Never Nothing On My Needles

So, the Drops shawl is finished and is being enjoyed by both John and myself. Because the needle was empty, I had to cast on for another lacy project. There's one project that has been a challenge to me from the first time I saw it.

Ene's Scarf from Scarf Style.

I've cast on for it a few times. 375 stitches. I've frogged it as many times. For some reason, I could NOT get the beginning to work. I put the book away.

This week, I've been home sick for two days with a cold (and a reaction to the meds I was taking.. ugh! I am getting better, don't you worry!) and I decided to cast on (again) for Ene's Scarf. I'm using Drops Alpaca, a lovely soft yarn, in a natural brown shade. I got the stitch count correct. I did Row 1... correctly. Row 2 went just fine. Then, on Row 3, something didn't work. I couldn't figure out what was going on, so I frogged it and started again.

After casting on and frogging twice, I decided to take the chart and knit it up in another yarn, exactly as charted, with no repeats of the pattern, just to see if I could figure out how it all fit together.

I got the entire chart 1 finished and I knew what I'd been doing wrong. See the arrows? Those are double decreases. On the chart, each repeat starts with a double decrease. In my drug induced haze, I didn't realize that each double decrease takes a stitch from either side of a center stitch. The center stitch was the first stitch of the repeat, not the first of the three stitches used in a center decrease. Make sense??

Incidentally, the mini shawl will be completed as just that, a mini shawl. I may as well make something for the LPP (Little Plastic Person... see a couple of posts back), right?

Once I got that figured out, the rest was simple!

This is after Row 2, with markers marking each center stitch of the double decreases. After a while, they were so recognizable that I no longer needed them and they were removed. This morning, I finished Chart 1. Here's how it looks so far...

This yarn, like the alpaca I used for the Drops shawl is a joy to work with. It's so soft and warm, positively cuddly! I'm using 4.0 mm (US 6?) Knitpicks circs. The pattern calls for a knitted cast on using a double strand of yarn, but I used a crochet cast on with a single strand. I just like how it looks, more like a cast off edge, with enough stretch for blocking the points.

I'm having fun with this shawl; everything else I should be finishing has been pushed aside. As I said earlier, this is one pattern I've wanted to do for a long time; now is the right time apparently.

Drops Shaw with leaf pattern in Alpaca

"-A late afternoon by the ocean. Lay a pretty lace knitted shawl in soft warm Alpaca around your shoulders"

So begins the pattern, Drops number 98-21.

It was released from my office floor this morning, where it had lain, pinned to the floor all night. Here's how it ended...

... and it's life as a shawl begins.

The details: the pattern is Drops #98-21, a free pattern available at garnstudio.com. I used 100% fingering weight local alpaca, a gift from a very generous friend, on 4.5 mm (US 6?) needles. The shawl took about three weeks to finish, so, all in all, a quick, easy, and very pretty knit (at least, I think so). The pattern, because it's translated into English, isn't always the clearest, but really isn't a difficult one at all. The pattern calls for a crochet edge all around, but I chose not to add it. I don't think it needs it and if, in the future I feel it becomes necessary, I still have yarn to do it.

Thank you, Margie! I will treasure this shawl for a long time to come, I'm sure (if I can pry it off of John's shoulders... he is appreciating the warmth of alpaca on his very achy shoulders right now... some kind of man, huh? Do you think shawls for men will ever come into vogue? I have a feeling John would be one of the first in line to wear one!).

FO!

I wonder what THAT could be, besides one ugly sun-bleached towel that was used as a chair cover? A clue? You'd like a clue? Maybe this will help.

I'm sure that by now you've realized that the alpaca shawl is finished and that it's hiding beneath a damp towel for blocking. Good guessing! I pinned it out dry, misted it with water, then applied a wet (damp) towel; once dry and unpinned, I'll post another picture, just to give you a better idea of what the shawl really looks like. In the meantime, here's how it looked pre-blocked...

Margie stopped by the print shop this week with another ball of alpaca for me. I wasn't in much of a mood for knitting that night, but I did finish it the following evening and have had it wrapped around me every evening since. Alpaca is so warm and cozy! I can already tell that I'll get a lot of use out of this shawl. And this is what's left of the yarn...



Yes, I have started something with the remainder. I won't tell you what it is just yet; for one thing, I haven't exactly decided. All I'll say is that I've cast on 64 stitches on 2.25 mm needles and am working 1x1 rib. For now, this project is a mystery project. And that's all I'll say on that matter.

