Woo! I had to show you photos of this Hitchhiker shawl I finished.
Pattern: Hitchhiker
Needle: Size 2
Yarn: LusterSoft Fingering Wt superwash wool in Indian Corn
We had our professional studio lights set up in the basement, so we decided to snap a few pictures of it!
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again. I LOVE this pattern! It’s so well-designed.
•Works great with hand-dyed sock yarn, as the colors show up and play in unexpected ways
•Convenient… you just knit until you run out of yarn. Hurray!
•Mindless. This pattern was very easily memorizable so you can knit and chat. Or knit and watch tv. Or knit and whatever.
•Comfy! I love it when I make something glorious and it turns out to wear easily as well! You just flop it around your neck however and it looks great. 😀 Hurray!
Anyhoo. Great pattern. Fun knit. I loveet.
ORDERS:
In orders news, I sold so many of the new Autumn River that I plain ran out of dyes for that. Eek! So I ordered them and they have finally arrived and I should be able to get them all dyed up tomorrow, hopefully, and as soon as they are all dry in a day or two, all remaining orders for that color will finally get shipped out. Woo! Lesson learned. Always have more in stock than expected.
Yikers!
PERSONAL:
I try not to get too personal here cuz we’ve all got lives and complaining doesn’t help much. But I’ve been awfully low lately. It could be worrying over your orders. Or it could have been the extreme darkness and unbearable cold we’re suffering here in Alaska right now. Or who knows. But I slipped really low, got really sick and thus have been super quiet lately. I don’t like to post or anything when I’m not on top of my game.
I always hope you’re encouraged and uplifted when you read my posts, and so know, that if you’re going through a rough time, it’s okay… We all do. Sometimes the future is literally so scary to me that I can’t think about it.
It’s important to remember in times like these that we are more than these physical bodies put here on this earth to survive. We are light and love and peace and joy and all that is good, wrapped in temporary physical forms. YOU are beautiful. You are needed! You are whole. You are light and life. All is well, even if it doesn’t feel like it. Know that someone cares about you and that someone is me!
And remember, all we have is right now. Peace is found in the present.
Much love from me…
~Chandi
You are only human and are bound to feel low or overwhelmed at times…I get that way quite easily if I am not careful…Keep up the good work, and when possible, allow yourself some time to rest and relax…..You do beautiful work with your yard dyeing…..How do I subscribe to you blog?
Love the shawl! It’s gorgeous! It’s one of my favorite colorways, and I can’t wait to order some more.
I can definitely relate to that low feeling. I have had a bout of that myself lately. This time of year can get rough, and a number of things have been adding up over time. But I made the decision the other day to just keep going, stop stressing over every little thing that I can’t change, and as you mentioned “live in the now”. There are so many beautiful things in my life to be thankful for, and I am focusing on that.
I hope that things will brighten for you. I find much joy in working with all of your beautiful colors, and making things for my daughter.
Thank you for your always inspirational words.
Hi Chandi –
You are a beautiful young woman with amazing talent. I love your postings – your yarn is so beautiful! Just want you to know that your story touched me. Be well and stay strong! Thinking of you from Connecticut!
Joanne
Hei Chandi, my first order arrived to day – so lovely – and the pictures of you in the now finished hitchhiker are just beautiful. Am finding it tough enough in temps around minus 6C with about 20 centimetres of snow, but with nearly 7 hours of daylight. Be nice to yourself – I’m sure your posts are helping others.
Now if only I could remember what on earth I had in mind to knit with the skein of fire serpent. Maybe I just fell for the name, thinking it could keep me warm;-)
Best wishes from western Norway – hey the postal system works!
only just over 2 weeks till the sun turns and we are on our way to Spring…Hooray!
Marion
Hugs!
Are you going to be offering this pattern? I think I need the yarn also, so I had better try to order it soon. You have an amazing talent.
Diane, the pattern is on ravelry here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/hitchhiker
Thank you so much!
Beautiful hitchhiker. Congratulations! I suggest you get some natural lights for your work space to help deal with the dark days of winter. Alaska is a real challenge. Thinking warm sunny thoughts for you!
I love the Hitchhiker and am busy working on mine! I had intended the yarn for socks (which still on the “to-do” list) but loved this pattern when you first showed it. I immediately purchased it and started knitting away. What an easy, well written pattern!
The last “personal” part of your post was exactly what I needed to hear. Your posts are somehow always perfect like that. So thank you, Chandi, and I hope you feel better and make it through the winter.
Hey Chandi!
First off, you do beautiful work. All of it. And you are beautiful as well!
I always enjoy your posts, they are always bright and cheerful. Don’t worry about having a few down days; everyone does.
We can tell how much you enjoy your work and sharing it with others. You bring joy in so many ways.
I have some of the fingering Indian Corn. I was going to make socks, but I think I now see it as a shawl………..
I’ll get more later if you make more, or just another color way for socks. 😉
Thanks for all that you do!
T
Chandi…I’m so glad I found you. Dealing with on line purchases is so cold. You are such a warm person and I feel I have found a friend who shares my passion. We all have low times and it is nice to know that you feel you can share with all of us. You always brighton my days and I always check to see your posts as soon as I log on to the computer and have my coffee with you each day.
Sue
Hi Chandi,
I love the Hitchhiker pattern but would like to ask if I can use DK weight rayon boucle in the place of the fingering weight yarn. I have an orange in this yarn that I want to use for myself and this pattern would be great. I also like reading your blog and seeing all the cute items you make.
Sounds like you’ve got a serious case of the “winter blues” – something that those of us who live in the more northerly latitudes can totally relate to. We go from those long beautiful months of summer sunshine into an equally long and achingly dark period of winter. Sometimes that sharp transition can weigh on you – like a leaden weight pushing your spirit down, and the only relief is bed and sleep. The bears have it right. Hibernating until spring comes seems a marvellous strategy.
Keep whispering to yourself that, “This, too, shall pass.” We’re just weeks away from the turning point to those lengthening days. Hang on. Soon it will be spring. And then those soul-restoring summer days when the sun will seem to hang on the horizon forever…those will return too.
Now, just soak up all the positive energy we are all sending you. Your life-affirming posts have nurtured and inspired us. Let us now send a little back to you.
Hang in there, little one
Sharon
Hi Chandi – I appreciate your blog so much, and agree that too much personal probably isn’t the way to go, but you are human, and adding a tidbit of into once in a while makes an already awesome blog only better. Many of us get the blues in the winter, but it’s got to be tougher for you up there with the cold and little daylight. Reading your words made me all the more thankful.
It’s also the holiday season, and easy to get distracted and blue. Thank you for sharing the personal info, and know that many people obviously care about you, and I’m keeping you in my prayers. Denise
One more thing I forgot – I got the hitchhiker pattern and am going to begin it this weekend in my mountain ash berries!
As much as this is projected as a great holiday time of year, it is also the most stressful and joy easily turns to depression under the overwhelming expectations of the season. The celebrations were originally timed to the darkness to encourage the light to return. Then there are loved ones, departed and distant, who are continually remembered. I lost both of my parents at this time of year, so I try to focus on my family surounding me with love and the good memories filling me with comfort. May you find comfort and peace as you need it. Your color blends derived from ordinary objects or photos inspire, and cheer me.
I’ve also just finished the Hitchhiker shawl. It’s really lovely. I did it in 4 ply pure alpaca yarn…..so soft and gorgeous!!!
Where do I find the Hitchhiker pattern…..love it.