Still Standing

'I'm still standing 

Better than I ever did

Looking like a true survivor

Feeling like a little kid

I'm still standing after all this time

Picking up the pieces of my life'

That song was stuck in my head this morning. Of course in my head, what I hear is the original version but I thought you would appreciate how you will hear it on the movie soundtrack, Sing.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled joy.

I have yarn.

Yes, I know you know this.  But I have new yarn and I love and adore it and I have a purpose for every metre.

This is a lot of yarn.  Each skein of Sport is 430 yards, a whopping 393 metres of yummy goodness.  There are 9 skeins.  It is a lot of yarn.  But I have a reason and an excuse.  

I made a wonderful shawl a few years ago the Fir Cone Square Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's Folk Shawls.

 It was knit for my daughter in law's grandmother, who gave me a set of sheets of linen when we were in Kiev.  This is a woman who understands shawls and who has appreciated it for all these years.  But old buildings and moths and pretty constant use and wear means it is in need of replacement.

I have some of the same yarn left, but not enough for a shawl of this size again and my finances are not what they were in 2010.  Buying the quantity of what I believe this yarn to be, to make a similar shawl, is just not in the cards.  

Brigg's & Little Sport has a lot of the same qualities as the original yarn though it is a bit heavier.    I think that's a plus.  Knitting will go a little faster and on a larger than sweater project, time to completion is no small thing.  It is also a warm yarn.  It is airy and superb at making you feel snuggly wool warmth  in a way that a smooth soft yarn is never going to do.  The loftiness of it is exactly what I want in a yarn for a big warm shawl. Plus it is soft.  It isn't soft in a Madelinetosh way.  That just isn't it's character at all, but it is soft in a 'proper' wool way.  Proper wool - a term from a British Canadian friend who was looking for the right kind of yarn for a shawl.  She used sport for a truly lovely version of Miralda's Shawl from Nancy Bush's masterful Knitted Lace of Estonia. 

I do have several sets of Sport for various shawls and other projects in my stash already, but they are already spoken for.  By me!  For this shawl for Grandma, I wanted a gradient as a starting point and I don't want to run out.  Plus, I would like to have enough left over for a simple hap for me with these colours.  There may be colours added from my stashed Sport, but it would be used as an accent, not a major feature.  

I don't have a pattern set for it yet, and there is inspiration for ways to use gradients everywhere I turn.  Lovely Haps in the Sheltand traditon.  Inspiring colour gradients for the Icelandic tradition.   I know the yarn, but the pattern is going to take some work.  I am looking forward to this.  I just love to work this yarn and love the play the soft grays play off one another.  

It needs to be done by November, and while that may seem like a lot of time, we are already almost half way through the year and there are several other shawls to knit too.  Lots to do.  Lots to work on. 

Not only do I feel as if I am still standing after all the things that have been, I am standing with inspiration, with good yarn, and with joy planning the days ahead.