On another matter, allow me to introduce a new member to my (knitting) family.

I have quite a few ideas for sweaters floating around in my mind, some of them already on paper, but I have no intention of knitting every single one of them, especially not in adult sizes. That would be a LOT of knitting and a lot of time. I've read numerous suggestions by other knitters that recommend knitting child-sized or doll-sized versions of sweater designs. I like that idea, so today, on my walkabout, I stopped in at the thrift store just down the way from us (not even a block away) and found this little plastic person. For $3.00, I have myself a model. Hopefully, you'll be seeing more of this LPP (little plastic person) in the not-too-distant future.

Having this LPP in my home also ensures that, when my granddaughters come to visit, there will be at least one toy for them to play with. That's always a good thing!

Orkney Pi Anyone?

Orkney Pi
Originally uploaded by Strings 'n Things

Just a short post today.

I'm a member in a number of Yahoo groups. One of them is EZasPi; that group is currently in the middle of a knitalong for the Orkney Pi Shawl. The shawl is designed by Liz Lovick, a knitter and designer who lives in the Orkneys and incorporates traditional Orkney designs in a pi shawl, Elizabeth Zimmermann's design.

This little bit of knitting already has history, beyond the stitches used. It's my second attempt. It isn't that it's a difficult pattern; it isn't. I started it yesterday, using Skacel's Merino Lace, on 2.5 mm (US 2) needles. I was almost at the point I'm at in this picture when I encountered a break in the yarn. After finding the other end of the break, and giving it a tug, I found another break. And another break. Do you see where this is going?

When I picked up the ball of yarn, I realized that something had decided that this particular ball of yarn was a delectable buffet. The entire ball of yarn was nothing but pieces! Immediately, the work in progress was freed from the needles and it, with the entire ball of yarn, was trashed... filed in the circular file. And then I went back to my stash to check the rest of it.

I haven't seen any other evidence of little nibbles, so I'm not too worried. I'm thinking that this yarn had been in the same spot as my Icarus shawl (remember the holes in my completed shawl??). I know I had played with the Merino Lace at about the same time.

Anyway, this yarn is Hemp for Knitting laceweight yarn. This is the yarn I was using to make elann's Luna Moth shawl; the one that I dropped 40 or so stitches from. Once again, I'm using 2.5 mm needles. I do like how it's knitting up. Even though it's supposed to be a shawl (Liz has written that her completed shawl measures over 7 feet across!), this one will be a fair bit smaller, probably just the right size to fit on my glass coffee table. It will also look stunning as a centerpiece on my antique oak dining room table.

The arrow you see in the upper left hand corner points to the first of the traditional stitch patterns, the cat's paw. I'm finding this, like my Evolution Shawl, a fun project. I think I could become obsessive about it, as I did with my pi shawl.

Now, back to knitting and the next section... horseshoe lace.

Titleless

Sometimes it's difficult to come up with a title; today, I'm not coming up with one. So there!

I did more knitting yesterday; I won't have enough yarn. I would have had if I hadn't looked at the pattern to make sure I was at the end. It seems the shawl requires a full repeat of the leaf pattern before doing the edging, which is just a basic garter stitch edging, really. I was thinking I'd finished the repeat; I was only half way through. And so, I don't. However, I did get an email from the dear friend who gave me the yarn and she has more, so I won't have to frog back to the lifeline. I love my friends!

Yesterday was a very nice, relaxing kind of day. John got home at about 2:30 (he's working again today), and by that time I'd baked a Swedish Tea Ring, something I haven't baked in a lot of years. Basically, it's a sweet bread, stuffed with cinnamon, brown sugar, raisins and nuts. John loved it!

After he got home, we did some grocery shopping, then just relaxed. I cooked us a lovely meal of pork chops, mashed potatoes and peas; John had his spicy apple sauce (he added cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne to it... not quite to my liking) and then we did nothing but watch tv and go to bed early. As I said, relaxing.

Today, again, I have time for myself (I could get used to this). I didn't really feel like baking, but I did feel like doing something creative in the kitchen. While we were in Gibsons, I started what I hoped would become a tradition; each Sunday, John would spend the morning at home and go to the restaurant after lunch. I started making us an omelette every Sunday and, for the most part, we've kept up that tradition. Today, that omelette will be a late lunch, early supper for us.

