November Update

I was updating my notebook in Ravelry and thought I should drop in here and update this as well. It's been a busy month -- but whose life isn't busy these days? And much as I might want to moan, I have managed to fit in some knitting time.

Adamas is growing, albeit slowly!

I've completed 8 repeats of the main design. The pattern calls for 14, but I have more than enough for that, and so, I might add more repeats. It will depend on my tolerance factor for the repeat aspect. It's been put to the side for a bit, and not for the first time, so perhaps the pattern will feel fresher when I pick it up again. And though I was worried that the yarn was a little busy for lace, I think that a good hard blocking will open it up enough that the two will work together! I'm much happier with it now that there's enough for me to stretch it out and see. And yes, I have it on a short cable for ease of knitting, and was too lazy to switch it to a larger cable for the photo session. Maybe next time!

I've also switched patterns for the Mo that I had. Instead of turning it into a garter stitch shawl, and I was almost halfway with that, I found a pattern in Ravelry called the 48 Hour Mohair Shawl that I thought would suit the yarn and the colourway better. I think it does, but it is taking me longer than 48 hours, at least in part because I have way more yarn then the pattern calls for, and then also because it is not the most stimulating pattern, so it travels to places where I can knit but not focus on a pattern. It's also been pushed aside by other patterns and projects that appealed more.
Mo got bumped by a vest project. My intention was to knit the Mistake Rib Vest out of one of those One Skein books. I bought some Manos Silk Blend in the Lava colourway to knit it. And I loved the combo -- but it looked as though I might need an additional skein or two -- and I didn't love the vest enough to invest that kind of money (I'd bought 4 skeins already!), so I went looking in Ravelry for an alternative. I came up with Shrug This, also found in a One Skein book, but also available free on the Internet. You can find it here

A word of warning! The pattern is very small. I found changes in Ravelry, in anxiousdog's projects. It meant casting on more stitches, and I followed her guidelines, making a few changes as well, and there are a few more I'd make if I knit it again. But it's an easy pattern. It was my first time knitting something from the top down, and I loved being able to verify that it would fit me, and make the little changes that made it suit me better. And I loved being able to knit until I was almost out of yarn, so I didn't waste any. And now sewing to be done at the end!!!! What a bonus. My only complaint: thought the yarn is heaven to knit with and to touch, there were joins in my skeins. One of the skeins had 2 joins in it. When the skein only has 150 yards that really ticks me. It would make me think twice about buying this yarn again. Doing Russian joins is not my idea of how I want to spend my knitting time. But it's blocked and ready to wear .... and the irony of it is, this yarn really stretches when it's wet, and I could probably have gotten the Mistake Rib Vest out of what I had, AND had it fit me the way I wanted (pattern is only 18" in length and I like my vests longer than that.)




Once I finished my Shrug This Vest, I started February Lady Sweater - another one that knits from the top down and has very little sewing involved. I'd decided that I wanted a slightly lacy cardigan, which is how the lace got pushed to the side. I've got a nice start and am now working on the lacy body. I'll get to come back and pick up the stitches which are presently resting on green yarn to do the sleeves. I bought extra yarn so that I can make both the body and the sleeves the length that suits me -- and being able to try it on as I go is a bonus!


Tomorrow I go to a play and wanted a small project to go along with me. I thought I'd do a mistake rib scarf and use up some of my sock yarn stash, especially since I am on hiatus from knitting socks. I pulled some Berroco Sox in colourway 1424 which looks very interesting on the ball. Seemed to me it would go with a lot of colours. I wanted a long slim scarf so I could double it and loop it around my neck ...

Mistake rib is simply a multiple of 4 plus 3, so I cast on 47 stitches. The pattern is K2, P2, ending with a P1. It's easy, pretty and cosy, and I loved how it felt -- and the number of stitches suited me exactly .... BUT the way the colourway worked - or should I say 'didn't work'. It is an UGH to me. Left it last night so I could see it in daylight, but that didn't make it much better. I suppose someone might like it -- but it's on the pile to be frogged now. Here you can see why:

In bright afternoon light it doesn't look quite so bad -- but it will be frogged anyway. I understand I have more than enough for a small baby surprise jacket -- I might see how it works up in that. But in the meantime, I need to go and find some sock yarn and try again!

