I should have mentioned earlier:   the patterns for both the Maltese Cross Beanie and the Etisoppo Footies are now posted over on the patterns page.

Wheeeee!

Check it out!

and another view:

and a look at the crown:

it’s not perfectly perfect, but  it will suffice to show the Maltese Cross shaping… AND if you observe the stitching directionality, you will learn how to shape intarsia in a manner more organic than straightforward stitch-by-stitch jiggley-jaggley  (yeah, that’s one of those “technical terms”).

You want the pattern?  Of course you do.  You need it.   You covet it.   You won’t sleep well until you have acquired it for yourself.

I just need to tidy up the written part and publish it tomorrow.   Email me tonight and you’ll get the pattern directions and stitch chart for the crown design for just $5.00 (I’ll send you a private PayPal invoice for that amount).    When I post it to the pattern page tomorrow it will be $6.50.

OR, if you want it sent for free, just order two separate colors of Down Home Solids Superwash Worsted and the printed pattern will be included with your order.

Don’t have a lot of time for chit-chat, but I wanted to show you this little bit of <*koff*>  “fun”.

This is why I don’t do a lot of intarsia by hand.  Most of it I do on the machine, but because this project involves serious decreases, it would be even more difficult on the machine.

This reminds me of the time I thought I could handle doing an intarsia crocheted afghan … in an argyle pattern.  I had about 25 or 30 bobbins across the width of it.    I think I managed to do about 3 inches of length, and realized how insane it was.    Now that I have the machines, of course, argyle would be quite easy to do.  In my <*koff*>  copious free time.   hahahahaha

Now, back to work.

This morning I went to make groceries, and when I returned, I opened a big box:

That there is 40 socks, 40 lace, plus some of the superwash that was ordered after the beginning of the Colorway Retirement Sale that started 10 days ago.    Pretty good delivery from the mill, but this is only the first of THREE large orders that were made within the last week or so.

So….  the rest of today will be all about tying these off and making them ready to dye.  Tomorrow morning will start early with 2 tubs in the pre-dye soak.   I should be able to get 30 or more dyed tomorrow before I collapse into a puddle.  And then a combination of dyeing, washing, rinsing, drying, reskeining, packing and shipping for the next 7-10 days.    By the time this load is done, the other shipments of yarns should have arrived (I checked my bankcard and it’s already been charged, so it should be here tomorrow or Friday!).

Wheeeeeee!

Well, okay, so my son’s friend asked for a beanie with a Maltese Cross on top.

It took 2 weeks, but this is what I’ve come up with, for the first round, at least:

There is a bunch of futzy detailed short-rowing, plus a whole lot of increasing/decreasing.     I messed up the curvature of the outer edges of the 4 arms, as well as the curvatures of the red bits between the four arms.

Plus it is toooo long.

So, the next one will have less curvature shaping of the outer edges; straight edges will be fine.   Part of my rational for the curves was to compensate for the roundness of the hat itself.   Apparently the curves in between the arms helps to offset this so I don’t need to do that.    And I think the center needs to be smaller, which means longer leaf-shapes (red) between the arms, making the arms appear longer.

As a first attempt, I am pleased.   As a finished project worthy of giving to someone, I am not happy and will need to do it again.

BUT….   now I know where to tweak it and how to do the shaping.    I’ll call for my son’s friend to come try it on and take some other measurements as well.

Oh, and that’s not a shadow around the gray — it’s a dark charcoal backstitch edging.    Not sure if I like that or not, but I wanted a very clear edge between the gray and red.  I think straightening out the outer edge rather than playing with short rows and curves will take care of that issue so I don’t need to outline the cross against the background.

Oh yeah, and it is NOT knitted in the round.   It is started at the bottom ribbing, knit flat and seamed.   Since the center of the crown is gray, I had to make the seam go down one of the arms of the cross.   So instead of knitting 4 arms, I knit 3 full arms and 2 half-arms, one half-arm at either edge of the piece, then the half-arms were joined.   And because the arms of the cross started at 28 stitches (with just 2 red stitches between), the 2 half-arms were started with 15 stitches each.

“Why 15?”, you might ask.   It’s because one stitch on each side would be eaten up in the seam (mattress stitch), so after seaming the joined arm of the cross would visually be the same 28 stitches wide as the other 3 arms.  It’s part of the planning and forethought process.