I decided that, since we'll be having a late lunch, we won't need much for dinner, but it would be nice to have something sweet for later in the evening. One of my favourite desserts is panna cotta, basically milk Jello. This time, however, I wanted something different; I still had a can of coconut milk in my pantry, so I wondered if I could use it instead of cream. So, I went hunting online.

The makings of a delicious dessert.

I found a recipe for Cardamom Panna Cotta here. In the same post was a recipe for Cardamom Coffee. Both recipes sounded interesting and I had all the ingredients in the house, so dessert tonight will be Cardamom Panna Cotta with homemade cherry sauce (cherry jam that didn't gel up the way it was supposed to... it's in the jar in the picture), Cardamom coffee (the plastic baggie in the coffee cup contains the ingredients... just have to put it and the water in the coffee maker and let it do it's thing) and a little bit of chocolate on the side. The chocolate is Divine (that's the brand name, but it is divine!) 70% dark chocolate, a fair trade chocolate, sent to me by my sister as interest paid on a book she borrowed a while back. (Thanks, Gloria!!)

I think John will enjoy!

It's Saturday!

I'm off and John's working. That means 1) spring is here and 2) I have 'me' time! It means spring is here because John's boss got the landscaping contract for the college and that means John's back to work!! I'm very thankful for that; that means bills will get paid again... and we'll actually have food in the cupboards again.

I have me time today. It's been a long time since I've had time just for me. I've already given myself a facial this morning and now I'm trying to decide what to do with the rest of the time I have available to me. Of course, some of that time will be spent knitting, that's a given. I've been trying to decide whether or not to do some baking or some cooking. Until I decide, I'll knit. ;)

Speaking of knitting, I've really only been working on the alpaca shawl this week, and not very much on it, either. One of the projects at work (a 2 day job) was a little repetitive and has aggravated my already achy wrist, so knitting has been kept to a minimum.

I do, however, have pictures.

Progress. This part of the shawl is almost mindless. Almost because you do have to figure out how to add repeats at one point. The directions aren't very clear on how to do that. I managed, though. You can see I have a lifeline inserted...

That was a joint decision between John and myself (he's turning into my knitting advisor... how long before he picks up the needles??). I looked at the shawl; I looked at the yarn remaining. I wasn't sure there would be enough yarn and I had to decide where I could cut corners, if I had to. We decided that, if necessary, I could eliminate the second repeat of the straight section. After the straight section, the pattern calls for one repeat of the leaf pattern and then a treatment edging of some kind (haven't read that part completely yet, but it's not patterned, just knit rows and purl rows). Hence, the lifeline.

What do you think? Here's what I've got left...

It will be close, that I do know.

The last picture I posted of the shawl wasn't the greatest. Of course, lace always looks like a blob before it's blocked. However, I did take a better picture of the shawl, draped over the armrest of my recliner. It gives you a much better idea of what this shawl will look like.

There you have it. Now, on with my day... might even go for a walk in the rain. Yes, rain. Hey, at least it isn't snow!

Of Shawls and Gloves

I tried to post yesterday... twice! Blogger was having issues and my post never did make it to the blog. Let's hope that today Blogger's feeling better.

Where shall I begin? Last weekend, I had decided to knit the Blackberry Shawl from the Drops website (this one). I have some Drops Alpaca that I'd intended to use for this shawl; it had been purchased with Evelyn A. Clark's Estonian Garden stole in mind, but I frogged it. Anyway, I started the shawl. And frogged it.

It's a lovely design, but the pattern is very confusing. It would be very helpful to have more spacing between the paragraphs, for one thing. The charts for each half are placed one above the other, making it very difficult for the eye to follow the flow of the pattern. As well, the center stitches and their increases are not shown in the pattern, but you're told, in the written instructions, to incorporate the increases when there are enough stitches for a pattern repeat. Fine and dandy, but it would be helpful to have that charted.

Like I said, I frogged it. For now. This week, I was able to copy the charts into PageMaker and now have them side by side, which will make them easier to follow. One of these days, I'll start it again, but for now, I'm working on this, another Drops design...

The pattern can be found here. It's working up quickly. Looking at the picture, it looks like there are seven repeats of the initial leaf pattern; I already have six repeats completed. By the end of today, I should be well into the second section.