October 3, 2009

Who knew that it would take me this long to begin to return to some semblance of 'normal' life???? And even this so-called normal is a little busier and over-scheduled for my liking, but I'll deal. (It's not as though I have much choice -- it's called life!)

But this past week I did manage to accomplish something. I finished one of my shawls. The summer was a little busier than I had expected, and there was very little knitting done. I'm not complaining. It was an absolutely wonderful summer, and I really wouldn't change that, but on the knitting front, it was almost a loss.

So I'm absolutely delighted to be able to post this picture here.
That's my Christmas Mystery Shawl, aka, Night Sky or Polareis, designed by Monika Eckert.
My plan was to knit all 13 sections of the pattern and then add the edging, but by the end of the 11th section it was looking pretty big and so I added the edging then and left off the last two parts. With gentle blocking my shawl is about 88" (220 cm) in wingspan and 53" (133 cm) deep -- a generous shawl for me! I used Knit Picks Shadow in Vineyard Heather and I love the finished product! And I'm pleased that I now have another project completed, blocked and ready to wear!

Adamas has not grown a great deal. I'll add a photo when I can get the chance to stretch it out a little and take one.

I started the Koigu X's scarf, but I'm not too happy with how it looks right now, and so spent more time than I'd like to admit browsing through alternate patterns in Ravelry. How I love Ravelry and the features that let me see what other people are doing with the same yarn ... and other patterns that are available.

I've come up with a few designs that I like. When I've made an actual decision I'll let you know.

And the fine shawl with the Colourmart yarn? Life has been too busy for me to sit down and cave out some calm time that will let me resume knitting ... and I need to also find where I tucked the pattern that is marked with my progress ...

And now -- life calls yet again! But first, I'm having a cup of tea!

Update - June 28, 2009

I've started Moni's Christmas Special which she now calls Night Sky and whose chart is now
for sale (check the link on Christmas in the last post.) This is the end of Clue 1. I'll have 12 more clues to do while I'm away.

And now, here's an update on my Adamas Shawl - 2 of the 14 repeats done from Chart 2. I'll swap it back to Denise needles before I fly.


And this is the stay at home shawl - North Roe with the first Chart completed once, and the second repeat of the shorter section barely begun. I love the Colourmart yarn. It's softening as I use it (it comes lightly oiled on the cone), am sure that when this one is done it will be a favourite. But because of the fineness of the yarn, I think it is much safer left at home for the month that I am "rambling".

A Slight Change of Plans

Last night I was adding to the Arequipa Adamas shawl, thinking that I should have been giving my attention to the North Roe shawl instead, when I was struck by a sudden doubt. I put it aside and headed for bed -- but I woke up quite certain that what I was pondering was right. I shouldn't be attempting to take North Roe with me to the UK. Don't get me wrong! I love the yarn. I quite like the pattern, but it means that both shawls are involved in a fair number of pattern repeats, which I sometimes find challenging on the lack of stimulation quotient. Soothing knitting is good, sometimes, exactly what I need, but both projects of the same nature???? And then there's the fact that I have to focus more carefully when I'm using the 3/45 - I still haven't completely transitioned to the finer yarn. 2/24, no problem, 2/18 - piece of cake, even if it's alpaca (I started my first lace knitting project using alpaca and found its lack of stretch, and its willingness to think about felting a bit of a challenge!) But I'm in the early stages, having just completed the first repeat of chart 1 of North roe and begun on the shorter repeat, so still a little cautious with the yarn -- if I were interrupted or disrupted, I'm not sure how well I'd do at recovery ....

But even more, I'm knitting it on 3.25 mm needles, right now using my Knit Picks 16" circ, waiting to shift to my Addi lace which is longer. BUT, Heathrow doesn't like knitting needles in unchecked baggage. Sometimes they make a fuss and sometimes they don't. Obviously, I wouldn't want to risk having the needle removed from my shawl - even with a lifeline in place. And I don't have any interchangeable needles that are smaller than 3.5 mm, so I don't have any options - well perhaps if I had a bamboo circ .... Then I thought about putting this fine piece of art in my checked bag and risking them losing my luggage. I know, I know, it isn't likely to happen, but think about it -- if you'd been working on a pretty project that was the finest yarn weight you'd worked on to date -- would you want to risk losing it????? So I decided that it will stay home -- at least until my August trip .... Which meant that I needed a second travel project.

