Definitely not the lace I was looking for...

Last Friday I blogged about not having enough yarn to finish Skywalker, but I figured out a way to at least salvage the project. And, I barely eked it out; there was less than 24" of yarn left. It was very, very close. I was sure if I was going to run out of yarn it would be on the last repeat of the edging, but thankfully, God smiled on me. I present to you: Skywalker Scarf made from Pediboo.

Okay, it looks like "crap" - Laura Nelkin says that repeatedly in the Craftsy lesson which totally cracks me up.  Lace looks awful when you take it off the needles. Who would want something like this?  All it needs is some warm water, blocking wires, and pins.  It is definitely worth investing in a blocking kit; I use mine on almost every project.  Laura gave me a good idea about blocking though, it should be done with a glass of wine (or Cosmo, but no chocolate, it might get on the yarn).

Here it is blocking - not too bad. The edging has a slight ruffle effect because I (correction from original post) added an increase row after Plasma stitch that way I had the correct number of stitches based on the pattern to do the edging.  I also knitted a few rows before starting the edging which worked out well since it gave me somewhere to place the pins while blocking.

Completed Skywalker Scarf

Since moving South I rarely wear scarves, but my mom loves them. She got an early birthday present this morning - I wanted her to be able to wear it before the hot months hit the Mid-South! The ruffled edging is really sweet and gives the scarf a lovely feminine finish.

While I felt stupid about not buying enough yarn, the scarf turned out great and my mom is thrilled. It wasn't the lace I was looking for, at least it found a happy home. I'm starting the Skywalker Shawl today and I know I will have more than enough yarn to finish it!

Twisted Yarns

I had the great pleasure of going to Twisted Yarns in Spring, TX this morning. I'm in the Houston area this weekend for the express purpose of hand delivering Christmas presents to my nieces, so while here I thought I'd go check out this lovely yarn shop again.

A few months ago I had the chance to go to Twisted Yarns and found an utterly wonderful shop! The staff are amazingly friendly and helpful. It's a very welcoming shop and one of the owners, Shelley Green, told me that was the goal: a welcoming shop where people feel comfortable to drop in and knit. Several days of the week groups of knitters come to sit, chat, and knit. When Twisted Yarns opened nearly nine years ago, these knitting groups started with KALs (knit-alongs), friendships formed, the projects ended, and the groups continued to meet. When I was in the shop a few months ago, I said, "I'd move to Houston just for Twisted Yarns."

They have an incredible selection of yummy and delectable yarns - madelinetosh, Noro, Prism, Rowan, Bah! - just to name a few. When I asked what the staff likes to teach, I got a range of answers: fair-isle, socks, to new knitters.  

On my first trip to the shop I encountered a sample of Cloud Cowl. It was the perfect excuse to pick up a skein of Rowan Striped Kidsilk Haze and the finished project is so soft and cloud-like.  Today I needed a little bit of help...I ran out of yarn for the lace shawl I've been working on.  UGH! As I wrote the other day, I couldn't remember what yarn I bought. Shelley inspected my shawl, walked away, and came back with Pediboo...and it all came back to me.

I bought Pediboo at my LYS a few months ago and grabbed it when my son started to get a little crazy. All the other sock yarns I looked at had 440+ yards, but Pediboo only has 255 yards. doh! Important lesson learned: don't buy yarn without double checking yardage. Seems like a basic idea, but melting down three year olds can make you do silly things! The lovely ladies at Twisted Yarns helped me to find a new yarn for the Skywalker Shawl: Delicato by Prism and to figure out how to save my current shawl...which will be more like a scarf.

If you happen to be in or near Houston, then you've got to check out Twisted Yarns!