The Party's Over....

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The season is over for our beloved 'Skins, who lost to an obviously better Seahawks team yesterday, 20-10. (Stats here.) We had high hopes they'd go further in the playoffs, but I'm happy they made it this far, it being only Gibbs' 2nd season back as head coach. Third time's the charm, right? (Redskins fans are nothing if not optimistic.)

All was not lost, however, as we still enjoyed ourselves at a festive gameday affair hosted by Pat & Jenny. Par for the course when they host such an event, SIL Jenny went above and beyond the call of duty with her spread:

(and that's just the appetizers!)

While everyone gathered around Pat's shiny new tv to watch the play-by-play:

(The looks on their faces reflect the outcome of the game)

And the boys had fun playing football in the hallway:

Thanks, Pat & Jenny, for a lovely Saturday afternoon!

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I think I'll go sit-n-knit again this afternoon with the ladies at Countryside Christian Church. I had a nice time last Sunday and expect the same today. One of the ladies, (Bunny, a crocheter), sells Mary Kay and is offering free facials to anyone who is interested. I will be getting mine this Thursday.

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This Tuesday, the prayer shawl ministry at Bon Air UMC will be having their first meeting of the year, and I hope to attend.

In preparation for that, I stopped by Lettuce Knit on Monday to scout out some shawl-appropriate yarn. My goal was to get something as soft as possible. My first choice was silk, but that was a bit out of my price range, since I would need several hundred yards of it, and so I caressed it and then reluctantly put it back in the bin. I finally found something equally soft and nice -- a rayon, (boy, do I love rayon), in 550-yard hanks. I bought two hanks of it, which they kindly wound for me with their ball winder and swift. And so, without further ado, I give you:

Blue Heron Yarns' Rayon Metallic in "Cayman"

Blue Heron Yarns' Rayon Metallic in "Heather"

Unfortunately, they had a little trouble with the ball winder and had to wind the Heather into two smaller balls.

I think I would have preferred these yarns without the metallic in it, but I'm not sure if Blue Heron makes a non-metallic smooth rayon -- hard to tell from their website. It does show a shawl knit with rayon metallic carried with kid mohair. It looks lovely, but I'm not sure mohair is such a good choice for a shawl that may be going to someone who is dealing with illness, as mohair can bother even healthy people....

I believe I'll knit up a swatch of this later tonight to see how it'll do all by its lonesome....

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