off the hook {orange crush scarf}

i’ve had a serious orange crush lately.  fabric, yarn, thread, fruit – if it’s orange, i want it.  i find its zesty, warm and fiery vibe so intriguing because it manages to be both comforting and invigorating at the very same time.  take that, grey.  actually, i can’t get enough grey, either, but today is all about orange.

for me, orange is just far enough outside-the-box (that is to say it’s not black or neutral or boring, like so much of my wardrobe) to feel a little daring, too.  i’ve got some goldfish coloured fabric set aside for a schoolhouse tunic, and i’m planning another cheery bag with the remnants from this birdie sling, but my first foray into orangeing up my wardrobe was this glorious tangerine coloured shawl.

this piquant rounds out my trio of lilygo projects (including this and this).  for me, this one is the most wearable of the bunch.  i predictably hooked it with malabrigo sock – that irresistibly soft and warm-but-not-too-warm 100% merino wool dyed in colours so delicious looking that you really want to taste them.

piquant was a delight to work up.  as usual, the instructions were impeccable and the charts were ever so clear.  as i have yet to develop a knack for wearing shawls, i made the smaller version (though i added 2 more repeats in section one because i needed the length) which is just the right size for luscious neck-wrappage.

this pattern is worked in 3 separate sections, which kept it interesting and made it feel as though it was a quick make.  in fact, this was such a non-traumatic project that i’m working on a second version in a deep bluey-purple, and i foresee a whole clan of intensely colourful piquants in my future (but my tangerine piquant will always be my favourite).

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holy liebster and {printemps shawl}

i love pleasant surprises. and, from unexpected birthday gifts to a huge dump of snow, this weekend has been full of them. the cherry that crowned the icing on top of my wonderful weekend cake was discovering that i was the recipient of a liebster blog award.

a liebster, i have learned, is a peer-awarded recognition of little blogs (read: fewer than 200 followers – i am, ahem, well within that margin). apparently, by loose translation, liebsters are “dear, sweet, kind, nice, good, beloved, lovely, kindly, pleasant, valued, cute, endearing and welcome“. how very warm and fuzzy! the recipient of a liebster is to pay it forward by bestowing it on five bloggers whom they admire, and so on and so on (kind of like a good-vibe chain letter). salma, from the beautiful blog beautifully sewn was kind enough to include me in her list of honourees. thanks, salma! i’ll try not to let too much time pass before i come up with my list of liebsters.

all of this liebsterness has prompted me to switch up my post. i was going to tell you about my ‘flopjacks’ – the kitchen disaster that started out as buttermilk oatmeal pancakes and ended up as a pile of mangled and chewy (though tasty) dog’s breakfast, but that just seems a little too negative for today. today calls for feelgoodery, so i would like to introduce you to my most recent finished crochet project, {printemps shawl}.

{printemps shawl} is so named because the colours remind me of spring crocuses peeking out through the snow. this is the scarf-sized version of the garden path shawl, designed by ‘lily go’ on ravelry* (lily’s well written and charted patterns are wonderfully intricate and creative – i can’t imagine the time and mathematics that go into her patterns, let alone the art and the vision).
i’m not sure if this colourway of malabrigo merino wool was the best choice…i can’t tell if it’s hideous or fetching. i tend to be drawn to either very plain or completely gaudy colours and patterns – there is no middle ground for me. this was my first foray into colours other than grays and browns, so maybe that’s why i’m a little uncertain of it. despite my uncertaintly, however, i will embrace my printemps scarf/shawl in the name of liebsterism! long live good, kind, generous, welcoming, nice, cute, beloved, sweet, endearing and lovely souls!

*do you know ravelry? if you crochet or knit, or just dream about crocheting and knitting, you will love ravelry, guaranteed. the garden path shawl link above will take you to ravelry, if you’re interested.