Coming Soon To Some Needles Near You

To those who have patiently waited, I offer my sincere thanks.  To the rest of you, myself included: simmer down, it's almost here!  In spite of a week that defies explanation, I am dangerously close to posting the Faery Ring pattern.  So close, in fact, that I am finally showing you the pictures of just what you have been promised for lo these many days.

You would not believe how hard it is to take pictures of oneself wearing ones own sweater.  And when that sweater is made up of cables that disappear in all but outdoor lighting in the dead of winter, the problems are just beginning.

So here are a few rough first attempts, if nothing else, to prove that there really is a Faery Ring.  Here, also is the poem that inspired it:

                    If you see a faery ring
                    In a field of grass,
                    Very lightly step around,
                    Tiptoe as you pass;
                    Last night faeries frolicked there,
                    And they're sleeping somewhere near.
        
                    If you see a tiny fay
             Lying fast asleep,
                   Shut your eyes and run away,
                   Do not stay or peep;
                   And be sure you never tell,
                   Or you'll break a faery spell.

                    Author Unknown

My week has so far included an unscheduled day off from work because I didn't notice that my children did not start back to school the same day as my husband (yes, they were actually still waiting for the bus when I figured it out:  Worst Mommy In The World award number 13), extra ice skating practices for my daughter, an introduction to Cub Scouts for my son, the beginning of Graduate School for my Husband, the return of all my book edits from my publisher, and a surprise trip to the ER, where I met a swell neurologist who explained to me all about how a migraine can actually cause a person to temporarily lose their powers of speech.  And it's only Wednesday. 
Never. Ever. Ask. "What Next?.

Pattern to follow.  Really.
 

Achieving Closure

Acieving Closure.jpg

Well, I did finish the knitting, but only got one sleeve set in before 2009 crept up on me.  I did set the other one yesterday, so now it's just button loops and a tassel between me and the end.  I'm so pleased to be beginning the new year with the Faery Ring all buttoned up.  Today I will edit the pattern, and should have it available to you all by the end of next week.

Our New Year celebration was without incident, which is a pretty great thing to be able to say about any celebration.  Old friends were toasted, revels were reveled, and even a bit of dancing at the ball was done before we all turned back into pumpkins.

As soon as I get the Faery Ring pattern posted, I'm going to pick up the Lilac-y Vest again.  That yarn makes me think there isn't much wrong with the world that a little cashmere couldn't solve.  Peace, Love & Cashmere:  There are no greater wishes.

Pallette Clenser

Pallette Clenser.jpg

Here we join the Faery Ring in progress as promised, from the bottom up.  Mom's Noro hat is temporarily sidelined due to yarn shortage.  Who knew Entrelac would require so much?  O woe is me, I have to return to the yarn store...

It's just as well though - much like eating candy all day would give a girl a toothache, knitting rainbow for too long at a stretch causes me to seek relief in the neutral.  And I do love a good sideways cable.  This would be the "Ring", up from which the rest of the sweater will grow.  Just the thing for a quiet afternoon when a hundred less-appealing things vie for my attention.  The laundry pile skulked.  The kitchen floor stayed sticky.  Dust quietly collected.  And the Faery Ring began to Happen.  Magic, I tell you.  Pure Magic.