The yarn I'm using was a gift from a friend. She and a friend have alpacas and this is yarn from those alpacas. Margie originally had a design in mind for me when she gave me this yarn, but, though I tried to cast on for it a couple of times, this yarn just didn't want to be that design. It seems to like this design very much! This will be one cozy, comfy, and cushy shawl! Once I have it done, I'll have to be sure and show Margie and once again let her know how grateful I am for her gift of this yarn.

Oh yes, I do have a progress picture...

Lace never looks like much before it's blocked, does it?

And then, there are the gloves. I did post a picture of the glove in progress in my last post, but it wasn't a very good one. I must be honest, I haven't worked on the gloves this week; they seem to be a weekend project (or a Sunday project). I do, however, have somewhat better pictures.

Keep in mind that the glove in progress is for the right hand; I've photographed it on my left hand, so everything is reversed. What you see on the palm is, in fact, the back of the hand and vice versa. I'm very much liking how this is knitting up. They're going to be one warm pair of gloves!

I know that if an expert in Fair Isle were to examine the gloves, they would critique a few things, but all in all, who's going to look too closely at my hands? They're meant for warmth more than anything else.

Now, it's time to hit the "publish" button and get on with my day. I have a couple of overdue library books, so I do believe a trip to the library is in the schedule for today. After that, I intend to get some knitting done!

This and that

I'm home sick today; I woke up with a knitting needle stuck in the side of my head and coming out of the back of my neck. No, not really, that's just what it feels like. I'll be fine, but in the interim, I'm home today.

March, according to the American Crochet Guild (or whatever it calls itself), is national crochet month. I used to do a lot of crochet work; rarely with wool. When I crochet, I prefer #10 crochet cotton, or finer. I thought that, since I usually show my knitting on the blog, I'd show you that I really do know how to crochet, too.

Here's a collage of three pieces I did years ago. They've not been blocked since the first time, so they're not looking their best anymore, but it will give you an idea of the work I used to do.

I remember discovering that I much preferred the Japanese patterns (I have 2 Japanese crochet books); the finished doilies lay much flatter and block out so much better than the patterns I made using the Magic Crochet magazines (which are lovely, but they just don't lay as nicely).

These days, however, my passion is knitting. I've worked on the gloves a little bit.

It's very interesting how the yarn seems to tell you what it wants to be. I've been at this point in the first glove already, but frogged it back. I've drawn out a pattern I liked for the back of the hand.... and scrapped it. This pattern is what the yarn wanted and so, this is the pattern I'm staying with.

I also found out why the first attempt was too short in the thumb gusset; I did it wrong. I did the increases every other round. The base pattern I'm using (Ann Budd's "Handy Book of Patterns") calls for the increases every third round; that makes all the difference!

Over the weekend, I found a FO in one of my knitting bags that I'm not sure I blogged about before.

I finished this little beret while we were in Gibsons. The yarn is from Mirasol yarns (I don't have the tag handy), a really nice yarn to work with. Really nice! I used two skeins, that I remember, although I didn't need much from the second skein. Once again, the pattern is from Ann Budd's book. I finally blocked it this weekend.

Oh, I did do one little embellishment, knitting-wise. The brim of this tam is worked in baby cable rib, one of my faves.

Now, I'm going to see if I can't get that knitting needle out of my skull. It's driving me nuts!

Things that make you go "Hmmm..."

I spent a bit of time (not THAT much!) on Ravelry this morning. In one of the groups I'm in, a poster referred readers to Fleegle's blog and something called "normality". Fleegle's post can be found here. Go ahead, read it, I'll wait.

Fascinating, yes? And so, after reading Fleegle's post, I sat down in my living room, picked up some needles and some yarn that just happened to be on the coffee table (I'm frogging an old crochet project that I know I'll never finish) and cast on 30 stitches using the Turkish cast on, as suggested. Here's what I came up with...

Keep in mind that this is recycled yarn that hasn't been reclaimed. Also keep in mind that this is the first time I've used the Turkish cast on. As well, keep in mind that I wasn't following a pattern, so the faggotting around the point is imperfect. My first impressions?

1. I'm not thrilled with the Turkish cast on. Perhaps I just need practice, but I have a row of twists down the center of this mini shawl. I think I'd prefer a different provisional cast on.

2. I like the shape. Stocking stitch is not even top to bottom and side to side, as garter stitch is, so this shape isn't an equilateral triangle; it's wider than it is long. That isn't a bad thing. In a full sized shawl, that would give you longer tails at the front, right? I suppose if you want a true, equilateral triangle, you could decrease on every row rather than every other row, as I did.

