The Yarnarian Writes a Long Post!

Yeah, it is a very long post. So it goes. I have lots to catch up on.

We went into Brooklyn on Sunday for the Benster's 3rd birthday party. There were a ton of little kids, most 3 and under, all their parents, 4 grands, and Ralph the Dog. It was wild and crazy and such fun. You had to keep looking down to make sure you didn't run over a little munchkin. I noticed that the 3 year olds have grown a lot since last year. They still don't share. Much squabbling and shrieking of toys and we grands just giggled. We let the parents do their thing. Ah, the joys of being a grandma: you get to watch and not discipline.

Let me tell you about Ralph the Dog. Ralph is our canine grandchild. He's a large furry Portuguese water dog, and he is a lovable pain in the butt. A true doofus of a dog. So, I'm happily eating a couple of pieces of dried mango, and wham, the fool dog grabbed a piece and scarfed it down and got his doggy slobber on the second piece. So I just fed it to him. The hubbo got a leash on him to keep him from grabbing everyone's food, especially the little kids. At the end of the party, when no one was looking, he knocked over a plate with carrot cake on it, and managed to eat half of it before anyone noticed. Next year, he's going to be banished. Poor dog.

Yarn news: I have a brand new yarn that I'm calling Shelley. It's 100% superwash merino fingering weight with a wonderful twist in it. Very lush and delicious to work on. Soft, and makes wonderful socks and scarves and mitts and anything fingering weight. I'm currently making a pair of socks out of it. Since it has no nylon reinforcement, I probably won't wear them as often as my usual socks, or I may knit along a bit of reinforcing thread on the heels and toes. Nah, forget it. I can't be bothered with all that extra work. A pair of socks it will be and I'll enjoy wearing them.

It dyes like a dream and I like it very much. 3 of the yarns in the Rapunzel collection are done in Shelley. I'm charging a tiny bit more than my usual: $22/skein, but it's well worth it. Here's a picture of the sock in progress. It's the same colorway as Rapunzel's Tower.




And speaking of the Rapunzel Collection, here's what is arriving on Etsy tomorrow: 7 skeins (I stole the 8th one because it was Shelley yarn and I wanted to try it out), and a brand new pattern: Rapunzel's Braid!

So, to tantalize you, here are some pics. Rapunzel's Braid is on the previous post, so go look there.

Yarns: Rapunzel's Mother and Rapunzel herself.




The Tower and The Wicked Witch:




The Handsome Prince and the Rape Leaves that Rapunzel's mother craves.




And finally, Rapunzel's Palace (where she and the prince live after being reunited):



So why these particular colors? I based the colorways on a children's book called Rapunzel. The author/illustrator is Paul O. Zelinsky, and he sets his story during the Italian Renaissance.

And, because I have nothing else to knit, I was forced at needle point to start a new scarf. I swiped my Frog Pond yarn because I wanted a nice bright set of greens and such. The pattern is a simple modular pattern and because I'm just doing it in one yarn, very few threads to weave in.



And that's it. I'm done. I have nothing else to say. OK, that's not the truth but it will have to suffice. ;-)

Melissa - Thanks! I kinda like that Tower too. And I have a great fondness for the Wicked Witch.