Sally’s daughter Nora is the proud recipient of the original Baby Elefante! She whined expressed so much enthusiasm about the original that it only seems fitting that she is his new buddy. The chocolate orange was a bonus; Sally hunted high and low for chocolate oranges at Christmas and came up empty-handed. I found them at the convenience store near my house. Go figure.
ETA from Sally: Tomorrow I shall reveal a Finished Object!!! I know — it’s been a long time since I had one.
Sometimes the best laid plans go awry. This second Sunburst Beaded Bag is a disappointment — it is so blah! And I had such high hopes!
The center circles were gorgeous when they were laying there on their own, but look completely non-descript in the bag. It also goes with NOTHING*! Oh well…. 🙂
* PS to Nancy — I never even though of black! Oh wait, I don’t have anything black. Never mind!
PS2 — now I feel bad after reading everyone’s comments. And, really, I wasn’t fishing for compliments, but appreciate them all the same!
It is on days like this that it’s hardest to live so far away from my sister. I really wish I could say this in person:
If I was there, I would take you shopping and then out to lunch. We could go to Blackwater Salt for shrimp pasta or to Le Pain Quotidien for a fabulous salad and dessert. Or maybe just grab an egg sandwich at Praline’s and head to as many yarn shops as we could fit into a day. Or you would take me because I cannot drive in DC!
Sally wrote about how well I took care of her when she was here for the Bohus Exhibit, but she takes care of me, too. She listens to my ongoing work sagas (allowing me to go on and on about things she does not care about or understand), and when I call her sad and depressed, she spoils me. Rotten. I mean it!
She is such a good friend to me and sometimes is the only one who understands me. I don’t know what I would do without her.
So, Surly, please enjoy your special day. If I was there, I would make you a Cockeyed Cake to enjoy with coffee AND some shortbread cookies to nibble with tea. And we would sit and admire your Bohus and sort through your fabulous stash looking for inspiration.
It would be a really fun day shared with my little sis.
PS from Susan: Scroll down to see Surly’s Bohus update if you have not yet done so!! 
I love my Bohus. I really do. Even so, I was getting a little tired of knitting the body and the single sleeve I started. The cure: baking.
Thousands of calories later, I still was faced with knitting the rest of my Bohus. Wait! I had an inspiration — I could break it up by turning my attention to the neck. That solution was calorie-free and would also give me a better idea of how the sweater would hang, making it easier to determine the sleeve length. I wanted something that would be soft and cozy looking, but that would also evoke (in spirit if not in detail) some of the motifs of the color work on the yoke. After a few false starts, this is what I came up with (it’s a Japanese stitch pattern):
I plan to do the same stitch (in black) at the wrists. I may also use it at the hem, but I haven’t quite decided on that yet.
In the meantime, as most of you know tomorrow is Valentine’s Day. We won’t be going out because our son (17 years old) comes home tomorrow night from a two-week school trip to Greece and Italy. His flight is conveniently scheduled to arrive at 8:00 p.m. Therefore, we are having a nice romantic dinner at home tonight. Very near my home is an absolutely wonderful French bakery called Praline. They have the best croissants I’ve ever tasted, and I lived in France back in the day. I stopped there this morning to see if there was a small Valentine-y treat I could pick up. I came home with this:
It’s pistachio with chocolate ganache. Kill me now. Death by excessive calorie consumption. Just after I took that photo, these beautiful flowers were delivered for me.
Awww. Aren’t they pretty?
In a word, yes. I must admit that some of my projects baffle even me for logic. This project is interesting and beautiful but was quite difficult. It is small enough that I did not suffer long, but I did suffer…are you feeling any sympathy for me? Darn!
Sunburst Beaded Bag, pattern by Janet Hoxie of SewUnique
Size 0000 needles and No. 8 Perle Coton, Size = 3″ across
The picture cannot possibly capture the deep teal-green irridescence of the beads.
I would recommend this project if a) you have already done some bead knitting and 2) you have really good eyesight and/or really good lighting. I can vouch for “a” but “2” was a stretch, as I have neither! I had to bring out my Ott light, readers, and a seeing eye dog to finish this puppy. All in all, I really love it and would make another. I think the next one will be easier because of my newly acquired neck pain experience! This truly is extreme knitting. 
Dianna nominated us for the Kreativ Blogger Award — another “made up” award like the Oscars! We thank you and our mother thanks you! Now off to look for gowns for the red carpet (and we promise that they won’t be sock monkey dresses. Maybe.).
Here is what we are supposed to do, and the rules for our nominees:
1. Copy the award to your site — check
2. Link to the person from whom you received the award — check
3. Nominate 7 other bloggers — hmmm, that part’s hard
4. Link to the award recipients on your blog — easy, once Number 3 is done
5. Leave a message on the blogs you nominate — okay, can do
It is so difficult to list one’s favorite blogs. Someone gets left out. Someone’s feelings get hurt. So, we will list some blogs and hope that no one feels like we don’t like them. We like a lot of people and a lot of bloggers!!
