Wildflower, I Think I Love You

This lovely Wildflower Shawl and I have had quite the journey together.

We've brewed many pots of tea from English Breakfast to Earl Grey and all the way to my favorite Rose Petal Tea. It's been sipped from bone china cups, porcelain tea mugs and sometimes sturdy mugs.

Together we have finished an entire audiobook series.

At times I was forced to lay my sweet little wildflower aside and work on various other items that were needed for customers. But always my heart was being pulled back to a wildflower that was dancing inside my soul.

You might say I fell in love with it. Truly, I think I did. Even while I worked on other things I couldn't wait to pick up this shawl again and watch it magically grow beneath my fingers. Each row and each pattern repeat just seemed to come alive all on its own. I could hardly wait to see the dance of colors that lay ahead.

It was like watching the wind blowing gently through a Summer field full of wildflowers...

And I was dancing in the sunshine with them.

I found myself being soothed at the end of a long day by the gentle cadence of the fiber, the remembered stitches, the flowing colors and the promise of beauty and warmth that seemed almost ethereal in as much as it was solid. Sometimes shawls have this effect on me. They conjure forth that "old soul" I was born with. They whisper to the heart of my romantic nature.

It begins with the first stitch...

Then as the shawl begins to grow it begins to work its magic on me and I find myself away with the fairies in my mind.

 I am suddenly wrapped in that shawl, because I can already envision it finished and flowing all about me, and I am twirling in the sunshine... or strolling in the moonlight... or just swinging on my front porch with the scent of rain and wildflowers surrounding me in the freshness of Spring.

I can't explain it, but there's something about a Shawl that Sets Me Free.

It makes me feel warm and feminine, yes.

But it also makes me feel free.

All of these emotions must be the reason shawls are really my absolute favorite thing to knit or crochet. I enjoy the process of everything I make typically.

But a Shawl...it just simply feeds my soul.

When I got all the way to the very end of this beloved friend, I realized I would have to eliminate the final row in order to have enough yarn left to bind off.

No problem. This pattern instructs to bind off purlwise on the right side so I simply bound off knitwise on the wrong side and the effect was the same.

It made absolutely no difference in the pattern or the beauty of the shawl.

As with all things in Life...

All I had to do was Relax and Breathe and think it through for a minute.

Then it was time for blocking. I will tell you this...

I always block everything.

Now, that being said, I don't always block it out as seen in this picture.

I have a steam iron that could blast the feathers off a bird in flight and I use it for a tremendous amount of my blocking. Steam blocking works beautifully for potholders, dishcloths, all sorts of random small articles and even some shawls. However, with a lacework shawl it really needs to be dampened and properly pinned out to be seen in all its intended glory. If we are going to spend our money, our time and our talent on something we need to see it through all the way to the final phase. Trust me on this.

Blocking makes a HUGE difference!

By blocking this shawl properly it gained 3 inches in length from top to bottom point and 5 inches in wingspan. That was after I had steam blocked it first. The final measurements are 18 1/2 inches from top to bottom with a wingspan of 62 inches. The pattern is Knit Picks Reflection Line and I used only One Skein of Chroma Fingering Weight in the colorway Wildflower.

I absolutely love the way this shawl turned out.  It's lightweight enough to be worn with the gorgeous points and lovely colors cascading down the front. The color striping worked up perfectly in this pattern like it magically new what to do.

With proper blocking the lacework holes opened up

and the points did their thing beautifully.

The whole asymmetrical affect captures my spirit too.

Plus the versatility of how it can be worn

makes it pretty much a perfect wardrobe accessory.

So ...

If you happen to spy a wildflower dancing in a field

that looks a little taller than the rest,

just drive on by ... 

"You belong among the wildflowers.

You belong somewhere you feel free."

Tom Petty

Scones & Wildflower Fairy Dust

While it's still February I thought you might like one more scrumptious,

 heartfelt dessert to have with teatime.

Before I start out with the recipe, I want to say that for those of you who have never baked scones and have always thought you might like to try your hand at them, but for some reason find the idea intimidating, they are actually quite easy.

 There are just four essential things you need to remember:

1) Use cold butter cut into half inch sized slices. 

2) Work the butter in with either a pastry blender or your clean hands, 

leaving noticeable sized pieces, as this makes a nice, buttery scone.

3)While working with the dough, do not handle overmuch.

{We want our scones to be light and buttery, not tough and dry.}

4) Ideally, scones should be baked from fresh, just made dough and 

eaten within two hours after removed from the oven for optimum delight...

now that's not to say we have not eaten them the next day in my house

  if there are still one or two still lingering about, 

however, they truly are at their most divine when fresh baked.

So... here's a yummy recipe for you...

Chocolate Strawberry Scones

3 Cups All - Purpose Flour

1/3 Cup Sugar

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

3/4 Teaspoon Salt

1/4 Teaspoon Cinnamon

1 1/2 Sticks Unsalted Cold Butter,

cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1 1/4 cups hulled and chopped Strawberries

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

1 1/4 Cups Buttermilk

1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla

1/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream (for brushing tops)

1/4 Cup Sugar (for sprinkling tops)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder,
 salt & cinnamon.

With clean hands or pastry blender, work butter into dry mixture until it is incorporated evenly.

Add Strawberries and chocolate and combine well.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour buttermilk and vanilla into it.

Combine ingredients until all the dry mixture is wet, but do not knead!

Turn mixture onto a floured surface and gather dough together.

*Dough will be moist due to the juice of the strawberries.*

Gently pat the dough to make a rectangle about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Using dough cutter, cut scones into wedges measuring about 3 1/2 to 4 inches thick or use cookie cutter in shape of your choice.

Cover baking sheet with parchment paper  {and do not spray}.

Lay cut out scones on prepared sheet and brush tops with heavy cream.

Sprinkle each one with sugar.

Bake for about 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

{Makes 12 to 14 scones}

Enjoy!

As for what's been on my knitting needles this week, I've still been working on my Reflection Shawl in that gorgeous, making me happy all over, color
Wildflower
that I showed you in the last post.

The skein of Cascade 220 Superwash in Magenta that I needed to finish the sweater sleeves actually arrived in today's post and, thankfully,
 they had the same dye lot for me.

I will get those sleeves knit into that sweater right away
 so I can have that project all finished up.

However, I really must admit, it's going to be hard
to lay this shawl aside now that I've started it.

I just love watching as each new color magically appears. 

Honestly, I am totally enchanted by this shawl.

I love the way the colors are working out so beautifully
 and the stitch pattern is lovely too.

I can hardly wait to see it finished.
Every time I sit down to work on it I am surprised by how much it grows.
 It almost seems to knit itself.
 I think there really is some magic to it. 

Who knows,
 maybe the little people sprinkled it with fairy dust for me.

If that's the case,
 I wish they'd sprinkle all of my knitting
 while I'm off in dreamland... 

"If I'm honest I have to tell you

... I still read fairy-tales 

and I like them best of all."

Audrey Hepburn