Saved from Swatching

So, the Hue Shift Afghan has only a few more rows left to knit (and alllllll of those ends) and it will be done.  I could have finished the knitting by now, but a few things have it off to the side.  We've had some unseasonably warm weather not well suited for having a big ol' blanket on my lap.  It will be back and forth with the temperatures, so the project will have its opportunities for finishing the knitting, and I have a backlog of episodes of Days of Our Lives to watch for weaving in all those ends.  It's going to freeze again this week, so who knows? 

Anyway, with the upcoming completion of this project, I've started looking for the next one.  Now, before you mention my Bridgewater, I'll thank you to know that Rock Island refuses to either require less yardage or to magic a particular skein of handspun to have sufficient yardage to knit it.  That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  

So, I kept up my search for what I was going to knit, mostly flipping through my library.  There's only so long I can just look through patterns.  I either cast on, or I set it all aside and do something else.  Eventually, the itch of the needles got me, and it was time to wind the yarn. 

Side note, with all of the bouts of warmer weather, I have done a bit of work out in the yard.  In and amongst the new green is plenty of brown, and hidden amongst that I found the poison-est of ivies--poison ivy.  I just didn't know it at the time, and it took a few days before the rash revealed itself, and suddenly I had quite a few patches of it.  Did you know that you can get calamine in a spray formulation?  I didn't but I do now, and it is mighty fine.  So, yeah, it wasn't just the needles that have been itching, but I am doing much better now and mostly healed.  

Anyway, I settled on knitting something from Hunter Hammersen's Curls, a book I've never knit from and which is already discontinued.  I decided it was a good choice for maximizing my handspun.  Then I narrowed it down to a few patterns within the book and started swatching.  I changed needle size and tried a different chart, and I still wasn't sure.  My enthusiasm was starting to wane.  

Suddenly I was saved by the arrival of a new pattern, and the new yarn I ordered in anticipation of said pattern had arrived the day before.  I think I'll just knit these for a while.  It's probably some of the best use of my time for now.   

I Never Knew Her

I didn't know whether to bother digging into the past to pinpoint when I knit it.  It was years ago for someone I had never met, with just a person in common.  Anyway, she was getting married, and it seemed like the thing to do.  Over the years I heard some of the high- and lowlights of her life, but over the last bit, the updates have only been of the latter, and this last bit has lasted longer than many had guessed, but now it is over for her.  

I don't know if she ever wore the shawl, if she liked it, if it made the cut as she packed and moved from state to state, or if it still exists in the home where she lived.  If it is still there, will it go to her mom now, will it go to her daughter, will it be thrown away, or shoved into a box that no one can ever get rid of or open?  

I don't suppose I'll ever have answers to those questions, I'm certainly not owed them, and I don't think I really want to know.    

Riddle Me This

How is it that the days are getting shorter and longer at the same time?  The tedious, boring, draining drama of everyday life that is common to most people is running full force around here.  I'll spare you the details, but I just needed that bit of venting so that I could better move on to other things.  

Anyway, I've been working on this month's goals.  My first completion was watching my Spinning Stupendous Singles class.  Now I just need to make myself put it into practice.  You know how it is when you worry about wasting precious materials on learning something new.  Anyway, I think I will start by seeing if I have any more small bumps of fiber to start.  Then I should find something so wonderful that I won't want to stop spinning, right?  Eh, I'm just tossing around ideas.  

I completed the horseshoe lace chart of Bridgewater, so that's another one completed on the goal list.  It's time to work the edging setup round, adjusting the beginning of the round and adding a few more stitch markers to mark the corners.  After that comes a provisional cast on and then eleventy-gazillion repeats of the edging chart.  For now, the big, brown blob sits and waits.  Since I am having some computer problems but still want to include a picture in this post, you get to see an old picture of it.  Truly, it does not look terribly different.  Just imagine that the blob of garter stitch also has bunched up, unblocked lace worked around it.

I've been working on embroidering a handkerchief.  This is my first time using q-snaps instead of a hoop.  It's too soon to judge, so I just keep stitching.  I already have an idea for the next handkerchief, but I need to finish this one first.  I also want to try embroidering on kitchen towels, pillowcases, and maybe an apron or two.  

That's all the progress I have to report so far, but hey, I still have about half the month left, so there you go.       

