a whistle while i worked it

hee-hee! today while i was riding to class, i was heading up a small hill and i stood up to get a little extra power—and somebody whistled (with exuberance!) at my backside view! ha-ha-hahaha!

i don’t think that’s happened since i lived in NYC!
there, a lady gets that all the time, to the point that it could be annoying on bad days. but this was so unexpected, and so enthusiastic, that i laughed out loud!
(ok, i know they were probably drunk, but secretly, i was very, very pleased).

i couldn’t help but think that if i’d had my new skirt on—you know, the one with the flippy flare that, in my head, is already made—i actually would have deserved it!
now about the skirts: a new reader, enjay, made a wonderful suggestion that i think i might follow up on. she suggested a tank dress, and i LOVE that idea! (i also just LOVE how everyone has taken up the cause of finding just the right solution to my clothing dilemma! please keep writing). so one of the skirts may become a tank dress. i like tank dresses a lot. i’ve only found a couple that fit properly, and they have been too short for bike riding (we want to continue getting whistles, not screams of fright)

and in other knitspot news, last night i got the shrug off the needles! it just needs a little trim, which i am still ruminating on. this is the softest, nicest thing! i’m quite happy with it! i have to thank Persnickety Knitter for her help with sizing (she lives with preteen girls, bless her heart).

i will repeat the ribbing on the sleeve edges. for around the neck and down the front, i think i want just a little something. some sort of picot edge. i need to look through my books to find the right one (i want it to be narrow and simple). last night i looked through the nicky epstein books, but i didn’t find what i had in mind (though i DID get some ideas about stitches for my skirts!).

i may have to marry two different ideas. or . . . . i may have to get out the cochet hook. it would certainly be faster than searching for this knitted edge i have in my head! i’m pretty sure i could crochet what i want without even thinking about it; just let my fingers do the walking.

after i got that off the needles, it was only midnight, so i allowed myself to get a wee bit sidetracked on a super simple gift project that involves this wonderfully soft, organically grown cotton yarn:

this is an oldy, from my stash. it is sally fox fiber—anyone remember that? sally fox was the person who developed cotton plants that grow in colors. this was the first such knitting yarn available, that she produced from her fiber, around 1993, i think. when my friend, melanie falick, wrote knitting in america, i knit samples for her book, and one of them was the kristin nicholas sweater in fox fiber. i had three balls and change left from the sweater project. the yarn is soft, and the color changes somewhat with use and with washing. it is the perfect thing for a gift of bath accessories.

just a little side project!

so i am planning my skirts, but i also have a couple of lace commitments to fulfill. i am trying to decide which yarn to use for a japanese feather stole sample for the shop. something really subtle, but tough enough to stand up to being handled a lot. and something we sell at the shop.
hmmm. maybe this

or possible this olive green alpaca.

or, i have this hand-dyed yarn i did in nearly-solid rose, with streaks

i always think of this stole as looking best in a dark nearly solid or very subtle variegated yarn, but maybe the rose is good?? tell me what you think!

and i have a lace design project i need to do for a sort of competition. i don’t think i can talk about it on the blog yet, but i will need to use some of my time to work on it. when the event is all over, then you can bet i will share all about that!

now, don’t forget—monday is the big surprise (i’m teasing brooklynne here, hee-hee!), so don’t miss monday’s post!