No April Fools

A pleasant sight at the front door just a few days ago!

I did not open my package from Kid Hollow Farm right away. I knew it contained the strongly desired blue fluff!

I dragged the wheel out, where the kids wanted to bike and worked on the last bit of the roses, that I wanted done before going for the blues.

I finished the next day and while the last rosy skeins were soaking in hot soapy water, I was already working on sampling the blues.

Much better for me, don't you agree?!

With all the warm weather I have been drawn to the little pink wrap thingie since then. It is growing. The back is finished and I'm halfway done with one front.

I am working the shoulders my special way, which I developed and have never seen in any magazine, -however, with all the fantastic knitters out there, I'm sure someone else had the same idea somewhere.
I use it for slanted shoulders and this is how it is done:
Instead of casting off three times a certain amount of stitches, in my case it would have been three times eight stitches, I knit short rows:
At first I knit 16 stitches and leave the last eight stitches un-knit, wrapping that 17th stitch on the needle, purl back over 16 stitches. Then I knit only 8 stitches, wrap the 9th, purl back. Then I knit once over all my 24 stitches and keep those as live stitches until I am ready to graft my shoulder. (This covers the left shoulder on the back of my garment. The short rows on the other shoulder are done on the purl side!) And voila, my shoulder is slanted without a bulky seam.

It is much less complicated than it sounds and the turnout is beautiful - my favorite way of making a shoulder.

I want to close with an impression of the last handspun yarns, that are just dry after the final wash, note the last two rosy skeins on the outsides!

All those pretty colors seem to get me in the mood for the upcoming Easter celebration.
I hope they will brighten your day as well!