Thirty-Five

Why knit when you can look at patterns?  Yeah, I have a new book, New Lace Knitting by Rosemary (Romi) Hill.  Wendy reviewed and gave away a copy a while back.  When I entered the drawing I decided that if I did not win, I would get it.  I didn't, so I did.  While I've only given it a quick scan, I see some patterns I think I would knit and even some I would keep and wear.  I really like that there are sweater patterns written for lightweight yarns.  I am tempted to just knit a quick cowl or two, but I'm going to try to stick with what I have on the needles for now.  However, that doesn't mean I can't flip through the book and mentally go through the stash, pairing patterns and yarn.   

Thirty-Three

 (Edited to add the picture.  Helps to show the trouble if I need feedback, eh?)

Well, I did not look closely enough to determine whether there was a noticeable difference between the original yarn and the additional yarn for completing the piece.  However, it took less than one repeat of the edging chart to see what I could not see before.  You can see it, too, can't you?  Somewhere in my brain, I must have known this to be true, as I had already been thinking of alternate plans for the yarn.  While I am a little sad about this, this does free me up to pursue other projects.  Still, I'm not quite sure.  I might knit on this a little more before making a final decision.   

Twenty-Eight

Well, I think my lace plan can proceed.  I just need to figure out where I was in the pattern.  It is probably too much to hope that I took notes. 

Fourteen

Once again, I have finished a shawl, and it feels like a success.  Why do I take breaks from lace?  Vlad is a nice, easy knit.  I may have plans for my next lace already, but there is a bit of an obstacle in the way.  I will try and take care of it soon, and hope it works.  I know you're all waiting anxiously.  

I hope you're sitting down for this.  I managed to get this in the post already.  I did not procrastinate with hopes of getting better photos.  I did not agonize over writing the right note to accompany it.  You know, getting the note right is what holds up many of my packages and emails.  I try to get it just perfect and become overwhelmed.  It is a bit ridiculous, and I am not very successful in my battles against it.  Anyway, I just jotted down a quick note, packaged it up, and got it out to the post office when I went out on cat duty today.  And while I'm on a roll letting you know how impressive I am, I'll just tell you that I also got Springtime Bandit packaged up and sent on its way, too.   

So, I am hoping for doing as little as possible tomorrow.  I think we may have been rolled over by a tsunami of rude and selfish, but we are trying to give the benefit of the doubt and call it a series of clueless folks with poor communication skills.  We're just not up for translating it.  Let's just spread a big round of Bless Their Hearts all around.         

Two

Well, once I finished the last shawl, it was time to knit another.  I wanted to get back to knitting for the friend I was originally knitting for when my plans changed.  So, once again, I went to the stash.  I really wanted to knit with my Knit Picks Aloft because it felt so lovely, and the color seemed perfect.  However, I have never knit for this person before, and I am not always sure about mohair content for the uninitiated.  I finally decided on some Dream in Color Smooshy in Night Watch.  It was a special skein that had been waiting for the right time, and this plus the colors convinced me that this was the yarn for this shawl.  After that I was searching through Ravelry once again for patterns.  I narrowed it down to two, and then to one--Vlad.  

The knitting has been wonderful.  The yarn is so nice and squooshy.  The stitches are flowing, and I am making great progress.  My new early birthday present is adding to the enjoyment, too.  Brucie bought me this lovely HiyaHiya Sharp Interchangeables.  We're also enjoying a delightful change in the weather, and with a little bit of streaming some quality television/movies I should be done soon.  

One

There was a plan to knit a shawl for someone.  I went through the stash.  I considered options, and finally it was the color that called to me.  After that, I searched through patterns on Ravelry, and the pattern I settled on Echo Flowers Shawl.  It had even been in my queue for a bit.  I had not been knitting for very long before I realized that the shawl I was knitting should actually go to someone else.  One evening I was knitting along and admiring the color, when my thoughts turned to my cousin.  She is getting married next month, and one of her colors for her wedding is teal.  From that moment, I knew that this shawl was meant for her.  So, I knit on, thinking good things for her and her wedding and this new chapter in her life.  My cousin has had a different and challenging life, and I have such hopes for her.  It is her turn for some good things.  

