Aunt Jessica's Magic

This is Seraphim as it appeared on Sunday evening after I finished the second chart. I love it! I really, love this shawl and it’s killing me to see the yarn running out. That may look like a healthy ball of yarn in the pictures but looks can be deceiving. It’s pretty hollow. That’s a center pull ball and the center is gone. I’ve got about 28 rows left, including the edging, and I’m just not going to make it.

I’ve been obsessing over possible solutions. One would be to try and get another skein of yarn that uses the same colors but in drastically different proportions. What I’m thinking is this – any ball of yarn at this point is going to be a little off – not quite the same as the original. Since the original yarn has a high degree of variegation, the individual colors don’t stand out as much. Because of this, if the person dyeing the yarn mixed up the same colors but maybe applied them to the yarn with a drastically different emphasis – say very heavy on the bright blue, green and purple, and less heavy on the dark blue – then it may create a neat effect at the edge of the shawl if I worked it in gradually. It may even look intentional. On a pattern like this, which looks like feathered wings, the light colors at the edge could even add to the feeling of the shawl.

What do you think? Am I crazy? Delusional perhaps.

I don’t know – thinking about it makes me feel sad. On a more positive note, my girls are having a great time with their cousins in Connecticut. It’s interesting to hear about their adventures because my sister and I, and our lifestyles, are very different. It’s a little hard to define. I’ve tried to explain it a few times in writing but it just isn’t coming out right so I give up. Suffice to say that my daughters went to a car race on Saturday night for the fist time. The Drama Queen loved the crashes. She is totally my kid.

Another thing that amuses me is the element of “magic” at my sister’s house. The last time DQ visited her she came back with a favorite food – steak. I had made it before but she’d never try it. It wasn’t my cooking because she eats it at home now and loves it. It’s the magic of Aunt Jess’s house. Somehow my kids will do things there that they won’t do at home – in a good way. That’s where DQ decided that she loved Chinese food and that’s where Stinkerbelle ate strawberries and apples on Sunday. At home Stink won’t touch fruit but at her Aunt’s house the magic takes over. I can’t wait to hear what else they’ll try.