Bright Surprise

I got this lovely surprise this morning from my mom. What a beautiful and cool arrangement. It seems like I've been spoiled lately with fresh flowers coming at unexpected times. I love it!

I'm going to be in Colorado over the next few days, soaking in some of those 40-degree nights and indulging in delicious food. Trying to decide whether it's worth it to take my serious project or if I should just bring my backup project that's easy to travel with. I'm not sure how much time I'll have to get into serious pattern-writing and calculations, so I guess I'm leaning towards the little project. It's a little mohair scarf that's been on the needles for years, worked a row here, a row there, and it's about time that it was finished.

I was wrong about Camden; I think I will get to wear it this weekend since the evenings will be so cool. It may be my only chance for a while. I had wanted to do a sweater with detachable sleeves for a long time, and I'm glad I finally did it and everyone seems to like it. I was initially determined to have an open-work panel down the front instead of the bobble pattern. I wanted kind of a web-like lace panel. But with that alpaca yarn, I couldn't come up with a single lace pattern on the correct needle size that showed up worth a darn. The heather-grey color probably also had something to do with it, but mostly it was the fuzz that obscured any of the detail. So I changed gears and decided on the bobble pattern because I've always liked bobbles for some reason. They're sort of whimsical and cheeky, I think. I thought briefly about doing a big cable down the front, but I just wanted to do something a little different. Plus, I didn't want to work the whole thing in reverse stockinette stitch, which I think is how cables show up best. My favorite way to wear the top is with the sleeves unbuttoned and slouched down.

Well have a good weekend, and happy knitting!