3. I can see the possibilities for a variety of shawl and stole shapes. By changing the positions and number of increases and decreases, you could come up with a myriad of interesting shapes.

As Fleegle writes in her post, this construction lends itself beautifully to a lot of design options. Your borders can be knit on at the same time because, knit this way, the borders are at the side edges, and don't need to be picked up and worked afterwards. Gotta love that!

Personally, I'm looking forward to seeing what Fleegle comes up with, and I have every intention of playing around with her concept.

Hmmmm.....

The Update That Isn't

This is an update, and yet....

I've been working on my Fair Isle gloves this week, but working slowly. My right wrist has been bothering me quite a bit, so I know I have to take it easy. In the interim, I've read two Dean Koontz books (true literature, n'est-ce pas?), but I can't stay completely away from my knitting.

I took these three pictures earlier this week...

Since then, I've frogged back to the ribbing.

First, I decided the ribbing wasn't quite long enough for my liking. I get impatient with cuffs. They seem to take forever, and so, I give up on them when I think they're long enough. They never are.

Second, I've decided on a different fairisle pattern. I don't mind the one in the pictures, but.... eh!

Third, as you can see in the third picture, the thumb gusset isn't quite up to the point where the thumb gusset should be. It is, however, according to the pattern, the correct number of stitches. That means, the glove, had I kept going, would have been too small. I know, I know, I could have kept going, increasing to the right point. I thought about it, but I wasn't completely happy with the rest anyway and there were a couple of mistakes in the patterning, so..... I frogged it back.

Needless to say, it no longer looks like the pictures above and I haven't taken another picture because there's not much to show you past the ribbing. Because of that, this post is an update that really isn't an update.

On to other things... Last night, I, once again, picked up the Pi Are Square shawl. I'm thinking it needs, probably, another three balls of yarn to finish it to an acceptable length (I have eight balls remaining). I've just added in the second to last colour (light denim blue). After finishing that ball, I'm thinking I'll use the two balls of the dark denim blue to finish the shawl. I have no intention of getting into another repeat section; I haven't counted the stitches currently on the needle, but there are a lot of them! I have no desire to double that count, thank you very much. As long as I can wrap this shawl around my shoulders, and it comes at least to my waist, I'll be happy.

Generally, I wear shawls around the house to keep my shoulders and upper back (lower neck) area warm. Sweaters just aren't as cozy.

And, speaking of shawls, I might just be persuaded to cast on for another Pi shawl. Over in Yahoo groups, I've discovered the Ez as Pi group. Elizabeth Lovick is hosting a knitalong for an Orkney Pi Shawl; it is based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's basic Pi shawl (as mine was), and incorporating traditional Orkney lace patterns. I like that thought. The first installment of the pattern was posted yesterday.

I have some yarn in my stash that I think would be lovely for this shawl, but I don't think I have enough. Believe it or not, Liz is calling for approximately 3400 yards of 2-ply laceweight yarn for this shawl. I have 7 or 8 skeins of Drops Alpaca I was using for another project that has since fallen out of favour. The problem is, the Drops Alpaca is only 200 yards per ball. I would need seventeen balls!! That's a LOT of yarn. I might have to rethink this... or see what else I have in my stash.

I did say MIGHT be persuaded.... just not quite yet. In the interim, I'll be collecting the various parts of the pattern for possible future use.

So, what is it about shawls that makes them so addicting to make? I mean, I love knitting lace! I know there are lace knitters out there who don't wear the shawls they knit, but I'm not one of them. Right now, I have three shawls in my bedroom, not tucked away in drawers but draped over my bedside stand, and one around my shoulders. The appeal can't be because they knit up quickly; some do, some don't. Most lace projects take a lot of concentration. Then, once you've done with the knitting, you have to block it; that can be an exercise in frustration.

Perhaps the addiction is a result of that final step: releasing the shawl from it's pins and seeing that final, glorious product... Lace. And knowing that something so beautiful came from your own fingers. Perhaps.

It's Back!

My knitting muse has returned! I knew that working on something fairly mindless would eventually inspire me!

I've decided that I need a new pair of gloves. I've had the same pair of alpaca gloves for the last couple of years now, and this winter, one of the finger tips has given up. I could repair it, certainly, and probably will. It is, however, a good excuse to knit myself a new pair.

