We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Mud Season

... for a little more snow (like, about 2 inches).

And now on to more of the FO extravaganza.



Pattern: from Handknit Style II
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool #28, 7 balls; some red lurex
Needles: Addi Turbo 32" #15 and 40" #13

I actually made this one before Christmas last year, to wear on Christmas Eve. I had been eying this color of Big Wool ever since it arrived, and when Handknit Style II showed up, I found the perfect thing to do with it. I also happened to have bought a lifetime supply (14,000 yards on a cone) of red lurex at WEBS' $3.00 cone sale a while back. Once I had the shrug finished, M declared she couldn't wear it 'cuz she doesn't have the chest for the style. I think she looks fine in it, but anyway.

Enter Fantine. She was supposed to be M's super warm fancy Big Wool sweater, but she got derailed before Christmas and just finished yesterday.


Pattern: Fantine from French Girl Knits
Yarn: Rowan Big Wool #31, 7 balls
Needles: Addi Turbo 32" #17 (never again!)
Mods: I made the jacket longer to fall at M's natural waist, and gave it full length sleeves rather than the 3/4 sleeves the pattern calls for. All together, that wound up using just over 2 balls more than the 4 the pattern calls for.

She is modeled here by Clara, a dressmaker's dummy I found in the attic when we moved in. The woman who owns the house was seamstress to the town for many years (we have a small closet upstairs with more tulle than I think it healthy). Clara is a great blocking tool for sweaters which are knit in one piece as Fatine is. Believe me, though, Fantine looks sooooo much better on M.

And finally, we had a visitor yesterday.

Yep, that's a real pigeon, and if you look closely you may be able to see that he's banded. No clue where he came from or how he got to thinking that our rural garage was where he should be, but he hung around for over half an hour before leaving. Even the sparrows were a bit confused.

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