London calls, I knit an answer.

Last Summer, when I was purchasing a Fall Vogue Knitting magazine, the lys owner playfully slapped the issue into my hand, singing out the issue masthead, "London calling!" How prophetic she was! London was not only calling me with the cover shot of the beautiful blue cardigan, it was calling me for a visit. Yipee, I'm going to London next month. I see it's chilly there, so I knitted a little something.

I'm afraid my tolerance for dignified colors had been worn out by the last two shawls I knit. This one is much brighter, using the two different stitch patterns in the Citron pattern to combine two different yarns. I thought I had chosen a sedate burgundy hank of Ultra Alpaca Fine to tone down the Noro Kureyon Sock, but it looks very purple in the clear light of Spring. This is the Noro I recently complained about--it was too inelastic and too muddy in color for the striped knee socks I had planned. I knew it would also be too itchy for a shawl. At least the lack of elasticity gave me confidence that the curling edge would block out.

As it did. Mixing in the alpaca makes for a more wearable shawlette. It's not itchy at all and counteracts the itchiness of the Noro. I worked around the colors a lot, even ripping out and discarding some colors that were a bit too bright. I knew the stripes were inevitable, though. The last rows are around 600 stitches long, since I added a sixth repeat.

What with the pink and green, it's looking much more like a watermelon, rather than a Citron.

I think it will be the right weight to ward off a draft on the plane. It's small enough so that I can wear it inside my jacket, or just stick it in the pocket if it gets warm. It's easy to wear, but could be a little too bright for London.

Maybe it will warm up a bit before I get there. If so, I'll save this for the states next fall.

I'll be spending a couple of days in London, three days in Cambridge and then back to London for a day before my return flight. Please comment if you have suggestions for things I should see or do.