Dreaming of Dragons

I posted this on the Wandering Cat facebook page the other day and it couldn't be more true. While I still have three presents left to knit, after three months of knitting for others (with the exception of my beret) I needed to start something for myself.

It's not that I don't enjoy giving knits to others (though admittedly, I'm a selfish knitter at heart), it's just that what someone else wants to wear, isn't necessarily something I want to knit. For some reason, the rest of the world (especially the male half) doesn't see the joys of being draped in a beautiful silk lace shawl....

And that's just what I wanted to knit right now.

I've had a skein of Twisted Slinky Cat kicking around since we got our first batch in. And I've wanted to knit myself Sweet Dreams by Boo Knits for even longer.

Astute readers will recall that I made a Sweet Dreams shawl immediately after we moved. Sadly it was not for me, but a beloved coworker who was leaving. I was also on a very tight deadline, so I had to make a few modifications to the pattern. There wasn't time to bead it, or do the lovely (but time-consuming) picot bind-off. I also wasn't able to make it as large as I would have liked. It was a good size, but I love a large shawl.

But now, I have no time constraints, and the perfect yarn, so I'm going to do all three.

Mom dyed this one - it's called Dragonstone. As you can see it's a beautiful mix of  muted green with just a touch of warm coppery brown. It looks absolutely fantastic knit up.

Not to mention, the Twisted Slinky creates a beautiful sleek, but bouncy fabric. I see a Twisted Slinky cardigan in my future....

Now, as mentioned, I wanted to bead this one. I thought some copper beads would be the perfect compliment to the yarn, but sadly, I only had a handful in my stash. I could have waited and bought some - but patience is not one of my virtues. So I dug a little deeper in my stash.

I only had two colours with enough quantity. A foil-lined green, which would have been alright if the green was a little more muted - but it was just too bright for the yarn.

The other was another foil-lined bead.

The lining varies a little from bead to bead, from a light apricot to a darker copper. I put them up beside the skein.... not bad, but I figured the only way to really test it was to knit some in - I could always rip back a row or two and go buy some.

But as you can see... there is no need. The beads are perfect, highlighting the copper brown, and complimenting the soft greens. Talk about lucky!

And you wouldn't think so, but this shawl knits very fast (admittedly, it's been helped along by the fact that I was up until 2 a.m. working on it). It looks complicated, but taken one row at a time, it's easy as pie.

***

Tux update: I've posted in Ravelry and Facebook, but I think I've neglected to mention it here. Tux's surgery is scheduled for this Thursday. I haven't told him yet, but I think he senses something is up, because he's being pretty darn sucky.

 

That, or he's just enjoying having me at home over the holidays. He's been pretty much glued to my side.

But, I really do have to thank you all - we couldn't have done this without your purchases of yarn and patterns. So once, again, thank you!