And the little red spaces between the arms started at 2 stitches, but expanded to 8 stitches.  I did those increases with a lifted bar increase (”make 1″), purling it to make it on the wrong side in between initial decreases on the arms.   I increased too many, I think.    The final will only have 6 stitches of red, which will then be decreased into oblivion when the arms of the cross are drawn it toward the center.

This is DEFINITELY a project that needs to be charted line by line, but eliminating the short-rowing will make it easier.

And now….   it’s been a productive day, so I’m going to bed.   :-)    Uhh… well, soon, anyway.

Okay, so five of the six Silk Scarf & Dura-Lace combo sets from yesterday were spoken for before they were even dried and the scarves pressed. 

That leaves this one remaining:

With a bit of a closer shot here:

Instead of selling this one, I’m going to make it the drawing prize for March — all orders over $50 during the month of March will be eligible for a random drawing at the end of the month.  Winner will get this combo set.

Yesterday on FB I suggested I would use up some extra laceweights and some long-leftover silk scarves, dyeing them together to be sold as combos.

Here’s the bunch of them straight from the pot (after cooling overnight), still wrapped in the scarves:

And here they are (starting from the bottom of the above picture) individually, unwrapped, with the laceweight yarn above the silk scarves.    Note that the scarves are folded end to end; they are actually twice as long as they appear here

Silk & Lace #1 (offer expired on this one…. see subsequent post above)

Silk & Lace #2 (This one now spoken for!)

Silk & Lace #3 (This one now spoken for!)

Silk & Lace #4 (This one now spoken for!)

Silk & Lace #5 (This one now spoken for!)

Silk & Lace #6 (This one now spoken for!)

These are now in the rinse and will be hanging to dry today, and then I’ll get them reskeined and bundled for showing tomorrow.

These were done mostly as a way to keep myself busy, and to use up available uncommitted stock before the next BIG (HUGE) (COLOSSAL) order arrives from the mill.    (I look at my bank account this morning, and the charge appears to have been made, so it’s been shipped–I should get it by Monday).   But as I’m looking at these, and thinking, I am not sure that combining a silk scarf with laceweight is the smartest combo.    A socks-scarf combo makes more sense.   I mean, most women (or men) wouldn’t wear a long silk scarf AND laceweight wrap, but I suspect there are many would would wear socks with matching scarf.

No matter.   It’s done now and someone will want these.

The Dura-Lace is regularly $25.50.   The lace and scarf combo will be $40.00 even (plus shipping).   Any one bold enough to claim one (or more) before reskeining and final posting can claim them for $37.50 per combo.

Way back last summer, I lifted this picture of my friend Fran’s son’s back yarn up in Washington, on Lake Dawn:

and then I manipulated it to determine the predominant colors:

And then made a preliminary dye test:

And now, after all these months, I finally have a pair of socks!

and even better than that, they fit … especially the heels, which feel like custom-fit ‘cups’ on my heels.

You can see where I altered the tension just a bit, without changing the needles (size 1.5/2.5mm) — it’s where the stripes go from narrow close spirals to broader spirals about an inch above the heel.

And they feel SOOOOOOO good!  

Well, no … I know WHAT I did: selected colorways for retirement.

And I sort of know why I did it:  (1) these were waning in popularity; (2) I would often have to do just 1 or 2 of a given colorway, while the recipe makes enough for 5-6, thereby creating a LOT of wasted dyes.  (One would think that 1 part “x” and 3 parts “y”  would make the same color was 3 parts “x” and 9 parts “y”, but it doesn’t always work that way.  Some recipes I can split or double, but others not so.)    Plus, in a day’s batch of 15 or 20 hanks, I would MUCH rather have 3 or 4 each of a handful of colorways than just 1 or 2 of each.  Each recipe is mixed as I need it, so every new colorway means stopping, cleaning the jars and equipment, remixing the next batch, etc. (or using up my dye jars to save for a dump dye session, but that’s not always possible if I need the jars emptied for a new batch of something else right away)

Oh yeah, and (3) some of these colorways are just driving me up the wall and I am tired of doing them.  There, I said it.   Some of my colorways bore me to tears.

I know that some of these colorways are special to some of my customers, so it didn’t seem right to just delete them outright.  Better to give opportunity for people to get a favorite colorway if they wish.