My only problem is... what pattern? I've been looking around and haven't found anything that screams "KNIT ME!". Yanno what I mean? So, I'm going to design my own. I have two shades of Jarbo Garn in 4 ply. This is the same yarn I've been using for my lace shawls, the yarn from Sweden that I love, love, love. Just heavier. I have the cream and the charcoal; I might just pick up a skein of the light gray as well. We'll see.

Today, John and I walked over to the library (about a 30 minute walk there), where I had a video on hold (Elizabeth Zimmermann's "Knitting Workshop, Part 3"). I picked up a couple of knitting books as well. One of them is Alice Starmore's "Book of Fair Isle Knitting". That is one inspiring book! I wouldn't mind having it in my personal library, to be honest. The second book is a mitten book.

As of about an hour ago, the only decision I've made for sure is that the cuff is going to be corrugated ribbing. I've already started the first glove. I can tell even now that these are going to be warm and cozy gloves. So far, this is what I have... (by the way, I have no intention of knitting the gloves shown in the picture; I want mine to be uniquely me)

I'll keep you posted.

Stitch and Bitch

Most of my knitting time this week has been spent with the Pi Are Square shawl. It's nice having something so mindless on the needles. I can either zone out completely or I can watch tv, chat with John, or just sit and think. Gotta love a project like that.

It's coming along; at this point, each row takes just over 15 minutes to complete. That's a lot of stitches!

It's also becoming more colourful. I wasn't sure, at first, if I'd like how the colours would come together. I do. I've decided to leave one of the colours out as it's not a heathered yarn, so after the teal-y blue I'm working with right now, I'll be moving on to two shades of denim-y blue.

Now, on to the bitch part of this post. Every time I'm in the grocery store, I check the magazine section for new issues of my favourite knitting magazines. Last week, I saw a Knitter's magazine on the stand. However, it was packaged with another magazine and shrink-wrapped, so I couldn't peruse it. I didn't buy it.

Yesterday, I did. I paid $10.95 for the two magazines. That, in itself, is a lot of money and worthy of it's own bitch. What really angered me, though, was what I discovered later. I took the Knitter's magazine to the tub with me (gotta have some bathtub reading to go along with the glass of wine!) and read through the magazine. I wasn't terribly impressed with the contents and was a little puzzled by all the summery patterns, considering the fact that summer is a long ways away.

Then I looked at the cover a little more closely. This is the Summer 2007 issue!! Excuse me?? Summer 2007?? I paid $10.95 for a magazine I didn't buy (at a discount because I was still affiliated with the yarn store) last summer?? And for another magazine (Australian Homespun) I never would have bought in the first place? As nice as the other magazine is, it's geared to quilters. I don't quilt. I'll never quilt.

The magazines were presented on the shelf with the Knitter's side facing. If I'd had my glasses with me, I never would have bought it, so in part it's my own stupidity. The publishers could have, at the very least, had the decency to include an up to date issue! I'm really disappointed and angry, and I feel that I've been taken advantage of.

*deep breath* Bitch over.

It Ain't Lace

So, last night I decided to see what Elizabeth Zimmermann's Pi Are Square shawl is all about. There's an article and pattern in the Winter 07/08 Vogue Knitting. My intention was just to knit up a little one to see what the shaping is all about (I have a thing about shawl shaping going on these days... what IS the most practical shawl shape anyway?).

By bedtime, I realized I was kind of getting into this shawl. It's basic. It's garter stitch. It's not lace. It's the perfect stash buster.



It's brown. Brown is sort of how I feel right now.

This is some of the stash that will be busted; I have two 50 gram balls of each colour and all of it will become part of this shawl, along with all the remaining brown I can find. It's left over from the Little Arrowhead cardigan I finished earlier. All of the yarn is Sirdar's Country Style DK. I had purchased the 50 gram balls a few years ago, with the intention of making a scarf out of it. I never did.

This is not going to be a lacy shawl. It's not going to be dainty, or even pretty. It's going to be practical. It's going to be wrap-around-yourself-when-you're-feeling-chilly-or-just-yuck practical. It's simple, it's relatively mindless, seeing as it's all garter stitch. It will not have a lacy edging because I don't think it will need it.

And right now, it suits my frame of mind.

Knitting Muse has left the building

It's been an odd week. After last weekend, having completely finished the Evolution Shawl, nothing I'm working on feels "right". I'm just not feeling the love with any of my projects.

