Hello September, Elise Shawl #2

Happy September everyone!  I love September it reminds me of school starting, new notebooks, pens and pencils and Fall.  I still dream of September being this way.  Here in my household school started two weeks ago, and it is really hot and humid, no trace of Fall here.  I can dream though, come October I am expecting a change in temperature and maybe walking to the mailbox barefoot without burning my feet on the hot concrete.

I have been busy this week, have you?  And now am loving this long weekend where I can pa-doodle around getting things done.  There has been lots of planting and mulching.  I got completely drenched yesterday morning while finishing this project.  The sky was blue when I went out but it quickly turned into rain and lots of thunder.

I made another trip to Hobby Lobby for more fabric and foam.

I recovered five chairs yesterday with foam and fabric.  I think they turned out pretty nice.  I will have to say my hand hurts from squeezing that staple gun.  The chairs did not have foam on them before, really what is wrong with me?  I sat down on one this morning with my tea and the morning paper and it was so nice and cushy, much nicer and softer for my behind.  Five chairs recovered for under $40, I love that.

This is the unblocked version of my second Elise Shawl.  

I am not feeling the love for this one like I did for my first one.  Why might you ask?  Well let me tell you.

It is all about yarn choice.  Not every yarn you think is going to work in a project, does.  When you  have a sneaky suspicion that it isn't going to work out, you are usually right.  I used the beautiful sock yarn gifted to my from my friend Maggie.  This is Socks that Rock yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts.  It is a beautiful yarn, yarn that probably makes your hand knit socks rock.  It just doesn't make your crochet shawl rock.

The yarn is wound differently, it feels different in your hands while you are using it, not soft and yummy, more utilitarian, which I would want for socks, just not for this.  Yet knowing this, I kept crocheting thinking it might all work out in the end with a good soaking in wool wash.

I also think I underestimated superwash merino.  When you soak it this stuff has a memory and it kind of likes to go right back where it was, even with stretching.  Again, great for socks, not so great for a shawl.  So I ended up having to block it by steaming with an iron.  It did not block near as nicely as I had hoped.  It is more of a shawlette,  not near as wide or long enough for a shawl, and after using 405 yards of yarn (I had 2 yards left over at the finish line) it should be.

I am going to give it to a friend who is off for a short trip up north.  She will enjoy it and she will never know that I think it should be softer and a bit more yummy.

Don't let looks decieve you it looks lovely on Caroline the Dress Form, it just doesn't feel like it should, or look like I had hoped.

Two weeks ago I picked up this skirt at Target, it was on clearance for $9.  I brought it home and washed it and it shrank, well no big surprise there.  So I thought about it for a while and decided to try and see what I could do about it.  I crocheted this border on it and now it works.  The border is from the book, Around the Corner Crochet Borders by Edie Eckman.  It was a fun, quick project, and cheap as I had the yarn in my stash.

Can you see this little baby?  She was running around in my backyard with her sibling.  I tried to get a picture of both of them, they were nursing from their Mom, but by the time I got my camera this is all I got.  Look at those little white dots, perfect I'd say.

Hope you are having a great weekend, a great long weekend if you are in the Untied States.