Aren't my in-laws sweet?

They gave it to me as a birthday present and refused to let me pay them back. Now I have enough wool to make a few pairs of socks, a Firefly Jane hat, and whatever else I can come up with.

In the meantime, my Branching Out Scarf is progressing slowly but surely. I'm merely aiming for one repeat a day. I'm completely strapped for time and that's usually all I can manage before the kitten clobbers me and begins gnawing on the end of my needles.

The Fleece Artist birthday poncho/shawl is nearly finished and currently masquerading as a lumpy kneadable kitty bed on the couch, so alas, no pics. This is information worth noting; the kitten loves slubby wool should you ever make her a kitty bed.

On Thursday night I went to see a presentation given by Toshiko Horiuchi (she's currently a teacher at my school) and was absolutely blown away. Most of her work is or has been on display in Japan. There are photos at the Knit Japan site, but they don't do the playground-like installations justice and I don't think I can adequately describe how child-like and joyous it made me feel just imagining what it would be like to crawl inside those 'Rainbow Nets'. The photos are also too small to display the incredible symmetry of colours and movement. Just... wow.

I'm also in awe of her earlier work. I've seen large scale woven installations before, but not knitted or crocheted. It's fun to imagine dreaming big, really BIG with knitted stitches and see how it's been done. If I'm really lucky I may get to take a class with her next year.