John's Sterka socks are finished. I grafted the toe of the second sock last night, then sat about, restless, not being able to decide what to pick up next. I hate that feeling!

The socks. Yes, I do have a picture, just to prove that they're done. :)

He loves them! This yarn is interesting. It feels quite a bit rougher than any sock yarn I've worked with to date. And thicker. The socks feel more "substantial" than most of the socks I've knitted for John and he likes that. That's not to say that the yarn IS thicker; it's a 4-ply (fingering) weight yarn, worked on my usual 2.25 mm needles. They just feel thicker, stiffer, "woolier". Yanno? The important thing is that he likes them.

I did start on another project last Sunday, one that caught my eye. It's from the Winter 07/08 Vogue Knitting.

It's pattern #2, the Beaded Shawl. I'm using the Jarbo Garn Gastrike Lace I have leftover from the Evolution shawl, with pearl seed beads. I like it but, as I said earlier, I'm not loving it yet. I did swatch it with other beads, but the pearl beads looked the best with the dark gray. What you see there, I did last Sunday afternoon and evening. I haven't picked it up since then.

I've looked at other projects that need finishing (like the Shawl Back Shrug), but again, I haven't picked up anything that screams "Pick me!". It's frustrating.

Where'd my knitting Muse go??? I want her back!

The Pattern

Yes, I had intended to write out the pattern. Here it is, but keep in mind that I haven't done much in the way of proofing or having someone test knit it. If you find any mistakes, please let me know and I'll do my best to update the pattern.

Evolution Shawl (in pdf)

It is also available on my free pattern page (link in the sidebar). Enjoy!

Edited to add: I've been informed by a number of knitters that for some the link above doesn't download properly. It is a 7 page pdf, so do be aware that it may download a little slower than some files. I have also stored the file in a different location. If the above link doesn't work for you, try this one:

Evolution Shawl (pdf)

Again, let me know if it doesn't work. If it doesn't and you really, really want the pattern, email me at evskae at gmail dot com (same goes for any of my patterns).

Breathing a HUGE Sigh of Relief!

Yesterday, you saw the pictures of the shawl. You saw the horror of the hole. Well, John (and those of you who left comments) was more confident of my abilities than I was, it seemed. And, it seemed, rightfully so. Once the shawl was completely dry and released from the floor, and once I'd had an opportunity to sit down with Rena Crockett's book, I set about to repair the hole.


It didn't take as long as I thought it would. Nor was it as difficult as I thought it would be.




You saw this picture in yesterday's post. As I said then, a splice had come apart at that spot. Lesson learned, nuff said about it. Basically, what you do to repair a spot like this is re-knit that section, using a fresh piece of yarn. I found all the stitches, pinned them onto the cardboard and, using the new yarn, simply re-knit the section and grafted it to the other end of the "hole". Then, I made sure that the ends were secured! Very secured!

That was the "before", here's the "after"...

Am I happy, or what? That shawl hasn't been out of sight since I finished the repair!

"Flawless Knit Repair" by Rena Crockett... it isn't a big book, it's self-published, 19 pages, cost me approximately $12, if I remember correctly. After yesterday's repair, I think it was worth every penny. Now, I feel a little more comfortable about tackling the hole in the Icarus Shawl (finished that one a year or so ago, but it's been hiding in my yarn stash until I was confident enough to dig it out)

Blocking Day (picture intensive)

9:25 a.m.

I’m ready to block the Evolution Pi shawl. It’s soaking in a Eucalan bath at this very moment, getting all soft and squishy and nice-smelling. There’s just one small problem.

My office is too small for the shawl to be comfortably blocked. I need a minimum of six feet around. If I take all the boxes and shelving units out, I could do it, but where would I put them? I could move all the living room furniture out of the way, but again, where would I move it to?

I’m wondering if I can fold the shawl in half and block it that way? Do you think it would hurt it? Adversely affect it?

I’ll let you know what happens. *keeping my fingers crossed*

1:40 p.m.

The shawl is drying on the office floor. I did have enough room... barely. I tried blocking it folded in half, but it just didn't work very well. So, I tried it full out. It worked. It was a little cramped while trying to pin it all out, but I managed (and only pinned my finger once, badly enough to draw blood). I would have taken a picture, but the camera batteries were dead. They are now recharging.