The outcome (so far) is that I had to send an order for 110 more skeins of assorted types (40 each just the socks and lace!).    That’s not counting the yarns I already have in-house and didn’t need to immediately replenish.

Don’t get me wrong … this is a VERY good thing.   But when the yarn arrives (this Friday or, more likely, on Monday) you can be sure I’m headed for a massive dye marathon.  wow.

And perhaps by the end of next weekend, when the retiring colorways are actually retired, there may well be (and I hope there will be) even more orders.

This volume in a short time will mean a slightly-longer-than-normal turn-around time on some of them, but there will be a lot of batching instead of filling each order individually before starting the next.

It also means I can finally finish paying the rent for January, and make a good dent in the rent for February.  Yes, I’m horribly behind, and even though my landlord knows what I’m all about and knows that sales dropped off last fall, I still hate paying the rent in little bits and pieces while dancing around the utility bills and groceries.   The landlord is great, but I am totally jazzed that I’ll be able to make a nice check by the end of this week.   Yippeeeee!

Anyway, every order prior to this weekend’s sale has now been dyed and shipped, and I have some other projects to catch up before the next big load of yarns arrives.   So…. I reckon I’d best get to it.   More later!

Okay, first up….. this went out to all my regular lists and venues:

Selected colorways will be retired from the regular colorway line-up at the end of February, and will no longer be available for purchase. Now is the time to stock up on the colorways you like before they’re gone.

These have been specially marked down at 15% or 20% discount. Now is the time to stock up on the colorways you want.

You can select from Socks and Lace (75% washable wool/25% nylon) at 20% Retiring Discount http://www.knitivity.com/socks-lace.html

Or select from 5 types of 100% Wools at 15% Retiring Discount
http://www.knitivity.com/downHomeYarns.html

What I didn’t put in the emails (but did put on the front page and other pages) is that all U.S. orders over $100 between now and the end of Sunday evening get free shipping.  

Go pick and choose through the end of February.  After then, these colorways will be available only by special request.

——

In other news…..

Lookie what came in the door today:

Six skeins each of Superwash Worsted weight, in Shane’s Red and Onyx.  During a minor  glitch in the recent Etisoppo Footies project, when I learned several customer-selected colors were out of stock and not planned for dyeing again for a few months, that the mill had a abundance of a few other colors.  Like several HUNDRED of each.

So I said, “COOL!    I need to know this.  I can help sell some of that overstock!”    If you have a way to use up a bunch of the Onyx or the Shane’s Red, let me know and I’ll cut you a super deal on one or both of these two colors.  

In the meantime, my challenge is to come up with a do-able pattern for these two colors.   Not sure if it will be a hat, scarf, shawl, blanket, or something else.   But it will be something useful, and probably not using all 12 balls. Since it is superwash, it won’t be felted.

It’s Friday evening, been a busy week, and I’m tired already.   The brain is working at twice the speed of my body.  Ugh!    And I’m still swatching to find the right texture for the Maltese Cross beanie.

Back when I first learned to knit, way back in high school, there were two stitch patterns that I learned, and just recently they’ve been nagging at me to duplicate… or replicate … or whatever that word is that means copy.

One of them was suitable for a scarf pattern, about 48 stitches wide, if I’m remembering correctly, in a combination of sharp-angled chevrons, separated by swooping waves or ripples.  This one should be easy to put into a new incarnation.   There are many versions of both the chevron and the swooping ripples so it won’t be hard to do this one.

The other one has had me scratching my head but I think I’ve got it.  It’s harder and I haven’t seen anything similar, even in Barbara Walker’s treasuries.   That’s not to say it isn’t there, but I’ve simply not seen it.   And I’ve done a Web search under the name as I recall it, but none of the patterns bearing that name even closely resemble what I remember in my head.    So I’m not even going to describe it.

This second one is probably not suited for an over-all pattern, but with tweaking could make an elegant shawl edging, or lower edge of a cowl or smoke ring.

And that’s all I’m going to say about these, for now.  But you can expect to see one or both stitch patterns by the weekend.  

Now…. back to dyeing and busy-stuff.

Happy Valentine’s Day, Y’all!

