Mid-May update

You may have noticed that I have not said much about fiber stuff lately. Partially it has been due to inactivity, or rather over-activity in the work half of my life. And partially it has been due to my working on a not-posted-until-it-is-gifted project. I have been taking pictures of this project and will post all the details later in the summer.

There are 2 other in-process projects I can report on:

First, I am mostly done knitting a simple white summer cardigan out of some French purl cotton I bought ages ago at a Stitches West vendor booth. I am using the Summer Cardigan pattern from Knitting Pure and Simple. The plan is to have the cardi to put over a sundress I will be wearing to a wedding in July (hot for the ceremony, but air conditioned at the reception). Oddly enough, when I washed the swatch it came out noticeably whiter, which will suit the outfit perfectly. Just need to finish a sleeve, then do the button bands.

Secondly, perusing the Knitty.com archives I came across the pattern for a bag called "Unbiased". It calls for 11oz of recycled sari silk from Tibet. By happenstance I have 2 skeins (12oz) that I bought several years ago in a little imports store in Yachats, Oregon. I have many special memories of that trip, so a bag made from this yarn will be both a handy knitting bag and a treasured memento. For now the project is my carry-along knitting. When finished, I can use it to carry along other carry-along projects.

One more fiberish note: After a long period of resistance, I have allowed myself to be swept into the world of Ravelry.com. My spot on the waiting list came up today and I have set up my profile. An initial look-around tells me I could spend days inside. Although I don't expect to index all of my needles and fiber stash (it is enough to be a librarian by day) I do expect to find lots of tips, patterns and inspiration.

As for the garden, I finished spreading mulch in the front yard (all 60 bags of it!), trimmed back last year's bloom stalks from the Perovskia and Caryopteris, and have dug the first dozen feet of foundation trench for my rock wall. After all that work I celebrated by adding a garden ornament to the lavender bed.