Home Alone

This weekend I saw husband and son off to Hamburg for a long weekend while daughter went on a 24-hour school trip. I was all alone in a big, empty flat (that usually feels small and crowded).

So after wiping my tears there was only one thing to do. Party!



I belong to a group of knitters that are really serious about knitting (nördfaktor 10 typ). We call ourselves The Knit Salon, Sticksalongen, and the subjects we discuss would bore non-knitters to tears if they hade to endure one of our meetings.

Seven of us met on Saturday afternoon and we knitted, talked about knitting and had wine that is supposed to taste like wet wool (don´t ask). In this photo you can see Tove B, Asplund knits, En till and Wynja. Knitting with Katarina was probably in the kitchen when this photo was taken, dishing out the cake she had brought. Ah, cake!

I took the opportunity to work on the neverending ruffle edge with beads on my Grace shawl. It´s easier to do boring things in nice company. Nevertheless it took me five hours to reach the half way point.

I found a good description in Knitty about how to do a beaded picot edging. You can find it here.









The main part of the shawl is made of two strands of yarn held together.  Madeline Tosh silk and Rowan Kidsilk Haze work together beautifully. The ruffle edge is knitted using only the silk yarn and the change of texture adds a little extra something.

I wish I could say that this is all my own brilliant thinking – but I have to confess that I had a helper. Blogless Anna, who is a member of Sticksalongen, is a master of combining yarns and she gave me the idea last summer.

(Anna is the one dressed in black, reading a new book with Norwegian patterns that Ivar had brought.)

To make that picot edging isn´t my own idea either. It was Maria, who suggested it. She couldn´t join us yesterday because she is away on the west coast – of America.

What a party that was!
I don´t think my husband will recognize our home on his return tomorrow (it´s not usually this tidy when I´ve been on my own).

Half the edging done – and half to go. Thanks for coming over and keeping me company!

Today, my very tired daughter and I have taken it real easy. I´ve been working on Wendy´s Mystery Shawl while thinking about ideas for new patterns. I´m still digesting the fantastic weekend in Dala Floda and I promise to post more about it soon.

And I predict that next winter will be all pink.