Anyway, back to the knitting.  When it came time for the nupps, I decided to substitute beads, and I am really pleased with the decision for a couple of reasons.  First, it looks so lovely.  I used the leftover beads from my Celestarium.  Second, when I finished binding off, I guessed that I would have run short if I had worked the nupps.  I only had a little bit of yarn left, and if I had worked the nupps, I might have run short.  So, it would seem it was the right decision.  Of course, once the shawl was off the needles, I was concerned that it would be a bit small, but it blocked out beautifully, and I feel like it is a nice size.  Now I just need to get an address, and then get it in the post.  

Echo Flowers Shawl (had trouble capturing true color)

 

Bunches of Boring

Life continues as it does here.  There have been struggles and setbacks, nothing special, but that is boring.  Wait, maybe you wanted to hear The Saga of the Sleep Study:  The Quest for a New CPAP (with surprise BIPAP ending), but you'll have to wait for the eighth, and possibly final chapter next month before that story can be told.  

So, while we're waiting to not tell that tale, what do we discuss?  Hmm...well, I had a knitalone instead of a knitalong due to a communication issue.  The pattern is Springtime Bandit by Kate Gagnon Osborn, in Knit Picks Shadow, TheLastChanceForThisColorwayBeforeThisYarnGoesAway.  This little shawl will go to family of family.  Earlier this year I decided the next shawl would go to this woman, it was time for the knitalong, (or so I thought) and here we are.
  

Speaking of what was supposed to be an -along but has been an -alone, I'm learning some Japanese.  Two or three years ago, our son bought Rosetta Stone, and he did not pursue it.  Then he asked us if we would go through the program with him--learn, practice, encourage, you know the drill.  Well, Bruce (who already knows a good bit of Japanese) made it through one lesson and declared it frustrating.  Taki has not made it through any lessons.  I've bought flashcards and workbooks, and made it through the first unit.  I started the second unit, and see that I need to maybe go back and do some of the first over again, as I am not doing well with it.  My progress has stalled like many a hibernating ufo.  

Now that I mention a stalled, hibernating ufo, and since we're talking boring here, I can tell you about the sweater I'm knitting.  It's not easy to make a brown blob of stockinette with too many stitches on the needle to spread out look good, so we'll just wait a bit for pictures.  The pattern is Featherweight Wrap to Knit, and I think I will like it when I finish it.  I'm just having a little trouble returning to the knitting of it after I took a break for some reason I cannot recall.  

So, what else have I been knitting?  Well, there were the four gnomes I contributed to Project Gnome Diplomacy.  

I also became part of a knitalong with Stacey for Julia.  I'm on the home stretch of this project, but the rows are getting a bit long.  Again, we'll just wait for photos on this one, but this time it's because I'm almost done.  Sure, we are likely months away from when I can wear it, but that will not stop me from finishing and enjoying.  I hope you are finishing what you need to complete, and enjoying at least one thing today.            

Guidance from the Groundhog

Happy Groundhog Day!  Yeah, so that was yesterday, but considering how far out of everything I have been, one day late is practically early around here.  Anyway, my enjoyment of Groundhog Day is ignored tolerated legendary, and people look to The Groundhog and the stars for predictions of the future, so it seems like the time is right to show this.  

 
Yep, I completed my Celestarium, and it is wonderful.  I finished it last month, and then let it stay pinned out for a few days just to admire it.  I haven't managed to get better pictures of it, but I am mostly ok with that.  I have covered up with it, paraded around the house in it, and pulled it up over my head and snuggled up under it.  Now that it is done, I occasionally think about knitting Southern Skies or Equatorial Nights.  Maybe I will, but not today.  

So, as we look to the stars and The Groundhog, do we have any answers?  I kind of doubt it.  Do I have any predictions?  Nah.  I might have a few guesses, but certainty is not really happening here right now.  Maybe I will ease into things with a few posts sharing a bit about what I have done over the last few months.  I will probably pop in with some comments here and there.  I will knit.   

Blocked and Folded

Now the only thing left to do is deliver the finished piece.  Yep, I am done with the Lilac Leaf Shawl, and I am really pleased with it.  I could have finished it sooner, but I agonized a bit about just how many repeats of the center chart I should do, and then I procrastinated a little about the garter-stitch-kitchenering.  Since this is not for me, I was a little unsure about what finished dimensions to shoot for, and I could not remember just how much Jaggerspun Superfine Merino blooms/grows in the blocking process.  After some smoothing, measuring, draping, and guessing, I settled on one last repeat, and it was the right decision.  The finished measurements of 75" x 20" seem like a nice size.  

