Vitamin D

Is done!  I finished the second sleeve on Friday night, in time to throw the sweater into a bowl of water, press it dry-ish, and lay it out to block.  It wasn't even close to dry when I woke up on Saturday, and I knew that I wanted to wear it Saturday evening to go out, so I set it out in the sun (some vitamin D for Vitamin D?), and it was dry in a jiffy.  We had to go to a midday party, but when we came home, I wove the ends in, stitched up the itsy-bitsy seams under the arms (I do love things that are knitted in the round), and it was good to go in time for us to go out to dinner before Cirque du Soleil on Saturday night.  I have worn it every day since then.  (Heh.)

On Mother's Day, I managed to get a few modelling shots.  Both of my girls (and my husband) took me to the beach for a walk at low tide.  I love the way the beach changes with the changing seasons.  At this time of the year, much of the sand that covers the beach by the fall has washed away, laying bare rocks that we don't normally get to see.

 Not to mention the anemones that live on those rocks.

In the spring, seaweeds and grasses begin to wash in from the beds just off-shore.

There is something wonderful about seeing the small, subtle, slow changes that a landscape undergoes from day to day, week to week, throughout the circle of the year.  It's the kind of thing that only comes with going to the same place time and again, season upon season, an intimate relationship with place that depends on time.

 The girls (all of them) were willing to get in on some of the Vitamin D modelling shots with me.

 But since, beautiful as the girls are, they blocked the sweater, Rick also took a few with more of a focus on the knitting.

Although Younger Daughter (and Tilly) still got in on the action (see all that seaweed there?  Tilly thought it smelled just marvelous).

I am not kidding when I say I've worn the sweater every day since finishing it.  This one is going to be a staple in my wardrobe, no doubt in my mind.  It's the perfect weight, it fits beautifully, it hangs nicely, and I like the bracelet-length sleeves (making a virtue of necessity, as I was afraid I'd run out of yarn - but the fact is that if the sleeves were longer, I'd just spend all my time pushing them up).  Even better, this was knitted out of yarn that I had in stash.  Hooray!

Some details:  The pattern is Vitamin D, I used the recommended needle size (which I think was a six, but I can't remember right now).  I knitted it out of Mirasol Nuna, which is 40% Merino, 40% silk, and 20% bamboo (shade 1002).  It's a fabulous combination, both in terms of drape and weight for San Diego. 

A walk on the beach is my idea of a perfect way to spend Mother's Day, especially since all of my very favorite people were there.

(Younger Daughter wants you to know that she took that picture.)

And to make things even better, the afternoon was devoted (aside from doing laundry, which doesn't stop, even for Mother's Day) to knitting.  So next time, I can share one new project OTN (using yarn from stash), and one renewed WIP.