These are some of the blogs that touch us or teach us or inspire us.
Things Soo Likes — Soo is an incredibly gifted knitter and the sole inspiration for Susan’s Lyra. She knits some of the most gorgeous lace there is and also owns up to some crazy mistakes!
Twin Set Ellen — Ellen and Jan are sisters (twins — duh) that share a blog and share their knitting over a great distance. Blogging keeps them connected and enhances their friendship. We certainly can relate. Susan also knows Ellen personally as a fellow guild member and likes her a lot!
Rosemary-Go-Round — Romi’s Monday Musings are a favorite way to start the week. Romi is a really talented designer, jewelry maker, and published author. She will be teaching at Yarnover on April 18 so we’ll get to meet her in person and hang out for a few hours! That may be the royal ‘we’ as Sally may not be at Yarnover this year.
WendyKnits — Wendy’s blog was Susan’s first introduction to blogs and therefore set the bar pretty high. Wendy is a prolific and talented knitter so there are RESULTS posted and not just false starts and UFOs. Plus, we have met and dined with Wendy so she isn’t just a mega-blogger, she is a real person!!
Knititude — Angela Hahn is another talented knitting designer that we both admire. We knitted her Aran Wrap from Vogue last year and have bought other patterns as well. Her blog has some lovely patterns to buy and drool over!
Knitting Elegance KAL — We don’t visit this site often, but it is nice knowing it is there! This blog features Japanese knitting, which we both love, and shows some wonderful finished works. Worth a visit for inspiration if nothing else.
Ravelry — Yes, we know that Ravelry is not a blog, but to be honest, it sure feels like one! It is a place to see great projects, watch people’s knitting progress, and connect with other knitters on the Forum Section or in groups with people of similar interest. If you are not a part of Ravelry, go sign up today.
As we review the above list, it makes us appreciate the blogging community as a place to connect with others and learn a lot about knitting and its infinite potential. Thanks to all who inspire and delight!
Sally and I were kidding that our blog is turning into Bohus Central! However, the following link will actually help you feel like you are at the Bohus Exhibit itself, so I had to share:
I thought I’d post a quick update on my Large Lace Collar. Once you hit the solid color portion of these designs, it can be slow going. With the yoke, it’s easier to track and notice progress. That’s a bit harder now that I am on the body, especially since I am doing it in the round. Those are long rows and it takes many of them to add each inch of length. I’ve also started one of the sleeves. I did that so I could make sure my “do it in the round” adaptation was working and to give me an illusion of progress.
Here are some in-progress shots.
As you can see, some progress but still a lot of knitting left to do. (And I still need to decide exactly what I am going to do at the neck, wrists, and hem.)
I recently finished my Baby Cables sweater and was extremely pleased with the design and the fit. So why did I feel compelled to knit something to “doll it up?” Who knows? Knitters are weird and cannot be explained.
I always had the Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark lurking in the back of my mind as a project. I had also just purchased some Malabrigo Sock Yarn for the color alone — a gorgeous blue green mix called Solis. It looked stunning with the newly minted Baby Cables.
Swallowtail was originally published in the Fall 2006 Interweave Knits. Evelyn generously opted to continue to provide the pattern as a free pdf (see link above). Thousands of knitters on Ravelry have knitted it or have it in queue. It is popular and gorgeous — and I believe those facts are related! The thing is, it’s small. Very small. However, by adding repeats of the Budding Lace Motif in multiples of five, it can be enlarged easily.
I learned a couple of great techniques from Evelyn’s pattern: the “garter tab” cast on, nupps, and her version of the lace bind off (slightly different than the one I had seen before). Nupps are dreaded things, but I had no problem — I used Addi lace needles with very pointy tips.
It is a lovely design and was very fun to make. I did add 5 repeats of the Budding Lace and still ended up with a small, shoulder-covering shawllette. It is small-tastic and shawl-tastic!
Being Blocked
On Lettie — the color is very true here
With Baby Cables — the color is not true (can’t get this sweater to photograph!)
The yarn was nice to work with, though I had a bit of a problem. I bought two skeins of this sock yarn so I could give Sally one when she was here and “borrow” a little if needed for my Swallowtail. I tried to wind my skein into a ball, and it was a disaster! It completely disemboweled! Because I thought I would dip into the second skein anyway, I tried to salvage what I could from this mess:
So, I had to use Sally’s skein — which wound perfectly — and then go buy a third skein. This shawl got kind of pricey!
FYI: one skein would have been plenty if I had not added the extra repeats.
PS: Don’t forget to knit up a pair of Sweetheart Glovelets.
PS2: Sally and I are admittedly very fond of knitting (obsessed?) and our husbands are equally fond of their respective sports: my DH cross country skis and Sally’s is a totally serious bicyclist. John skied the City of the Lakes 35 km Freestyle Ski Race today:
Not too bad for a 58 year old youngster!
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