As I said, this is not my shawl, but something I am donating.  Recently, the newsletter for the lys put out a call for shawls, and I decided to participate.  The request comes from a local chapter of a veterans' organization collecting gowns for the Marine Corps Ball, and they are hoping to pair wraps with the gowns.  I have not decided whether or not I am going to make any more for this, but I have thought about perhaps weaving something.  I just hope what I have done is appropriate for the occasion and fits with what they are seeking.        

Lace to the Rescue

Sometimes, lace is the right answer, especially when I don't know the question.  This is certainly one of those times.  I have been needing a bit of a break from the POP! Blanket squares, and this is definitely a departure from that project.  I had tried this pattern (Lilac Leaf Shawl) before with handspun, but I was woefully under-yardage for it.  That mistake was my own; (actually, it was a series of mistakes) combine that with the fact that many knitters have needed more than the listed amount, and I did not get very far with it last time.  

This time I have more than enough, and the lace is flowing off the needles effortlessly and swiftly.  There was a moment when I applied the tape measure to check my progress and the lace refused to grow no matter how much I knit.   Then, as I approached the end of the first cake of yarn, it finally released about ten inches of growth.  I am nearly done with the project, (only about 7700 more stitches to go) as I already knit the other end and it waits patiently in the yarn closet until it is time for grafting.  

Once I finish this, I want to get something new on the loom.  I need to have some success after something that did not work as planned.  I might show you later, but it needs to sit and think about what happened before it is ready for photos.  

Before we get to that, I will show you what happened with my Tour de Fleece, but that will wait for another day, too.     

Did They Know It's Called Baby Lace?

My mom went to make bottles for the babies and came back to find them celebrating joyously.  Victory was theirs; they had found a hidden prize and their determination and efforts had finally paid off.  They were waving their quarry in the air, cheering and poking their little fingers through the lace.  It's a good thing I love them so much.  Now I just have to figure out if and how I can repair the damage.  Yes, there are nupps, yes, there are many broken ends in the yarn, and only a couple of the marked areas are pulled stitches.  

   

And Then February Almost Finished Me

A bunch of boring things happened, but, apparently, they were a bit more than I could handle.  Oh, but it is all good, because I have more to share for February Finish.  

Yep, I finished Bauble.  I could probably work on getting a good photo of it from now until next February and maybe not come up with anything much better, so here it is.  None of the photos really get the color right, so maybe squint and shake your head quickly and that might be it.  I really like it, but think that it is probably a gift.  I owe (my own weird decision and imagined obligation) a shawl and need to decide between this and a Swallowtail.  Anyway, I omitted the beads because I did not think they really added much and was not sure if the yarn would hold up well to beads.   

The yarn is Malabrigo Lace in Jewel Blue, and I still have 26g left of the second skein.  I am thinking cowl--either Kuusk or Wavy Feathers.  

  

I Win at February Finishes

Having a reputation as one of enormous ego and a legendary sense of self-importance, I know it does not come as a shock to any of you to read that I have declared myself winner and champion of February Finishes.  If I do not complete anything else, I will still be victorious.  In fact, it is possible that I hold the title for next year, so great is my accomplishment.  



My extraordinary skills and gifts do not extend to getting a good photo of the finished piece.  For all of the fanfare, I can only present a nighttime blocking shot.  I was going to go outside for the little bit when the sun was shining over the weekend, but the odor of whatever a neighbor was burning kept me inside.  

Anyway, the pattern is the Shetland Tea Shawl from A Gathering of Lace, and I love it.  It is not a difficult knit, if you have enough yarn.  That was the trouble for me.  I ran out of yarn, was able to acquire a little bit more in the same dyelot, but it was not enough, and there it sat.  Finally, I bit the bullet and ordered a few more balls of the Brown Sheep Naturespun Sport in the Ash colorway in hopes that whatever dyelot arrived would be close enough, and I think it works.  If it does not, I hope that you will support me in my delusion that you cannot really tell where the change occurs.  Anyway, it is pretty, it is big, (about six feet across) and I managed to finish it just shy of four years after the start date.  I win.          