Check it out: More Blog Reader Specials. Be sure to EMAIL with the name of the one(s) you want, and I’ll send you a PayPal invoice for them. Please note that pricing is different across the various types of yarns, but all are discounted from the regular prices. Regular shipping rates, based on weight, will be added to your invoice; be sure to indicate your state or country to ensure accurate shipping charges. ALL of these are one-of-a-kind and will not be exactly duplicated.   First come, first served, based on the time-stamp of your emails.

Here’s the collection for today. The colors are slightly more true here than in the individual pictures down below.

14Feb2010 - Sock #1 (4 oz. 75% superwash wool / 25% nylon, approx. 460 yards) - a mix of gold, purple, deep blue, black, and fuchsia. $23.50 SOLD

14Feb2010 - Sock #2 (4 oz. 75% superwash wool / 25% nylon, approx. 460 yards) - a mix of gold, purple, deep blue, black, and fuchsia. $23.50 SOLD

14Feb2010 - Superwash Sport #1 (4 oz. 100% superwash wool, approx. 405 yards) - Brilliant mix of several reds and blues. $16.95 - SOLD

14Feb2010 - Superwash Sport #2 (4 oz. 100% superwash wool, approx. 405 yards) - Very cool mix of Olive and Spruce… the gold you see is actually the undertone run-off from the olive! $16.95  SOLD

14Feb2010 - Superwash Sport #3 (4 oz. 100% superwash wool, approx. 405 yards) - Dark blues, purples, blacks. $16.95 SOLD

If I didn’t need to sell these immediately I would play with a scarf of simple 1×1 slip stitch combination of the Super Sport #2 and #3

Okay, so it took longer than I expected, but miles of miles of garter stitch can be draining.  

Knit from two partial balls of a cotton/Modal blend from a manufacturer other than my regular mill, it’s a rather straightforward bias-knit washcloth.

I used a size 3 circular needle, but you can also use straights, in whatever weight yarn you wish (preferably cotton, or cotton-blend), on whatever size needles creates a fabric you like.

Da Knitivity Warshcloff

Increasing triangle:

CO 3

*Slip 1, K1, YO, K to end, turn, repeat from * until an edge side not on the needle is the width/length of the square you wish to achieve.

Decreasing triangle:

*Slip 1, SSK, YO, SSK, K to end, turn, repeat from * until 3 stitches remain.

Slip 1, SSK, PSSO.  Weave all loose ends.

—–

You can also do K2tog instead of the SSK in each place; I did SSK because the cotton is less elastic and the K2tog was more difficult for me.  Just be consistent in whichever decrease maneuver you choose.

As a general rule, any hand-knit washcloth is better than any store-bought variety.  Unfortunately, in some circles, the crafting of hand-knit household goods is looked down upon as being somehow “less than” trendy fashionable items.

I think that is silly, of course,  but by calling it a warshcloff, I pay homage to the ancient traditions of rural hand-made livingwear and thumb my nose at the snobs who eschew hand-made livingwear.  

If you look closely stitch by stitch, you will see a few flaws and mis-knits.   It is a WARSHCLOFF!   Get over it.   It will fall apart in a few years, by which time i will have created a few more.   This is the type of project you keep in your purse or backpack for knitting on the bus, in the doctor’s office, or any other time you have to stand and wait a few minutes.   There’s no pattern to follow, and virtually impossible to mess up unless you actively try to mess it up.

Have fun with it, and use up your leftover balls of cotton.

WHEEeeeeee! Twice in the same week!

Check it out: More Blog Reader Specials. Be sure to EMAIL with the name of the one(s) you want. Please note that pricing is different across the various types of yarns, but all are discounted from the regular prices. Regular shipping rates, based on weight, will be added to your invoice.

To start, there was one from the last bunch that was unable to be claimed as planned, so here is

12Oct09-Lace #06 - an extra Doberman (4 oz. approx 920 yards; 75% superwash wool/25% nylon) $22.50 SOLD

And all the new ones!