Don't you just love my logic? But what could be worse than having nothing to knit????? Even if I don't manage to do any knitting at all during the month of July, the thought of not being able to fills me with horror. Soooooo .... has to be a project on "normal" lace weight, yarn has to be in my stash (not a lot of choices in the Windsor/Essex area if I had to go shopping), and has to be enough of a challenge that I will be delighted if I make any progress, and has to not just be a "repeat this chart 4 times or 14 times or .... you understand.

The yarn???? Knit Picks Shadow in Vineyard Heather. I have 5 skeins (2200 yards) in my stash and I used 4.00 mm needles to knit with the Jewels Heather. The project???? I went to Ravelry and searched to see what other Ravelers had made with theirs, limiting the search to Shawls/Wraps and found Monika Eckert's Christmas mystery shawl, which I had thought I'd knit on my winter holiday in the DR, but which was swapped out for Scheherazade at the last minute as a gift for a friend. I even have the charts - yes, charts, lots and lots of charts, printed off and ready to be put in a protective sleeve ... There are 13 Clues, and edging charts for the last 6 clues in case you want/need to stop. I'm thinking that I have enough yarn to do all 13 clues. I am not thinking that this will get done during the month of July -- but the Denise needles come in the right size for this, as do KP options, so I'll knit on the needle that is appropriate for the timing (Denise for flying, KP when I'm relatively stationary.)

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a project that needs to be cast on!

And Another!

I promised myself that I would also take a finer lace project with me (if there was room in the suitcase!) I'd even committed to using one of my Colourmart laceweight yarns. So tonight I went and sat and rummaged through the cones (Colourmart yarns come on cones and are still lightly oiled from the mills -- you could say they are "mill ends") I chose one of my favourite colours, then went back to the narrowed list of patterns I liked for lace shawls in Ravelry's listings. And I came up with this:



That's the start of the North Roe Shawl by Odile Buatois, using a cashmere/silk blend in 3/45 (trust me, that's fine!) The colour is cyclamen and is richer than the camera could capture -- at least, at night. It's the finest lace weight I've worked with so far, but not the finest in my collection.

I was wondering if the pattern might become repetitious -- actually, I was wondering if having two shawls on the go which both feature pattern repeats might get a little dull, but I've come to the conclusion that for this one, it might be a good idea to have a pattern that is not going to drive me crazy while I adjust to knitting with the finer yarn. Next step might well be a Shetland Lace shawl (I did buy Heirloom Knitting so it's quite possible, though I declined to go down that road while I'm travelling!), and so this will be good training and preparation for that challenge!

A New One!

Since I've finished Woodland Shawl I decided I'd better get cracking if I wanted to have knitting to take with me to the UK. So, having chosen my yarn (Arequipa by Estelle), I sorted through shawl patterns on Ravelry. I tried North Roe, but it seemed the yarn was too busy for this lovely pattern -- so the pattern is in my to do pile -- and so I frogged it and cast on for Adamas. I've finished the first Chart and think it just might be a go!
I'm sure it will be busy -- but it will be pretty -- I love this yarn and the colourway, so hope that it doesn't completely hide the pattern.

Now to find a laceweight project to go with me as well!

Finished!

I finished! With all of 1.2 grams of yarn left over. Now my Woodland Shawl is blocking, so it will indeed be ready to go with me to the UK!

The pattern is found here The yarn is one skein of Schaefer Anne in G 12 which I gather is green 12 -- no pretty name for this colour though it is pretty. Knit on 4.5 mm needles (US 7's) -- actually used my Denise needles to see if I'd like them on the flight, and they were fine. Remarkable tips for non-metal and non-wood! Oh, and I got 18 repeats out of the yarn -- and it is blocked to about 67" x 22".

Now all I have to do is determine what I'd like to take with me to knit!

