Winter, in Portland is generally gray and rainy, though for the past week it's been more like the winters I from my childhood in New Hampshire.
If you are friends with me on Facebook, you've already met Chippy, the keeper of our hummingbird feeder. Portland winters are generally so mild, that fewer birds migrate south, but it's been a rough one this year, so Chippy's been keeping up his energy with all-day binges at our sugar water dispenser.
The snow and ice are finally melting. We might even get mail and trash pick up today, but the resulting slush and fog have made me all the more pleased to have a splash of bright color.
Here's Estival.
I went to TNNA a few weeks back with my friend, Julia, who is hosting the ShaliMarch celebration on Ravelry. I got to meet Kristi and Paul, the owners of Shalimar Yarns, while I was there, and they gave me some of their beautiful hand-dyed sock yarn to make a shawl. I said I wanted orange or yellow and they gave me both and, well, the end result is, as Julia put it, "a riot of color," and I love it.
The pattern is written with instructions for 4 different sizes, from a 58" wingspan to a 94" wingspan. For each size, I've detailed how much yarn you'll need for each color and for the whole pattern, and I indicate the percentage of yarn used as you work through the pattern charts. If you have a kitchen or postal scale (or a scale for some more illicit purpose, I'm not judging) you can weigh your yarn at the start, and as you go to determine if you have enough to complete the project.
If you are interested in the pattern, you can check out the details on ravelry, and in my own shop, and you should definitely head over to the ShaliMarch thread to see all the new patterns, get discount codes and enter for chances to win prizes.
That shawl looks like daffodils! Gorgeous.
As a fellow Oregonian (in Eugene), I can sympathize with the weather woes. I've never wished more for a crocus coming up. The ice was gorgeous, but so destructive. I could stand some sunshine, and this shawl delivers.
Thanks Meredith!
I hope your snow and ice are melting too. It's pretty and all but the roads have been impassable, and all the businesses and services have been shut down. It'll be nice to get back to business as usual.
gorgeous. I have some Yarn Pirate sock yarn that would be great - a semisolid yellow - not just yellow - the brightest yellow I've ever seen. And the skein of variegated that came with it is mostly the same yellow with orange & bits of green. This has been the craziest winter ever so far. We spent a month in Baton Rouge & left on Jan 8th when the grands returned to school. Since then, they have had FOUR snow days. Yes, snow & ice in Southeast Louisiana!!! Sadly they have to make up some of those days by not getting 3 days off for Mardi Gras (only in Louisiana!). I had talked my daughter into letting us take them for the whole week (missing 2 days of school) so we could take them to the Field Museum members night. But 4-5 days of school is too much to miss. 8-( So we
It really has been an intense winter. I know that even up here in the suburbs of portland, there're no resources in place to deal with any quantity of snow, so all but the main roads remained unplowed/sanded/salted. I can't even imagine what it's like in the south!