Fingering 6-Feb-#1 - (100% wool; 4 oz.; approx. 700 yards) $15.95  Fresher than tomorrow’s salad. SOLD

—–

Fingering 6-Feb-#2 - (100% wool; 4 oz.; approx. 700 yards) $15.95  Greens, blue greens, overstreaked with yellow slashes. SOLD

—–

Fingering 6-Feb-#3 - (100% wool; 4 oz.; approx. 700 yards) $15.95    Reds SOLD

—–

SOCK - 6Feb - S#11 - (75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 4 oz, approx 460 yards) $22.95 SOLD

—–

SOCK - 6Feb - S#12- (75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 4 oz, approx 460 yards) $22.95 (muted, decisive) SOLD

—–

SOCK - 6Feb - S#13- (75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 4 oz, approx 460 yards) $22.95 (greens and that funny faded green of wilting celery tops) SOLD

—–

SOCK - 6Feb - S#14 - (75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 4 oz, approx 460 yards) $22.95  Hot… very hot. SOLD

—–

Sport 6-Feb-#Sport1 - (100% wool; 4 oz.; approx. 420 yards) $15.95 - Deep Aquatic? SOLD

—–

Sport 6-Feb-#Sport2 - (100% wool; 4 oz.; approx. 420 yards) $15.95 - Lighter Aquatic? SOLD

—–

Sport 6-Feb-#Sport3 (100% wool; 4 oz.; approx. 420 yards) $15.95 (muted jeweltones) SOLD

—–

BIG SOCK - 6Feb - S#211- (75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 8 oz, approx 920 yards) $44.95  YIKES! SOLD

—–

BIG SOCK - 6Feb - S#212- (75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 8 oz, approx 920 yards) $44.95  Richly Reds. SOLD

—–

BIG SOCK - 6Feb - S#213- (75% superwash wool/25% nylon, 8 oz, approx 920 yards) $44.95  Colors lifted from a dollar bill. SOLD

Taking a break from skeining and packing everyone’s orders for shipping this afternoon/tomorrow morning.

Father’s Day is in June.  What can you knit for Dad with one or two skeins?   Yeah, yeah … everyone knows about socks.   But what about a necktie?   Or a felted coin bowl?   or  a cap with a pocket?    I’m thinking up a suitable Fathers Day contest to be announced in the next week or so, giving everyone time to think about a project with enough time to implement it.   Why not a Mothers Day project?   Because I suspect LOTS of people are already doing Mothers Day promotional efforts. 

Meanwhile, I’m also thinking up some ways for a special sale on SuperBowl Sunday — either free shipping on orders over $50 placed after the opening kick-off and before the final whistle, or some other such thing.   Since we already know the Saints are going to win <*fingers crossed*>, it would be silly to have a promotion based on which team wins. 

But I’ll think up something and post the details tomorrow.  Meanwhile, back to wrapping and packing.   I’ve heard a rumor that all those Superwash yarns ordered recently were shipped this week, so I should have them tomorrow or Monday, and the Etisoppo Footie pattern will be going out with the shipping announcements.

Back to work I go….

I think that was the first time an entire collection of Blog Reader Specials was taken entirely.    Very COOL!   And Thank You, everybody.   Everything ordered from that collection will be shipped tomorrow morning (or as soon as payments clear)

The dye jobs that were done yesterday are hanging  to dry, which leaves the extras that were soaking are available for me to dye today as experiments and play time.  Wooo-hooo!

The weather is totally sucky — gray and rainy, expecting to continue until after mid-day tomorrow.  Bummer, huh?

I  started the day thinking I had a handful of skeins to post. Turns out there are 25 items below (if I counted correctly). They all have to leave here this week. After you select the ones you want, please do tell your friends to pick from the rest!

NOTE:  This posting supercedes all prior postings and offereings for Blog Reader Specials, which are made obsolete by reference.

Instead of marking them as SOLD, and inadvertently confusing people, I’m deleting those that are claimed and sold.  Okay… you spoke, I listened; pictures are restored down below. 

As per the regular fine print and details (please click and read to be sure you are doing it right) these are each offered at $22.50 apiece. As always, these are all one of a kind — some experiments, some mistakes, some just plain extras. Email requests only, please; and all payments through PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account — they will accept your credit card just fine.

Please note that many of these were posted previously. When writing to claim the ones you want, be sure to include both the DATE and the ITEM NAME and NUMBER for each item. If you are outside the U.S., please indicate your country so that I can add appropriate postage charges.

===========

SOLD

24Nov09-Lace #921 -

12Oct09-Lace #08 - pale salmon and turquoise.

12Oct09-Lace #02 - Blues

12Oct09-Lace #04 - medium and light blues.

