Saturday, January 14, 2006

Robin & Her Shawl


This is my son's wonderful girfriend, Robin. We adore her (and hope we get to keep her, but that's up to the two of them to decide). She is wearing a shawl which I made a couple of years ago, and I had just never found the right person to wear it. It was made of handspun tri-color Shetland yarn, and woven on my tri-loom. I thought of giving it to her at Christmas this year, but you probably know the feeling. . . the thought that maybe she wouldn't like it. . . maybe she'd feel obligated to wear it even though she didn't like it. . . maybe she'd consider the color boring and would put it in the bottom of the closet where only the cat would ever see it again, and then it would be put into the Goodwill bag and eventually, its new owner would throw it into a washing machine where it would shrink & felt and then be wearable only by a midget. No, I really like to give gifts that I'm pretty sure somebody would like & use.

Well, it was chilly at our house. It just is, this time of year, especially in the breakfast nook, where with lots of windows the light is best for reading, studying, & knitting. I offered to get her a shawl to help keep her warm. She said she'd really love it if I'd knit her a sweater! I cannot begin to tell you how happy this makes me. Not only does it appear that she'll be with us for a long time, long enough at least for me to knit her a sweater, but she actually really likes the things I make! So that will work for me, but in the meantime, there's this shawl. She put it on & loves it! So far, each time she's come over she has it on, tucked under her coat & it seems to help keep her cozy while she's here. I am one happy Mom.

As for the Cotswold Fleece . . .

. . . I am not so happy. I took it fully out of the bag to wash it. Cotted. Most of it. Stuck together & felted even before washing. (This is what can happen when you don't carefully inspect a fleece prior to purchasing. I was charmed by its lustrous, silvery color.) The fiber that is usable, however, is lovely. So I went ahead & washed it, hoping to pull apart some of the nasty tangles afterward. (Note - I have washed many, many fleeces. I am careful, and the felting was there *before* I washed the fiber.) I did email the nuns on Shaw Island, and hope to hear back from them. I'd really love to just put the fleece in the mail & return it to them, telling them specifically where to put the fleece, but I don't think you can talk to nuns like that.

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