a La La for Ajla

First!  I want to say a big, huge thank you to all of you lovely folks who commented and emailed and called me and sent your best wishes my way when you read my great big news.  (Big, great news?)  Thank you, thank you!  And also... thank you!   You guys are awesome.  I could go on and on about the unexpected community that I've found in the craft blog world... another post.  But truly:  thanks.

Second!  I have finished two projects so far this year - an as-of-yet-unphotographed pair of wool socks for Jacob (can't have him getting cold feet now, can we?  Ba-DUM-bum!) SORRY for the dumbest joke ever - but come on, it was right there! - and a gifted scarf, made with my very own handspun.  Yes, I have now knit with yarn I spun myself.  And the experience was the knitting equivalent of the mascarpone cheesecake I made for Jacob's birthday (which was the best cheesecake I've ever tasted in my entire life, ever).  This whole spinning thing?  It's brilliant.  Just brilliant.

Every single step of the spin-to-knit process is so scrumptious to me.  I can't tell you how many times I went into my bathroom just to give the yarn a squeeze while it was drying... it was many, many times. 

 

The entire time I spun up the New Black BFL I bought from Spunky Eclectic, I pictured knitting a fun little shawlette: a small, triangular scarf, with a ruffle at the bottom. While spinning the fiber, I was really focused on learning to get a thin, even-as-possible single; then, I couldn't wait to ply it to see how the beautiful colors would meet up. My spinning got a lot thinner (and mostly a lot more even) as I worked my way through the fiber, and I thought a ruffle would be a great way to make use of the thicker parts. Then Nonnahs gifted me with some Almost Solid Azalea BFL, and the pinks went so well with the New Black pinks (thanks, Amy!) that I knew I wanted to use them together.  By that time, I was able to keep my spinning (more or less) consistent and set off to match the New Black I had already spun, and to find a cute pattern for the shalwette I had envisioned.  Enter: the La La Scarf.

The pattern for this scarf is by the fabulous Kat Coyle; you can find it in the book Greetings from Knit Cafe.  I love it.  I would like to make 40 or 50 more of them, and wear them everywhere, and picot bind-off into the sunset, forever.

The finished yarn is very, very soft - didn't want to stop knitting with it soft - no, make that can't believe I spun it myself soft - and frothy light.  Since the pattern starts at the center back neck and grows, I jumped right in with the azalea 2-ply, knit until it was gone (omitting the pattern's elongated stitch rows because I wasn't paying attention, liked the way it looked anyway, and kept on truckin'), and then lightened  up the ruffle with some kidsilk haze (which is what the entire lovely original La La Scarf is knit in).

 

I made this for my friend Ajla's birthday, because I knew it would look like a million bucks on her.

I was right! Granted, everything looks like a million bucks on Ajla, but whatever.  For the record, Ajla had the exact reaction I think we all dream of getting when we give away our handmade goodies... the reaction we should get... tears, people!  I got tears.  Yay friends! 

By the way, lovely readers, your indulgence with my inability to choose a limited number of photos for this post is much appreciated... this is the first thing I ever made that started out as fluff!