Beware: It’s a Knitting Post
Posted on | October 19, 2009 | 7 Comments
I finished my third Shetland Triangle. The first Shetland Triangle I knit was the best thing I knit…ever. EVER. And I wore it most every cold day for a year and a half. And then I lost it. And I cried and cried. The second one I knit I gave as a gift and the person never, ever wore it. I actually don’t mind it when people don’t wear things I’ve given them, but this was a Shetland Triangle and I lost mine and maybe that person could have coughed theirs back up. But that was never going to happen in a million years, so whatever.
This Shetland Triangle is super special to me because it’s made from Malibu Alpaca. Before I moved from the ‘bu, I took my knitting group to the alpaca farm. We had a blast. And I bought two hanks of alpaca spun from one of the animals we met that day.
Alpaca is as warm as you can get. It’s got a hollow core, unlike sheep’s wool, so warm air is trapped within the fiber making it three times warmer than sheep’s wool. Alpaca is naturally hypo-allergenic and the itch factor is minimal. Plus it’s alpaca. And it’s not dyed. Sometimes I get weird things in my head about dyes used in clothes and wool that I put close to my skin. Fabric dye is pretty gnarly stuff. What’s more, you can use Kool-Aid to dye fabrics and it’s so acidic the color is permanent. When I’ve dyed wool using Kool-Aid, I become very happy my mom never let that crap into the house.
So, this is my Malibu Alpaca Shetland Triangle. Here’s to another layer of warmth and to Malibu…a place I lived for 11 months and totally changed my life. One day I’ll write about Malibu and what happened there, but for now just know that I’d never started any group before. And my Malibu knitting group was the first time I brought total strangers together. We’d spend our knitting night drinking wine and telling stories. Sound familiar?
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7 Responses to “Beware: It’s a Knitting Post”
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October 19th, 2009 @ 10:33 am
From knitting to stage to stardom. It’s all you, Melissa Lion!
And my mom and dad are out in Upstate New York visiting my sister. So they went to the Sheep and Wool festival all day last Saturday. I’m getting more socks….
October 19th, 2009 @ 10:38 am
Thanks Melissa. Now I want an Alpaca.
AND a Shetland Triangle.
October 19th, 2009 @ 10:39 am
Alpacas are the sweetest things. I’d like one on my lap right now. Or around my shoulders like your Triangle thing.
I’m skipping the middle man!!!
October 19th, 2009 @ 11:57 am
Before today, I never believed those legends surrounding the Shetland Triangle – you wear one someplace, or give one to a friend, and it’s never seen or heard from again. But now I know there must be some truth to them.
October 19th, 2009 @ 12:04 pm
I once dated a woman that resembled an Alpaca. Needless to say, her Shetland Triangle was unshaven.
October 19th, 2009 @ 1:09 pm
I’m sick. Can I have a baby alpaca? Also, my mom made me a hat, scarf and mittens from some really pretty baby alpaca wool and they feel like she’s hugging me when I wear them. So good.
October 23rd, 2009 @ 7:27 am
i remember that headboard…