Foulard

Dear Cynthia,

The title of this post is pronounced in such a way that it rhymes with "moo guard", with the accent on the second syllable. The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as "a lightweight twill or plain-woven fabric of silk or silk and cotton, usually having a small printed design", or, "an article of clothing, esp. a necktie or scarf, made of foulard". It is the name of the shawl I'm making out of the Morehouse Farm Merino Knits book. I am making it with my first ever Knit Picks purchase -- "Shimmer", a Baby Alpaca/Silk blend, lace weight, in the Stained Glass colorway. It is a simple pattern of a square, knit from corner to corner. The most difficult thing about it so far has been getting started, because the needles called for are so large compared to the skinny yarn. My circular needle wasn't working well, because it has tips which are too blunt to knit into both the front and back of a stitch. So, I went searching for the most light-weight and pointiest of all size 11 straight needles. Then, I got going on it and progress has been fast and fun. I have two 440 yard hanks of the Shimmer, and when I get to the end of the first hank, I'll have a big triangle and it will be time to start decreasing as it works itself into a square. It is perfect summer knitting, to take along on trips, or otherwise.

Speaking of summer, all of the park & rec programming starts this week, so we'll be busy with swimming lessons, tee ball, soccer, and lots of stuff going on at the library. I'm not sure when I'll have time for cooking dinner, so this could be an interesting four weeks...

Warm regards,
Laura (YarnThrower)