Monday, January 31, 2011

Last Day of January

We finally made it to the end of January -- it always seems like a really long month each year. We had a little bit of snow all day and I was able to snap a quick photo of this beautiful male cardinal while I was eating my lunch today. There's nothing like a brilliant red cardinal to brighten up a gray winter day.

Yesterday I finished a little shawl that I started last August. This is the Multnomah Shawl, and you can find the free pattern by clicking here.

I like these little wool shawls because they're nice to dress up any outfit, plus they're actually pretty warm too. An added bonus of this shawl is that the green in this variegated yarn is an exact match to this godawful green blouse I bought on clearance at JCPenney's a few years ago. Now I know I'll be wearing this green blouse much more often (notice my happy face!)

The other neat thing about this shawl is that I got the chance to use one of the new shawl pins I purchased last week from one of my fellow Etsy shop owners. This cute little flower shawl pin is perfect on this shawl. If you're looking for a shawl pin, please check out some of Amy's other cute designs at this link to her website.

A couple months ago, a new yarn shop opened in Winona, Minnesota. It's called Yarnology and I've already made several trips down there where the wonderful shop owners have everything I need to satisfy my knitting addiction. Last weekend they had their grand opening celebration so Mr. Johnson and I made the drive to Winona again so I could take part in the grand opening event and sign up for a drawing. The really nice thing about going to Winona (in addition to Yarnology) is that we have usually have time to drive through the scenic Whitewater WMA and look for birds & wildlife, plus Winona has lots of restaurants and we get a chance to try a new one on each trip. Anyway, getting back on track here, last Sunday afternoon, I got a phone call from Gaby (one of the Yarnology owners) letting me know that I had won a prize in their drawing. Woo-Hoo!! And look at this fabulous prize I won.......
A beautiful lacy shawl pattern and 10 skeins of Elsebeth Lavold's Silky Wool yarn to knit it with (plus a little package of T-pins for blocking). On the way home, I also picked up 2 tubes of glass beads that will look beautiful on this shawl. I was so happy to receive such a wonderful prize and can't wait to get started on this shawl (as soon as I finish a dog sweater for a co-worker and the last Special Olympics scarf). I'll be sure to post pictures of this shawl once I get started on it.

12 comments:

Mollie said...

Hi Ruthie,
You're amazing! Love the cardinal against the white snow--Mother Nature sure knew how to put colors together! And the shawl you finished is beautiful. And congrats on winning the drawing. Am eager to see the finished project with the beads included.
Take care--soon it will be February!!

Jayne said...

Lucky you Ruthie! Love your pretty scarf, and hey, you look really good in that shade of green!

Ruth said...

The shawl suits you well and really dresses up your blouse. I can just imagine how fast your needles go when you knit. The cardinal picture is pretty enough for a card.

Gaelyn said...

Thank goodness Jan is over and we're getting ever closer to spring. The Multnomah shawl is gorgeous, love the way the variegated pattern came out. And the shawl pin is very nice. Very cool to win the silky wool. I look forward to seeing the finished product.

Anonymous said...

Oh aren't you lucky to have a cardinal pose for you in a tree just outside your window, maybe looking for some crumbs. Just what you need is some more yarn (HA-HA). That is beautiful stuff Silk Wool, It should turn out very pretty with the beads on it, will look for the pics of it here, HAPPY KNITTING!!

MOM

Pet Guilt said...

congratulations on your score! EL's silky wool is just about my favorite yarn!

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Mollie. Mother Nature knew our winter days needed something to brighten them up!
And I couldn't wait -- I started that shawl yesterday (it's gorgeous! -- photos soon)

Thanks Jayne!

Thanks Ruth. I wouldn't win any speed knitting prizes, but I did have a person tell me once that I was the fastest "thrower" she'd ever seen.

Thanks Gaelyn. I'm really liking the Silky Wool -- it's a yarn I've envied, but never could afford to buy. Imagine my delight at winning 10 skeins!

Hi Mom,
Lots of cardinals in the backyard this winter all day long! Makes keeping the feeders filled definitely worth it!

Thanks Danielle. I've never knitted with Silky Wool before now, but it's really nice. I can understand why it's your fave!

Meggie said...

I LOVE your variegated shawl, Ruthie! Looks perfect with the green blouse that I don't think is ugly at all. Can't wait to see the masterpiece you create with the 10 skeins. Be sure to show us.

eileeninmd said...

Lovely shot of the pretty cardinal. And your shawl is beautiful, looks lovley with the new pin.

Tonyia said...

That cardinal pops out on the side bar of my blog (because it's your most recent post) and it makes me grin every time. He is gorgeous!

Karen L. said...

Wow, gorgeous shawl! Makes me wish I knew how to knit instead of crochet. Love the shawl pin too. Finishes the shawl off perfectly.

RuthieJ said...

Thanks Meggie. Those 10 skeins are going to make several nice shawls or scarves.

Thank you Eileen!

Hi Tonyia,
Replacing the cardinal with a great gray owl in my next post. Hope you like that bird too!

Thanks Karen. I'm sure you can make some beautiful crocheted shawls too. This yarn would work well for both.