It did not block out as large as I had anticipated, but it's still a good size. I thought it might be 6.5-7' across, but it's about 6' across. That's good, because I'm 5'4" across (arm span, that is), so it gives me plenty of width. It took almost an hour, and 98 pins, to block the shawl. It's gorgeous. Really, it is. I'm pleased with how it's looking.

So why do I not sound ecstatic? Well, I've learned a valuable lesson: when doing a spit splice, no matter how felted the yarn appears to be, make sure you make it a long enough, and very strong, splice.... or leave tails that can be woven in later. Why, you ask?

As soon as the batteries are charged, I'll show you why.

Pictures



You can see how little room there was for pinning out the shawl. A couple of detail pictures:

Batwing Lace Center panel:

Vine Lace, moving outward to the Feather & Fan section:

Modified Van Dyke edging:

And then, the reason for my disappointment:

So, what happened? I had to splice the yarn at this point. Apparently, I didn't splice it very well and in the course of blocking it, the splice separated. Had I noticed it sooner, I could have blocked it a little less strenuously. However...

I do have Rena Crockett's most excellent little booklet, "Flawless Knit Repair" and will attempt to repair this shawl flawlessly. Or as best I can. I've decided that, since this is a Me shawl, it doesn't have to be perfect. The shawl itself isn't perfect (yes, there are mistakes in it.. your knitting doesn't have any???).

And here's the shawl, unpinned and draping on my ancient sofa. Other than the hole in the edging, I really am happy with this shawl. I'm seriously thinking of knitting myself another one, perfect this time. *grin*

Robbyn, there's a box of tissues on the table; no drooling on the shawl!

Oh Yeah!

Uh huh, it's off the needles! All that's required now is a good blocking!

When that's done, I'll post pictures. For now, I'm thrilled beyond words that this shawl is off the needles, not because it took forever (it didn't), but because I really want to see how it looks totally done!

(and I'll tell you one thing right now.. it will probably be close to doubled in size!)

I wish I could show you the finished Evolution Shawl. It isn't finished. The border is more than halfway done, though. I'll tell you what, that border is taking me as long, or longer, than the body of the shawl! It would be nice if it was mindless knitting, but I'm learning the difference between knitted lace and lace knitting.

For anyone who doesn't know the difference, knitted lace has either a knit or a purl row on the wrong side of the work. Lace knitting has patterning on every row. That makes for knitting that demands concentration, and attention to the chart. It also means that it takes longer.

Because I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I cast on for a mindless project. Not only is it mindless, it will also be a stash buster. Here's what I have so far...

The pattern (yes, I'm following a pattern this time) is from Vivian Hoxbro's "Shadow Knitting". The yarn is the unspun White Buffalo-style yarn I was given a couple of years ago. The pattern in the book is done with a fingering/sport weight yarn; this yarn is, obviously, quite a bit heavier than that, at least a worsted weight, so I've changed up the needle size. It's going to be quite a large, and very cozy, shawl, which is just what I want.

I'm using 4.5 mm needles (US7); it's not a stiff knit, but not terribly drape-y either. I'm envisioning something I can wrap myself up in on the sofa (or in my recliner) while watching tv or knitting. If necessary, it can also replace a jacket if I need to run across the street to the grocery store; just so much easier, dontcha know? As far as yarn colour goes, I didn't have a lot of choice. These are the colours I was given, plus a natural white. I was going to use the white instead of the blue, but I have more of the blue than the white, so I'm going with what I have most of. You know what? I don't actually dislike the combo.

Froukje left a comment on a previous post (the one that had some Dutch in it) and I just wanted to respond to it. Froukje, my parents are from Friesland (Bergum and Garijp); I grew up hearing Frisian and Dutch; I still have a lot of extended family there. I was married to a Dutch man and learned how to speak, read and write it. I've always loved langages and I do try to keep up my Dutch, isn't easy because my present husband isn't Dutch at all and I rarely hear anyone speaking it around here.

What a Difference a ' Makes

I'll post a longer entry later today or tomorrow. For now, I just wanted to let you know that the patterns that weren't downloading before should be fine now. This morning, I had enough time to examine things and think about what was happening. It came down to.... '

Seriously. I had named two folders as Kids' Socks and Kids' Hats. In the link address, the address stopped at Kids. Therefore, no pattern found. I've gone in, renamed the folders and all is now well.

HTML... gotta love it!