Another wrap is on the needles. I have been haunted by the thought of knitting a wrap that exemplifies to me the "cabin." Nestled in the "Endless Mountains" (American Indian name) of the Appalachian chain, the cabin exists only in memory now, as it burned to the ground about 10 years ago, but it is so much a part of my life that it demands recreation. So, now it is once again coming out in my knitting as yet another version of Jane Thornley's Feather 'n Fan Organic Wrap. The first was not quite hitting the mark, and was smaller than I had wanted. I wanted a luxuriously abundant wrap that draped about my shoulders the way whipped cream tops a banana split. Abundant. And colors. Colors to use are deep hemlock and mountain laurel greens, powdery reddish earth and hemlock needles, brown tree trunks, gray rocks, blue sky, silvery tin roof, teal shingles covered the outside walls, red bee balm, golden grasses, green of all shades, watery blues and white foam. oh how I wish I could share all this with you, but the digital camera came too late and the only pictoral memories I have are on paper.
I am using mostly the same colors and yarns, but in different combination. As you can see with the first wrap, it has more stripeyness, and the red I added to represent the brilliant red of bee balm growing wild in the field across from the cabin, takes a prominent place. The bee balm was very spotty, and just a few precious heads showed themselves at any one time. The hemlocks are everywhere, and I am making the foundational color of the wrap in the same deep rich greens.
I never thought I would do this, I don't even recall making one when I used to sew constantly for (scratching head), ...hmmm, most of my life. They just seemed so home-made. I always liked leather purses. However, the lure of a quick project with vibrant yarns just got the better of me. After all, I have been working on light tan socks for my hubby's Christmas gift forever. The endless rows of knitting/purling have gotten to me. I get really jazzed with brilliant color and sparkle. I just know I couldn't talk him into any of that. So, when Jane Thornley came up with yet another pattern just before the holidays, and I suffered a cringe as I thought of the line-up of knitting ahead of me, I sort of wrote this one off. Until now. It was as promised, fast and fun. There are endless possibilities for design diversion with the pattern, and it was great, ...no, better than great to be able to use up several bits of yarn that were only about 10 yards in length. Even though it is all in ribbing, just like the socks, it was so much more fun. This purselet only took about 5 days, but I only worked on it for a few minutes each day, and even skipped on some days. It is small, but perfect for holding the driver's license, credit cards, and a lipstick.
The yarns:
I realized as I started out that the browns and
oranges needed another color to perk things up. So, I pulled in a handpainted orphan banana yarn. I bought it on close-out because I wanted to experience alternative yarns, and even though I would never have planned to knit with orange and blue yarn, unless they were school colors and I was a cheerleader, the yarn was wonderful here. 
I am using mostly the same colors and yarns, but in different combination. As you can see with the first wrap, it has more stripeyness, and the red I added to represent the brilliant red of bee balm growing wild in the field across from the cabin, takes a prominent place. The bee balm was very spotty, and just a few precious heads showed themselves at any one time. The hemlocks are everywhere, and I am making the foundational color of the wrap in the same deep rich greens.
