Blogging Vaca and My Next Knitting Project!

Hey y'all! I had to take an unexpected vacation from my blog and actually most of life.. I had a bad reaction to a medication early last week that basically left me on the couch until this Tuesday. I've been so busy playing catch up with all the things that don't get done when I'm out of commission so blogging has just now made it to the top of my list.

I am about to start a knitting project that is going to be amazing if I can pull it off. I'm going to learn how to do color work AND short rows. Both of these have terrified me in the past. Like, put down the needles and back away from the yarn, terrified. But I have this friend, Alisha. She's pretty much like a sister, she's my own personal motivational speaker, sharer of inappropriate memes, and just a ton of fun to talk to. I'm so lucky to have her in my life that I will never tell her no when she asks me to knit something for her. *Side note: I have sent the knitting bug to bite her butt and it's all gonna be downhill from here. I kidnap added her to my favorite yarny facebook page and now she's ordering needles and yarn. Mwahahahaha.

What IS this scary and amazing pattern? Why, I'm so glad you asked! It's the Dreambird Shawl by Nadita Swings. . I actually might have bought yarn to make one for myself once I'm done with hers. *whistles innocently*

I am so excited to get started, the background will be amazingly soft and squishy Valley Yarns Charlemont in black. It's a Merino, Silk, Nylon blend that I just know is going to knit up beautifully. For the feathers, I worked with Kim from Kim Dyes Yarn to create a custom colorway in a Merino, Cashmere, Nylon blend. It is literally face smooshingly soft.  It starts out with a bright grassy green, moving to a kelly green, then to a light turquoise, then a royal blue, finishing up with a jewel tone purple. 

Kim was an absolute dream to work with. She was extremely communicative, we talked back and forth over a couple of days about what I was looking for, and her turnaround time was fantastic. I will definitely be ordering more from her. You should stop by her shop. Like, now. Well, after you finish reading.. ha!

I love when Alisha requests something knitted. I tend to stick to what I know when it comes to projects for myself. I really grow as a knitter when I'm knitting for her or my family because I'm less afraid to take on more challenging projects. Backward thinking, huh? 

The project was initially written for lace weight yarn. I have very few rules for myself when it comes to knitting. One is no lace weight. It's like knitting with hair. So, I'm going to use fingering weight and start out with size 2 needles. I'm using my Knitter's Pride Dreamz needles. Birch is a great wood for needles because it's slick enough that the yarn can flow well but not so slick that I'm going to lose all my stitches. I really dislike losing stitches, especially on a big project. It makes me say grown up words. Loudly.

Anyone taking any fiber chances out there? New fibers? New techniques? New patterns? Share them in the comments!