whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa.

This week, well really more like this month, deserves five whoas. That is about where I am today. After my very first, and mind you, probably 2 hour long phone conversation with Trish, I had accepted the phrases “I LOVE that plan!” and “whoa whoa whoa” into my vocabulary. Early into my two-month stretch of living with Trish, I understood “whoa whoa whoa” to be appropriate for displaying several different emotions:

We have 32 hours worth of work to do in 14 hours - whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!

Trish’s description of herself in pants (Trish hates pants and insists on skirts) - whoa whoa whoa.

Beaded yarn - whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa.

8 spinner boxes ready to go - whoa whoa whoa whoa. 

The amazing interiors of the new Loops South - whoa whoa whoa!

Yorkshire pudding almost ready - whoa whoa whoa whoa!

Having Angela plying (the current Tanglewood intern) - whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa!

But this month has been five whoas - just totally overwhelming, there is no other nice way to put it. With spring break just around the corner, teachers have been piling on the tests and papers, amassing a sea of overworked and sleep-deprived college kids desperate for a break. I am starting to realize why I have never attempted an 18-hour semester before now...

On top of my overload of coursework, I have been preparing for interviews in New York over spring break. I have never been to the big city and my first trip will be a nerve-racking six days subject to judgement from some big name fashion companies, along with VogueKnitting. I am VERY excited about this opportunity to live and work in NY for 8 weeks in the coming fall, but I am nervous and anxious to say the least. My past weeks have been filled with resume sending, flight and hotel booking, and interview clothes searching. Mostly right now, I just want to get the interviews over with!

One very exciting moment to look forward to though, is lunch with and a look at Cathy Carron’s studio! The author of Cowlgirls! How neat, right? I will get a chance to meet and spend some time with Cathy and show her everything I have finished so far, I can’t wait!

But in the meantime, I have been able to reknit “need for tweed”. I was able to knock it out in just a couple of days, now quite familiar and quick with the pattern. 

I found this pattern to be extremely easy and straightforward. It is essentially a basket weave, but in the last row of each 6-row repeat, the knit stitches are slightly different. Instead of just knitting them, you knit the second stitch through the back loop first, and then knit the first stitch. The book explains it very clearly and I found it pretty obvious. The pattern is lovely, simple and clean. 

Bella is a fan of "need for tweed" too! I couldn't seem to tear her away from it...

I absolutely love the colors the Loops Troops picked out for this cowl. It screams “hazy shade of winter” to me. Mostly a couple hues of gray, one pale pinkish, one bluish, nestled with a rich mossy green. Truly a pleasure to knit, even the second time around!

Next I will be moving onto “wrapture”. I CANNOT wait for this one! I have had the yarn for this for weeks and it has been staring at me sweetly from my stash, begging to be wound and fondled. The note enclosed with this yarn read, “One word for ya, RASTA!” 

Previously, Shelley had skipped over “wrapture,” assuring me Loops had ordered the most perfect yarn for it while at market. And boy, was Shelley right! Rasta is my must-have yarn pick. 

Made by Malabrigo, Rasta is a kettle dyed, bulky merino bliss. My Rasta is a rich variegation of browns, melting from copper to chocolate. This colorway is called Coronilla.  

As soon as I stop at the yarn store tomorrow for the right needles, I will be casting on enthusiastically! As always, more updates to come - hopefully sooner this week ;)!