Gobsmacked!

When I first started lace knitting, I spent many hours visiting Nurhanne's Web site, Yarn Over. I was especially enchanted by her collection of doily patterns and quickly became hooked. I still visit regularly and still knit doilies from Yarn Over.

In December 2007, Nurhanne offered Pay It Forward on her former blog. She offered a hand-made item to the first three people who signed on and agreed to make the same offer on their blogs. This was too good to pass up.

So, this week I was gobsmacked when I received this beautiful wool shawl, made by Nurhanne, based on a Marianne Kinzel leaflet.

It is so beautiful. That it is also one of my favorite colors is a bonus.

Unfortunately, only one person signed on for my Pay It Forward, and I had no way to contact her. So, Robin, if you are still out there, please make contact so I can Pay It Forward to you.

Wine Tasting

Wine has a big role in our household. We enjoy wine and my husband is a wine economist (I am the principal wine research assistant). So when I saw this pattern, called Wine Tasting — and saw it shortly before his birthday — it seemed like destiny.

• Pattern: Wine Tasting from JoJoLand. I made some changes: I thought that some of the decreases were going the wrong way (wrong way for me, YMMV), so I changed them. Unfortunately, the pattern is not charted, and I did not take the time to chart it. Had I done so, I would have discovered the decrease issue before I started knitting. Oh, well, do-overs are part of the process.
• Yarn: JoJoLand Melody in color MS12, 220 yards per 50-gram ball.
• Needles: US4
• Finished size: 9 inches x 57 inches

Minty Fresh

Kid mohair and silk and beads — yummy.

• Pattern: Scaruffle by Bess Haile, from Clara Parkes's The Knitter's Book of Yarn. I think the numbers in the pattern for the short rows are off, but the pattern is very forgiving.
• Yarn: Silkid by Emmebi, 70 percent baby kid mohair, 30 percent silk, in minty green, made in Italy but purchased in Riga, Latvia. (Mint green is not always my first choice of color but the combination of color and softness-silkiness of the yarn makes it work for me.)
  
• Needles: US4 and US10.5.
• Finished size: Not nearly as long as the pattern but very wearable.
• Beads: Silver-lined 8/0 seed beads in a color called tourmaline. I added five rows of beads in the neckline area. Tedious, but worth it, I think.
  

And, yes, the scarf is photographed on my Japanese lace leaf maple in its full autumn splendor red.

Mighty Fine

I had an opportunity to knit with a buffalo-merino blend from Buffalo Gold (I do not know if it is generally available yet). It is mighty fine yarn, in two senses.

First, it is almost cobweb weight, coming in at 400 yarns per ounce.

Second, it is mighty fine to work with. It is extremely soft and luxurious. You want to fondle it, as well as knit with it.

• Pattern: Glorianna, from Elizabeth I by Jolene Treace.
• Needles: 3mm. I used plastic needles with a little "drag" to them. The fineness and softness of the yarn did not work well with my slickest needles.
• Finished size: 7 inches by 60 inches.
  

Patron of the Arts

The Museum of Glass is one of my favorite places to hang out. The museum Hot Shop, where you can see artists making glass, is one of the few places where I can't knit because watching the artists is so interesting.

I am especially interested in the museum's Kids Design Glass program. The first Kids Design Glass exhibit opened this weekend. Museum supporters were offered a chance to sponsor one of the pieces. This one, by 10-year-old Meredith, is the one I chose.

It is untitled but the artist's notes say that it is a chicken-turtle with big lips. Makes sense to me.

Some of my other favorites are Pepper and Green Guy.

Use the Kids Design Glass link above to see more of the collection and the original drawings. Better yet, visit the exhibit.