The Purple Shawl is DONE!!!!

I haven’t been this excited about finishing something in a long time!!! First, this is the biggest project I’ve done to date . . . esp. when you factor in that I had knit 6 skeins worth of a wider shawl while under the (mistaken) assumption that I had 8 skeins in the closet. I then debated whether to keep it as a lap blanket for the couch, give it away as a baby gift (It really is the wrong yarn for that) or reknit. I finally decided I really did want it as a shawl so I reknit the whole thing. I made it about a 1/3 less in width and that gave me just enough yarn. This was something I actually started last fall, put away for a few months and then worked on slowly for the past 6 months or so. It is such a relief to have it be finished with it! Actually, I’m glad I finished while the weather was warm, since now (after I block it tonight) I can pack it away for a few months (its quite heavy, made from a bulky yarn) and take it out in the fall when I will be happy to have it and not sick of it like I am right now!

Now that the needles are free, I cast on a scarf in Trendsetter’s Dune this morning. The yarn is a little tough to work with as the mohair keeps catching and the strands are very loosely plied so I really do have to pay attention . . . but I’m working on a simple yo, k2tog lace scarf to go in the holiday gift box. I’ve been dying to play with this yarn for a while now (I have enough for 2 scarves and 3 shawls) so this is the practice to get the hang of it before starting a shawl. I’m working on a size 10.5 needle but I’m thinking I could probably even knit it on a bigger one. Maybe I’ll do the other scarf on the 15 or 17 I have and compare them before deciding how to do the shawls . . . The fun part is that this is only 21 st. and a 4 row pattern repeat so it is going rather quickly, I already have 4 inches of it done! I love instant gratification projects!!!

I haven’t done any spinning for days now. I’m having some of the girls over on Thursday so I might get to do some then. I really need to get back to work on that raw jacob I started. I’d like to get that done and by mid August anyway . . .

Off-topic

I just finished reading an article from today’s New York Times about what is happening to the women of Iraq. I honestly don’t know whether I’m more disgusted by the fact that in this day and age such attrocities can happen, by the way women who have been through this type of abuse are treated by the system, or the fact that their own families often beat or even kill them for being kidnapped and raped! This kind of thing makes me so mad I can barely even type!!! It also leaves me with a strong dislike for the male species!!! These poor women, the way things are there it is like being raped three times over! The article mentions a 9-yr. old girl that was abducted and raped, her family didn’t seek medical attention for her until she had been bleeding for a while and they couldn’t get it to stop, and with the exception of her older sister, her family members now beat her daily because she was attacked! And forget about the poor thing getting any kind of counciling . . .she’s lucky her sister was able to stop them from killing her! Okay, this has offically put me in an “all men are pigs” mood, good thing the boss (male) is away and that DH works tonight!

I really, really wish there was something I could do to help the women of Iraq. I wish we could get them some self-defense training or mace or a new government where they would be safe . . . anyone have any ideas of what we could do? Are there any groups out there trying to help them? None were mentioned in the article and I’m not sure where to look, anyone?

Okay, now that I’m totally pissed off I’m going to try to do some filing! Wish me luck.