All that glitters is not gold

(Click to biggify the sparkles in the snow!)

This morning dawned clear, windy and COLD. As the meteorologist predicted, a new front with much drier air had moved in overnight, sublimating much of the snow and ice from yesterday. It feels more like West Texas than Western Oregon out there!

Then there's this. Swoon.

I follow Rosemary Hill's blog. Romi crafts exquisite creations out of yarn and metal, like this copper ram shawl pin I just had to get as soon as I saw it, even though I didn't own a single shawl.
(I hope to get these little ewes to add to his harem someday, too!)

Last year Romi announced that she intended to design a total of ten shawls in 2010 (she had already designed three at that point), and offer the final seven in an ebook along with some little extras. Those seven were to be small shawls knit with sock yarn, which seemed perfect for a newby to lace like me. I jumped at the early-bird special.

Here it is, nearly a year later. My ram pin is still penned in his little box, still waiting to fulfill his purpose in life. I did go so far as to buy some roving to spin into yarn for one of the seven shawls, but that's it. Then along came a skein of variegated blue-green perfection, thanks to Dianne's generous giveaway. The colors are perfect for Maia, with its leafy motif (DO check out that link!). The pattern comes with an optional beaded chart, and the beaded versions shown on Ravelry are simply stunning. What does it matter that I've never used beads before - or tackled a significant amount of lace? I went out and bought a bunch of tiny beads, and a microscopic crochet hook with which to place them. By the time Rick and Brian return from their trip, I will either be well into this project, or positively certifiable.

That's it for today from . . .