I knit. Yes, I do and, every now and then, I finish a project.
Occitan captured my heart from the moment she caught my eye. Little did I know luck was with me the day I wandered into The Uncommon Thread Etsy shop (now closed) to purchase a kit. Later, one of the SnB grrls told me what a commodity I had.
Part of my wonder with Occitan was why the name? What did it mean? Was it something specific that inspired the design? Was Occitan a time, a place, a feeling, a language? (This is the most interesting link I could find.) I did see the romance, the elegance, and I could feel the draw of an unusual, far away, place. Whatever Beth's inspiration, through this shawl she took me to a a lovely place with this glorious design.
The luxurious yarn, a lovely blend of wool/silk/cashmere from of the The Uncommon Thread was exquisite to knit and I loved watching, as the subtle beauty of the hand-dyed yarn slide through my fingers. As if Occitan wasn't a beautiful enough name, Comulonimbus is the name of the yarn. It's blue, it's named after a cloud formation, it was clearly meant to be.
Occitan was a magical, delightful project, as each stitch of its elegant simplicty filled me with calm. This was the right project at the right time and it has brought me joy all the way along.
Even more joy came my way as Carole visited Utah just when I needed her skills for a photo shoot! Thank you, Carole, for taking such a great picture of the shawl!
The Uncommon Thread shop is now open here.
Beautiful! You do such fine work.
Posted by: Laurie | October 11, 2012 at 04:40 AM
It's beautiful - the color is perfect for you and you did a wonderful job with it. I'm so glad I got to see it in person and take some photos, too.
Posted by: Carole | October 11, 2012 at 04:40 AM
It is just a perfect shawl, Margene! Like Carole, I'm so happy that I got to see it live-and-in-person! Just lovely.
Posted by: Kym | October 11, 2012 at 05:04 AM
Beautiful.
Posted by: Vicki | October 11, 2012 at 05:56 AM
So pretty.
Posted by: Suzy | October 11, 2012 at 06:18 AM
And, dearheart, it's a wonderful picture of you!
Posted by: CindyCindy | October 11, 2012 at 06:36 AM
Lovely!
Posted by: DebbieB | October 11, 2012 at 06:44 AM
You've still got it when it comes to knitting, even if you don't crank out as many projects as you used to. Simply beautiful! ~Tracy
Posted by: Wool Winder | October 11, 2012 at 06:55 AM
That edging is completely amazing! :)
Posted by: Chris | October 11, 2012 at 07:02 AM
Wow, that is simply gorgeous!
Posted by: Jenn C. | October 11, 2012 at 07:37 AM
I really love that shawl.
It looks like she opened a new website: http://shop.theuncommonthread.co.uk/
Posted by: Cheryl S. | October 11, 2012 at 07:47 AM
Oh, I see that you linked to that in the first place. Silly me.
Posted by: Cheryl S. | October 11, 2012 at 07:48 AM
Gorgeous! My knitting time these days is almost nil, except on business trips.
Posted by: Sarah | October 11, 2012 at 08:35 AM
The shawl is exquisite and the photo beautiful. It is a great picture of you!
Posted by: Jo | October 11, 2012 at 09:00 AM
Kudos to both you and Carole. All the good adjectives have already been written...it's simply marvelous!
Posted by: Barbara Seiver | October 11, 2012 at 09:52 AM
Beautiful!
Posted by: Marilyn | October 11, 2012 at 10:57 AM
What a lovely Occitan! I'm always so pleased to see my yarns knit into beautiful projects.
I'd like to clarify, if I may, that the Etsy shop has closed, but the yarns can sill be purchased online on my website.
Happy knitting,
Ce
Posted by: Ce | October 11, 2012 at 10:59 AM
SO beautiful and I love that you and I posted pictures of FO's in pretty much the very same color! <3 you!
Posted by: Kim | October 11, 2012 at 07:17 PM
Love it!
It's got everything! An interesting name. Beautiful yarn/color and a lovely pattern. Well done!
Posted by: Cookie | October 11, 2012 at 11:44 PM
That is a really lovely shawl. The color and pattern are perfect.
Posted by: Hillary | October 12, 2012 at 08:12 AM
These photos of your beautiful shawl actually took my breath away! It has also inspired me to drag out and work on my Traveling Woman shawl and finish it.
Posted by: Debshepknits | October 12, 2012 at 04:52 PM
Very pretty, that edging is really lovely.
Posted by: Heather | October 13, 2012 at 09:53 AM
It's so gorgeous! This is the sky scarf you were meant to knit this year. xoxoxo
Posted by: Sarah | October 15, 2012 at 10:21 PM