Woodland

I took Woodland away with me on my course. Worked on it during class time as appropriate, and also in the evenings .... it's now over 36" unblocked, but the skein of Anne isn't finished yet. I thought I'd do 12 repeats like the designer did and then I'd be finishing it. But .... 16 repeats and the yarn still goes on ... and I want to use the entire skein. And I'm so anxious to finish it so I can block it and see what it looks like in these pretty shades of green .... In the meantime, I'll keep on knitting!

Vernal Equinox

My knitting has slowed down for the moment, but I did finish Vernal Equinox (Spring Surprise on Ravelry) and had it off the needles before I began my sabbatical -- by a day -- and unblocked.

Since then I've managed to block it -- it's still blocking, but I do have a photo.


The shawl's radius is 32" at the moment. I've never worked with Malabrigo laceweight, so I'm not sure how much of that I'll lose when I unpin it. But it is a very pretty design and I am pleased with it. Though I must confess that I found Clue 6b (the last one) almost endless -- and the cast off was even more so. But that's behind me and it was a most enjoyable project.

And I'm still debating sabbatical knitting projects, though I currently have a Woodland Shawl in Green 12 Schaefer Anne on the needles. I'm enjoying the knitting and hope to have it finished and blocked before I leave for the UK so that I might gift it over there. Here it is with about 1/5 of the yarn used -- right now it dry blocks out to about 11" long and 17" wide. It will be a smaller shawl but hopefully, a pretty one!


I also purchased 3 skeins of Arequipa in colour 220 to knit into a shawl during my time in the UK. I can put it on my Denise needles so should have no trouble flying with it. I also bought Heirloom Knitting and am toying with the idea of starting a shetland shawl for my knitting time on this side of the ocean. Or perhaps a MMario Design ... decisions, decisions!

And though it isn't frogged, I've come to the conclusion that the yarn I'm using for Wings of Horus is anxious to be something else ... though I've no idea what. I'll keep you posted!

Catching Up

I just noticed that I haven't posted since I finished my socks. And that's quite a while ago!
Soooooooo ..... just to catch up ....

I went on holiday and took two shawls with me to finish, which I did.

First I finished Anna Dalvi's Mystic Ice in 10/2 tencel in Silk Socks colourway:


Then I finished Mystic Star, also by Anna Dalvi. It's knit in Jaggerspun Zephyr 2/18 in pewter.


And, for good measure I started Melani Gibbons' Scherherazade, which is now finished.


Then I signed up for Moni's Taurus Birthday KAL, and also for Wings of Taurus, and just for good measure I also found Vernal Equinox, which in Ravelry has a Celebrate Spring group.

And now, Taurus is finished, and blocked:


Wings of Horus is in progress -- I'm still debating whether I am happy with the yarn/pattern combo:

This is just the end of Clue 1 -- I've knit a little more but have no phot of my progress so far. This is a fun KAL from Anja Belle aka Kalinumba. Every week she posts a riddle and the answer to the riddle takes you to the next portion of the chart. It's a weekly challenge, and I have the clues to date. I'll be sure to post it when I've finally chosen the yarn (or completed it with the yarn I'm using right now!)

But for the moment, it's Celebrate Spring or Vernal Equinox that is calling me. I'm finished to the end of Clue 3. It's knit in Malabrigo LaceWeight yarn in the colourway Geranio. I love the colour and the feel of the yarn ... and they are working nicely with the pattern.

I'm also busily planning for a three month sabbatical from work, and am busily hunting for a knitting project to accompany me. So bear with me and I'll do my best to keep you up to date.

2009 FO's

Well, I've been fairly virtuous as I started 2009. First off I finished my 2 socks on 2 circs that had been on the needles for a while.






Then I moved on and worked on my Undulating Rib Socks on 4 dpn's and now they are done as well!










And then I went back to work on Mystic Ice from Anna while waiting to start work on Mystic Star, the latest Mystery KAL from Anna Dalvi. But Mystic Star is taking precedence. Here's Clue 2 finished -- I love how it is working up -- wonder if the next time I knit it I'll do the circle ... but maybe not.











.

Finished!

Not the best photo but just had to stop by long enough to say that the Lady of the Lake jacket is finished! Washed, blocked, dry and ready to wear. My first FO in 2009! Now back to continuing projects .... the two socks on two circs got some time before I had to leave for bowling. Heels are turned, gussets are begun. 2009 just might be my year!