to bead, or not to bead?

i have all kinds of goodies today. yesterday i was in class from 10 am to about 8:30, which sounds like a lot, but really it feels like a day off—AND i get to knit while i teach, so i quite look forward to being there. over the summer there is not enough signup to have classes all day on monday, or justify hanging out at the yarn shop with carol e. when i have a ton of work on my desk.

but come fall and winter, i’m there all day every monday. that’s one of the reasons i work on the weekend; so my mondays can be sacred—FOR KNITTING ONLY. and can i say that i am SO glad it’s that time of year again? i got really off-kilter over the summer, not having that one day per week that revolved around knitting.

so, i got a few inches added to the mermaid sox and am getting eager to have these off the needles. there is really just a night or two of work on them, but my evenings are devoted to shawl knitting.

i would have done more, but on my break, i got completely involved in knitting the starlight evening wrap, and couldn’t put it down after that. i added quite a few inches and am loving it even more now. what a great choice to make for the upcoming holidays.

i know you want to see a closeup! of course, as soon as i had established the stitch pattern and gotten a handle on what it would look like, i thought “wow!, beads would be nice on this!”.

now i don’t really go for beads, but i can see where some tiny ones that are maybe a little lustrous, could look like snow if they were spattered down the front ends of this stole. or to have used that alpaca glimmer yarn with the tiniest amount of metallic in it would have also been a good choice.

anyway, don’t you love that stitch? sooo pointy! so elegant. i think what i will do about the beading is work up a scarf in this same pattern with the yarn that mason dyed for me, and bead that. if i like it, i will add the option in the pattern.

because this yarn is MORE than suited to this pattern. i just don’t have enough for a stole.

so yesterday was extremely productive on the knitting front. i even came home and knitted on spades for a couple of hours. that one is getting more and more desirable by the day—i can’t wait to show the finished piece. but speaking of cashmere, deb from fearless fibers emailed to let me know she has moved the cashmere laceweight to her Etsy Shop from ebay, and she has posted a bunch of new skeins there. i did not know about the move when i pointed you all to ebay the other day.

today i haven’t had a chance to knit yet. well, i did work one whole round of my brownTreXX sox while the computer restarted. but i figured, you probably wouldn’t be able to see the difference. however, i got a package, so i took the opportunity to photograph the two together.

another one covered with labels and stickers—this time from canada. it is books from the Needle Arts Book Shop. i was over reading Saartje Knits and saw some books that i did not have (yes, there ARE a few . . .) about scandinavian knitting (one of my favorite cultural knitting mines). so i went to this wonderful shop and ordered a few things. look how nicely they are wrapped inside the box

there are even a few small gifts tucked in from the ever-so-kind marsha. here’s what i got—i am REALLY looking forward to tucking in and reading these

now just look at that fella on the cover of setesdal sweaters—is he happy to be wearing a handknit or what??