12Oct09-Lace #06 - an extra Doberman

24Nov09-Lace #923 -

09Jan10 - Lace 01 - a leftover Rubicunda overdyed with a variety of leftover dyes.

09Jan10 - Lace 03 - an early test for Hadrian’s Wall

09Jan10 - Lace 05 - a leftover Rubicunda overdyed with periwinkle.

09Jan10 - Lace 06 - A test skein of Bronze Patina (this is not the final colorway)

01Feb10 - Lace 01 - An extra version of Lake Berry

01Feb10 - Lace 02 - Mostly tans and grays

01Feb10 - Lace 03 - Deep browns, grays

01Feb10 - Lace 04 -a Dirty Mechanic variant.

01Feb10 - Lace 05 - more deep browns, tans, grays

01Feb10 - Lace 06 - a medium browns, tans, grays.

01Feb10 - Lace 07 - A blush

01Feb10 - Lace 08 - A Turquoise Fade extra

SOCKS

09Jan10 - Sock 05 - A test skein of Bronze Patina (this is not the final colorway)

01Feb10 - Sock 01 - So dark a brown it looks nearly black. But it really is brown!

01Feb10 - Sock 02 - Blush (a Watermelon turned too far toward blue, but slightly deeper than #6 below)

01Feb10 - Sock 03 - intended to be a Burnt Apricot, but there was a blob of Midnight Green that landed in the lightest portion of the hank; it is barely noticeable, but will be mildly visible while knitting.

01Feb10 - Sock 04 - An early test for Hadrian’s Wall.

01Feb10 - Sock 05 - a Dirty Mechanic variant.

01Feb10 - Sock 06 - Blush! (a Watermelon turned too far toward blue, but slightly paler than #2, above)

First, off….    DD2’s Footies are done and blocking!

and I’m nearly done writing up the instructions for making these.   I will write up *exactly* how I did these, but also make a set of principles, by which anyone can imitate these in any size with any yarn.

Tomorrow I will be showing off a new bunch of Blog Reader Specials.   Some are leftovers from previous bunches, plus there are some new ones, and some for which claim was made but never paid so those will be reposted.

Also, while digging in the workroom, I found three of those big half-pound sock hanks.   I thought I’d sold them all long ago, but I guess not.   I’m thinking I will dye them up for shawl works, perhaps for contest or drawings or something.

Into the evening I go.

First Preview Sale of the Year!

My intention is to announce this only to my own Knitivity lists and groups, but you are welcome to share a link to this page with any of your own friends who might be interested.

Patina was inspired by this image of a bronze statue:

And here are the sample swatches: I did about 30 rows of each in regular stockinette stitch (below, in each picture) and then about 30-ish rows in a 1×1 Slip Stitch (above, in each picture). The Dura-Lace doesn’t show well, but I’m including them anyway, so you can get a rough idea of the color distribution when knitting. The reason for the 1×1 slip stitch is to show how to more readily mix the colors and break up the horizontal striping effects. (I am really REALLY enjoying the 1×1 slip-stitch — on the LK-150 the machine tensions just enough so that the fabric is not bunchy or tight - even for hand-knitting, I would strongly recommend it for knitting variegated yarns, although you’d want to go up 1 or 2 needle sizes to ensure a better fabric.)

Patina - a foundation of a light silvergray solution, with tinges of brown, chestnut, Knitivity Steel Blue, and teal; dyed in the watercolor technique.

Patina in SOCKS

Patina in Dura-Lace

Easter Parade - a foundation of undyed yarn with narrow stripes of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple across the hank — all in light solutions, 50% or less, sequenced twice along the span of the hank.

Easter Parade in SOCK

Easter Parade in Dura-Lace

And now, for Preview Pricing for blog readers, the pricing here is $2.00 off the regular price.   They will be added to the the regular Socks-Lace page on Saturday, if there are sufficient initial requests for these colorways.  Orders for these yarns will be tallied and sent to the mill on Friday, so they should all be dyed within 2-3 weeks.

(shown on Dura-Lace, above, SOCKS, below)
(shown on Dura-Lace, above, SOCKS, below)

I am still dyeing into the evening, but I took some time to reskein the goodies as my sausage and rice boiled for supper.  I’ll have to knit up swatches tomorrow evening.

Sooo….  whattaya think?

Here’s the Patina, lace above, sock below

And here’s Easter Parade, lace above, sock below.