portland and Bar Harbor, Maine

The first day was spent at sea in the classroom en route to Portland, Maine.  My first class was the most intimidating for me - Balkan/Andes knitting.  With three yarns tensioned around my neck, my knitting kept getting closer to strangling me and I had to make some strange chicken darting movements with my head to get the yarn loosened up.  We were purling around the inside of a circular piece of knitting, working from the edge furthest away from us.  I dislike purling, and have always believed that the whole purpose of circular knitting is never having to purl - not purling all the time!  It felt as awkward as learning to knit the first time, but darned if the tension wasn't surprisingly good.  I do intend to give it another try, maybe on a pair of mitts, with a three colored stranded band around the hand somewhere if not an allover pattern.

Portland was a full day, with the knitters being bussed around the area, to Maine Fiber Arts where there was an amazing contemporary quilting display,

a presentation by Mary Jane Mucklestone of Andean chullos and the Fair Isle samples from her new book,

and a chance to meet artist in residence Diane Langley, who does rug hooking and story cloths, using a Japanese form of quilting.

We shopped at Halcyon Yarn,

where I bought Noro Silk Garden Lite to  make the display sweater you can partly see on the left edge of this photo.  I started knitting it on the ship and blocked the back at home before continuing.  I had to stop down 2 needle sizes to get gauge, and I have had a bad experience with Kureyon stretching to immense proportions over a season of wearing.  So I'm still not sure if I've got the size right on this one; it seems a bit snug but it might grow.

Then we trekked to Longwood Alpaca Farm to meet this guy among 20 others and buy some yarn at the source. 

There was even a little time left for shopping at downtown yarn stores before getting back on the boat.  I went to Knitwit for the trunk show of the garments from Hannah Fettig's new book, Coastal Knits, and bought some Quince and Co. yarn in the sock weight.

The next day we tendered in to Bar Harbor where the owner of String Theory yarns had come to us with a display room at the Bar Harbor Inn.  Fabulous yarn!  Maybe the best colors and quality of the whole trip.  That's saying a lot, considering my love for Fleece Artist and Handmaiden too.

I bought three colors in fingering/sock weight:  Ruby Slipper, Black Cherry, and Java.  My current project uses the Ruby Slipper colorway; the pattern is Merope from Romi Hill's 7 Small Shawls.

Now I'm off to knit with Anne Marie and Pat for the afternoon.  We'll review the Canadian ports of call in the next installment.  Thanks to Sabrina for sharing some of her photos.

Knitters Are the Nicest People!

I got back from my knitting cruise last weekend, exhausted, broke $$$, and sublimely happy.  The experience lived up to everything I've been dreaming about for a year.   Everyone was so friendly and down to earth, including our cruise organizer, our instructors, our fellow knitcruisers, and the designers and artists we met on our stops.

We were lucky to have our cruise organizer and owner of Craft Cruises, Melissa, along with us on this trip. She had everything well in hand and was even able to take some time socializing and knitting with us.  She was helpful, friendly and sincere, above and beyond the call of duty.

Our instructors, Donna Druchunas (lower right), author of five books including Successful Lace Knitting, which I bought and had autographed,

and Joan Schrouder, whose shawls have been published by Fiber Trends and Knitters' magazine,

were skilled knitters and excellent teachers, but more than that, they were wonderful people.  Each night they became part of the group of happy knitters up on Deck 14 in the Cloud Nine card room, working on their own projects, showing off their purchases from port, telling stories, laughing, and yes, ripping out mistakes occasionally just like the rest of us.

There were some spouses along, including Melissa's, Donna's and Joan's; and even one, Ed,  who knit baby hats for the hospital back home while onboard.  They all seemed to be having a good time, finding a balance between doing their own thing and hanging out with us.

There were also quite a few women who came by themselves, but no one was alone if they wanted company.  It was an amazingly welcoming and supportive group.

Anne Marie and I didn't go to any of the shows or other activities offered by the Royal Caribbean, because we didn't want to miss any of the fun with the 25 or so hardcore knitters.  The other half of the knitting group spent more time enjoying miscellaneous cruise activities and port tours.  But it was all about the knitting for Anne Marie and I, especially since we don't have a real knitting group or guild in our area.

Every day we looked forward to seeing what knits people were wearing.  I showed off my Daybreak shawl and Lodi cardigan in Bar Harbor,

and Hillflower on formal night.

I'm sorry to report that my planned project, Rhodocrosite, got frogged.  I kept messing up the faggoting section.  Another knitter, Lorrae, was working on the same pattern and asked me why I was having a problem, since it was "so easy," just before realizing she'd knit twenty rows with the wrong size needle.  I think it's jinxed.

This is what I did complete over the first few evenings - the sockweight version of the Inspira cowl, knit in two shades of Patons Kroy FX.

I was wearing it in Halifax when I met Cat Bordhi, and she loved it.  She asked about the pattern and the yarn, fondled it, and even flipped it up to look at my stranding on the back.  I was in heaven with the attention from my idol!  More about the highlights of our port stops in my next blog.