Handspun!

I apologize for yelling, but when the subject of this post is what it is, there's hardly a more appropriate reaction.

I posted pictures of my finished Boneyard shawl over on Ravelry, but never got around to doing it over here, so here are some photos for you.  Unfortunately after blocking it (weeks and weeks ago) it has just sat around folded up in my humid apartment, so it's pretty wrinkly, but it'll have to do.

I used about 4oz. of a 2-ply merino that I spun on a drop spindle, getting something resembling a sport-weight yarn.  The fiber was a gift from my sister (who I'm sure will post again soon, but she was out of town and is now moving to a new home, so she's kinda busy) which she got from J.Knits, a company which may or may not be defunct at this point.  (Good riddance.)

That wall is part of a bridge in the middle of the park where I go to pretend I'm not in a city and I once overheard a tour guide (by the way, who gives tours of parks?) explaining to a crowd of tourists that it was constructed entirely out of coral from the ocean.  They "oohed" and "aahed" as I walked away in disgust.  Is that supposed to be impressive?  They removed tons and tons of coral from the ocean to build a freaking bridge in the middle of Pittsburgh and we're supposed to love it?  I was kind of irate.  I just get a little, well, emotional when it comes to nature.  Anyway, it made a nice backdrop nonetheless (but when I moved in to get a closer shot my camera battery died, so again, this is what you get.)

The only modification I made to the pattern was to increase at both edges on every row instead of every other row.  Seeing as how this tip came from WillyG himself (a Stephen West expert), I would have been a fool to ignore his suggestion.  It creates a wider, narrower scarf that's easier to wrap around your neck (or a tree.)

I loved knitting this shawl and watching how the colors in the handspun played out.  I finished the bind off and threw it around my neck and loved it.  However, it grew quite a bit in the blocking and all of a sudden I wasn't sure it was right for me, so I think it's going to go in a gift pile (along with those mittens) to make some as of yet unknown person happy at an as of yet unknown future date.  I'm sure I'll find a wonderful home for it.

And now that I've babbled on, let's get to the real reason of this post.  Yayo of the comments, who goes by TheyToldMeSew on Ravelry and etsy sent me some of her handspun!  (She has some gorgeous stuff on her site.  You should check it out.  I bought some really beautiful handspun from her many moons ago.)

Aren't those colors perfect for me?!  Ooh, and it's so shiny you'd almost think there was silk in it, but that's just one of the many charms of BFL.  It's so beautiful!  I even love the name - Swamp Grass.  I love nature! (but only secretly.)  I can't wait to knit with it, but I'm going to have to wait until I have the perfect project for it.  Any suggestions?  (I'm maybe even thinking colorwork, but that may just be a jag I feel coming on...)

Thanks so much Yayo of the comments!