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!