From the dye pot

It's been a wonderful and busy week. 

Susan B. Anderson's Prairie Ridge Shawl Kit has been really popular, and much of my week was spent in a steamy kitchen with pounds and pounds of wool in various stages of pre-soaking, dyeing, cooling, rinsing, and drying. 

From the dye pot

In between batches of dye, I worked on samples. This is a sneak peek of November's free knitting pattern for a pair of wonderfully warm stranded socks. 

From the dye pot

These saturated colors have been keeping me energized and excited to knit.  

From the dye pot

Speaking of color, I wanted to share this photo. Last Friday, Mark and I joined a friend's wedding cruise on the Huangpu river that divides Shanghai. "Puxi" (the older, downtown part of Shanghai) literally means "river west," and "Pudong" (the sprawling new area on the other side) is "river east". These monikers occasionally morph into "Pu York" and "Pu Jersey."

I never get tired of the crazy lights and over-the-top architecture of the Pearl Tower and its surrounding buildings - it's a constant reminder of the slightly surreal wackiness that I love about this city.

What were you working on this week?