In the words of an Eva Cassidy song, “People get ready”—there’s a lot of yarn and books to discuss!

For my birthday, I received a lot of books and yarn gift cards/money I used on yarn. Since it was a milestone birthday I definitely was spoiled! I can’t wait to walk you through the goodness.

The yarn you see above was bought with some birthday money. It’s La Bien Aimee’s cashmerino yarn, all the way from Paris! Aimee, the owner, is known throughout the yarn world for her amazing colors and yarns, and I was so glad to be able to finally get my hands on some of it. From left to right, the colors are: Nymeria, Hegelia, and Winterfell. Knitting with it is a delight! I’m turning the yarn into this project.

I love blue, but I don’t actually have a “plainer” blue lightweight shawl or wrap, and that’s something I definitely need in my wardrobe, so this is a good addition to my knitted accessories repertoire. (By “plainer” I mean, one that’s mostly shades of blue and isn’t knit up with other wilder/brighter colors or mixes and that is also lightweight. I do have a shawl that is mostly blue and gray, but it’s a sport weight so it’s a little heavier than what I’m currently knitting up.)

Onto the next batch of yarn! Behold!

This is more La Bien Aimee yarn, but this time I got it from a US store, so I didn’t have to pay shipping and I could pay in dollars, not euros! Yay! :)

Knit Stars is both a knitting masterclass series and a yarn store in Tulsa, OK. Every Spring and Fall they rearrange their “hot loops” wall, which is a bunch of projects and yarn they’re featuring that particular season. This spring, knitter and designer Gaye Glasspie (aka, GG, aka, the Iconic Orange Lady) designed the wall and picked the projects. So obviously orange figured in a BIG way.

At first I wasn’t sure about this because….orange is not really a color I use. My friend Andrea loves orange. But I am not really much of an orange person.

However I did want more LBA yarn….

And these flowers arrived on my birthday, which was also the same day as the Spring Hot Loops wall reveal:

Hmmmmmmmmm. That’s a lot of orange! And bright pink! And purple!

And the yarn could capture these flowers and I could have a shawl that would echo these flowers and pay homage to a special birthday……

BINGO.
So I’m making my second Find Your Fade shawl using these colors, which is the LBA Merino Aran base. (You can get it at KnitStars here) My Ravelry notes are here. The shawl is originally designed for a fingering weight yarn, and I’ve obviously bumped it up several thicknesses to an Aran base, but I’m using the same yardage amounts (which means I’ll need to order more of some of these colors). I’m also only doing one lace repeat per color, which is also what I did with my original Find Your Fade. (This is a shawl that can be huge.)

Here are the colors in the order I’ll be using them in the shawl, starting at the bottom (blue) and working up:

I just couldn’t wait to start….so I didn’t….and I’ve finished two colors (Hegelia and Winter Garden) and moved on to the third (Sari)! I am seriously obsessed with this project.

Sari comes in…

Whew! I love it! And I’m still working on a baby blanket for Miss Alice and I’m about to start the sleeves on my Ursina! Hopefully I’ll have some finished objects to show you in May!

Now let’s talk books.

I got a lot of book gift cards for my birthday so I, of course, got a lot of books with them. There are so many that I think I might share them with you over the coming weeks (and Yarn Alongs!). So let’s take the first four: (yes, FOUR!)

Time for Tea* is in the first photo. This is from Fortnum and Mason, the big food emporium in London. If you’ve been reading here for awhile, you know that I love tea! So this book discusses the history of tea, types of tea, hat tea is best for various occasions, and also, recipes for tea time! It’s gorgeously produced and its cover is Fortnum and Mason’s signature “eau-de-nil” color.

The second book, which is perched on the shawl above, is Queens of the Conquest: England’s Medieval Queens.* You should also know, if you’re a longtime reader, that I am an anglophile. A big one. :) My friend Amilia got me this book, because we both share a love of British history. Weir has written many, many books about British royalty—both fiction and nonfiction—and this is the first in a series that will look at England’s early queens. I really loved this book and I loved taking notes and adding to my research files, because, yes, I do research files for fun, because I am a nerd! The second book in the series is Queens of the Crusades: England’s Medieval Queens*, which I need to read next!

I also just finished All The Queen’s Men*, which was another birthday book. I actually got the first book in the series, The Windsor Knot*, too. The books revolve around the premises that Queen Elizabeth II isn’t just queen—she’s also. sleuth who has been solving mysteries since her father, George VI, was on the throne. with the help of her Assistant Private Secretary, Rozie, and a retired member of her protection detail, she cracks the case of a murdered pianist in the first book, and a murdered housekeeper in the second.

This installment definitely has a British flavor, doesn’t it? I didn’t just get books about England for my birthday, I promise. I’ll share the rest of them soon!