Living in WIPville

 

My attempt at evoking the
U.S. flag. Sophisticated in
a simple way - yeah, I'm
sticking with that.

Happy Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday. I do hope everyone in the U.S. had a great July 4th. I celebrated my independence yesterday ... from all things electronic. No internet. No computer. Aaahhh, bliss.
 
Actually, I cooked up a storm and worked on various projects. Since I've got two join-a-longs going in my Ravelry group, I thought it was a good idea to work on those projects (although they weren't the only projects I tackled yesterday). Here's what my to-be-gifted-at-the-holidays Le Bateau Shawl is currently looking like (at right).
 
I'm about half-way through the initial increase section. Slow and steady progress on this is just fine and I'm enjoying the Fyberspates lace dyed specially for the Royal Wedding - what an amazingly deep, yet vibrant blue. Oh, and of course, it haz sparklez. That join-a-long winds down at the end of July (and I've already completed three cowls as part of it), so I'm in a good place to finish this right on time along with the others working on the pattern. If you'd like to join us, do feel free.
 
I've also picked out yarn for two cardigans I'm making (for me!) in my WIPs and Cardis join-a-long (which will be ongoing through Labor Day - the beginning of September here in the U.S.):



This will become a One if By Hook Cardi - hey, Vivan at
Bits 'n Pieces, see something familiar here?

 


And this mess will eventually be a Two if By
Sticks cardi. Of course, George had to poke
his curious nose in the frame.

And, combined with the publishing projects on which I'm working, as well as the two Enveloped Cowls that are in progress (I'm so behind with these thank you projects!), I am officially a sticks-and-hook-wielding fool at the moment.

I have one other little gift to help everyone celebrate July 4th - I've got a copy of the summer edition of Crochet! Magazine (which includes my La Peinture blanket pattern) + 3 skeins of Universal Yarn's Classic Worsted (80% acrylic/20% wool) to get someone started on their very own La Peinture. While certainly not as grand as Universal's entire blanket kit they recently gave away on their Facebook page, this is just my little way spreading the La Peinture love.

Yes, this nifty little package could be yours.

So, here's the info: just leave a comment here between now and Monday, July 8th, telling us what color palette you think would look super cool for your own La Peinture blanket. Then, on Tuesday, I'll pick a random winner from all of the comments and send you the magazine and yarn. Easy ... and sweet!

Now definitely shoot over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and see what fibery mischief she's getting into this independence day weekend.