Senior Coatizen

"Nic has finally put her long-serving Winter coat into much-deserved retirement.

Not so much because it's falling apart (because that fluffy-collared behemoth will be here until after doomsday) but more because falling off the shoulders of the wearer has to (she presumes) go against the very raison-d'etre of Winter coat-kind."

It is a fine indication, however, to just how much my shape has changed over the past couple of years. I really did fit this coat well, and even though there was just enough extra room to wear a decent chunky jumper under it without feeling like a stuffed sausage, it sat well on my shoulders, kept me deliciously warm, and made me feel a little glam, too!

Bought around 1997, full-length, black wool, lined with a soft black watermark satin, and finished off with a luscious and soft faux-fur black collar, I felt glamorous indeed! I imagined I looked a little like one of the heroes from The Matrix, with my long, dramatic coat catching the wind as I walked down the street, although I suspect the reality was that I looked more like a rather squat black-hulled ship in full sail battling rough seas. Never-the-less it made me feel fabulous!

And now, now it is gone. Gone to that second-hand clothes shop in the sky down the street. In all honesty I could have used it as a bedspread, considering the amount of fabric used for its creation, but I'm inclined to believe that it would have preferred to keep its identity as Coat and not debase itself as Blanket.  

And I need to stop anthropomorphising my items of clothing - I'm sure they don't appreciate it.  

Twinkle, Twinkle

...Little Star shawl,

How I wonder what you... 

What you... 

...are all...

about?

Poetry.  Not my forte, as is rather eloquently shown above.  What I can do, however, is turn out little cosmic creations like this:

rain's obsessive stitchery fred sock in 'telltown'

this:

aade lõng artistic 8/2 in 'flame'

and this:

fearless fibres lightweight superwash merino sock yarn in 'sloth'

More stars than there are in the heavens.  No, wait.  That's MGM.  Part of an Amazing and Expanding Universe.   Ah.  Eric Idle may have me for nicking that...  But I suspect you get the idea...

May I present the Gold Star For Effort (or Morning Star) Shawlette. 

I was inspired to create this pattern by a friend on Ravelry who told me, after they saw my Cocktail Umbrella Shawlette, that I deserved a gold star for effort.  It was an innocuous comment that never-the-less took root somewhere at the back of my noggin, which was then jogged to the front after perusing some of my favourite cocktail websites for pattern inspiration, after finding mention of the Morning Star mocktail*. And the final falling in to place came when Rain of Rain's Obsessive Stitchery contacted me about a potential collaboration - her yarn, my pattern!  That plus a little bit of sparkle at the points of each star, and voilà!  A Star (scarf/shawlette) Is Born!  (Oops - sorry Barbra!)

*The Morning Star, by the way, can be a myriad of things: a medieval spiked mace; one of the many names for the planet Venus; a town in Western Virginia; a newspaper; a song by the UK band N-Dubz, but for my purposes, however, the Morning Star is a mocktail, or mock cocktail, and is one of the lesser-known non-alcoholic drinks in the cocktail firmament (see what I did there?!!)  There are a few differences in recipes, but on the whole it seems to involve one teaspoon of sugar, and one of honey, ten fluid ounces of pineapple juice, three pineapple chunks, and mineral water to the top of the glass.

The Gold Star for Effort (or Morning Star) Shawlette is a reversible crescent scarf-shawlette, worked from the star motif edging upwards, with some beads (60 to be exact) for a bit of added (optional) bling. The body of the shawl is worked in garter stitch using short rows.

My testers and myself have used varying amounts of yarn, from 400 yards, to 453, so to be safe, I've suggested that you have at least 450 yards of your chosen yarn before you start.  (The Fred Sock by Rain that I used for the gold version is 463 yards long in total.)

And where can you find this little gem?  HERE, of course.  Ravelry is again playing host and this link will take you through to the pattern page, which is available to all, not just Ravelry members.  Should you wish to purchase straight away (and why not?) feel free to click on the button below.

How much?  Only €4!!  (or £3.40, $5.40, ₪19, NOK32, ¥530.24..) and for the first month you can get 25% (or 1 euro) off with the code 'twinkle'.  Just apply it when prompted at checkout!

Coconut Shells At The Ready

"Nic does occasionally feel like she has embarked upon an epic and almost impossible quest to Thinner-land. A quest where will-power is tested, where her belief in herself is questioned, and her strength of commitment is pummelled and pounded by those who use insults like battering-rams, not caring what they crush as long as they perceive themselves the victor.  

But like in all epic quests, (and epic status updates) abilities once lost, return, glimpses of hope for a successful outcome become more frequent, confidence in self gets bolstered by little victories.

Today is a day of hopeful glimpses and little victories. Another milestone is passed. This one reads 'Four stones'."

Because what's more arbitrary than celebrating UK and US pound loss goals in separate posts? I'm such a universal crowd-pleaser!