Coming Out of Hibernation

When I cannot find the focus to figure out what to knit next, there is usually a lonely abandoned something waiting for its time.  No, not that piece on the loom that just needs a little bit of finishing but then requires delivery.  No, not the Jimmy Bean's Wool Downton Abbey Mystery KAL, because I am waiting to see what happens with the provisional start before I go on any further.  Maybe I am just stalling, but I do not think that is the case, because I started the second mitt and have knit it to the same point as the first.  Besides, I have not set that aside long enough to consider it abandoned.  

For this go around, it was Bauble, and it seemed as though no one wanted me to work on it.  Each time I settled in to work on it--comfortable, charts visible and propped up nicely, all necessary supplies within reach--something would happen.  Mostly, it was the ringing phone.  I suppose that if I am ever feeling lonesome and want someone to call me, I could try using this shawl to bring about this type of attention, but I do not think it would work that way, and besides, I am not a fan of speaking on the phone, and want to finish this before that has the possibility of happening.  

The interruptions have kept me from making as much progress as I had hoped, but I only have fourteen more rows on the main chart, and then it is time for the edging chart with beads, and I think I have figured out which I will use for that, if I ever get to that point.  This seems to be one of those knits.  

Happy Socktober!

Are they still playing Socktoberfest?  I don't know if they are, but I am pretty sure they were back when I played Personal Sock Club.  That was 2009, I did not start at the beginning of the year, and by the time I reached my July bag grab, I was done.  That month the random draw was Chalet Socks from Folk Socks and Louet Gems Merino in Navy.  Once I got beyond the enlarging of charts, I think it started fine, but then I just put it aside.  No, I do not remember the reasons why, but I would guess it is not an interesting or original story.  I picked the socks up a few times, but never really did much until this summer.  Along with the mittens, I decided that enough was enough, and it was time to finish, that is to say, effo or effoff.  

While there were times that I wanted to just shove them back in a bag and forget about them, or return the yarn to a state of stash, I continued.  Along the way, I began to enjoy the knit, and trying them on showed me that I was making progress, and that they would be wonderful socks. Knitting this pair also reminded me of many of the wonderful things about socknitting.  It was a great inspiration to sew that little bag, and now that they are done, I find myself thinking more about knitting socks more often.  I am relieved that I am thinking about making more socks, but not feeling the need to knit millions of them.  I already have too many things I feel that way about, and I do not need more.  

Of course, October is not just about the socks.  It is the time when Stacey organizes a fundraiser.  Donate early, and donate often.  I have knit a few things to add to the prize package.  The shawl is cashmere and the little knits are magnetic.

Done and Just Begun

 


I finally finished my mittens, and then the hot returned.  It really is not so bad.  Perhaps the only reason I think that is because I have these wonderful new mittens.  I do love them, and it has only been a bit over a year since I started them.  The pattern is Sea Mineral Mittens by SpillyJane.  I changed the thumb because I think they are more comfortable this way.  While the way they are done in the pattern (peasant thumb) is just so very matchy-matchy, I think I did well enough with the gusseted thumb.  Now I just have to wait until I can wear them.  

With the mittens done, it was time to dive into the stash.  I was looking for yarn for some future knits, but more about that another day.  At one point, I was going through the lace bin, and removed the handspun yarn so it could live with its own kind.  Side note:  I have a good bit of handspun at this point, and I am considering a NoMillSpunNovember.  Anyway, I found some more lace in other bins, and the next thing I knew, I had trouble getting the lid on the lace bin.  If that is not a sign to cast on for new lace, please don't tell me.  

Augh!  The Color is Totally Off!

I decided to knit Bauble from Knitty (First Fall 2012).  It is a pattern that I liked when I first saw it, but it was not a good time for me to knit it.  I think it is an ideal pattern for me right now.  I have the full bin situation, I have been knitting (almost finished) socks with twisted and traveling stitches and so does this shawl, this Malabrigo lace yarn is so pretty and soft, and it has been too long since I have had lace on the needles.  I have already made it through the foundation charts and am on to the main ones, and am quite enjoying the knit.                   

Using Up the Little Bits

There is so much that I do not know, but I am learning.  I learned that if you do an outstretched arm, self-portrait, cowl photo shoot, you will end up with a lot of pictures that prominently feature your nostrils.  Also, sometimes a side profile shot will give the illusion that you have stray cats hanging from your chin.  Anyway, recently, I was at a bit of a loss of what to knit next, so I grabbed a small skein of handspun, wound it into a ball, and checked patterns on Ravelry to see what I could do with those 93 yards.  It took a while, but then I came across a pattern for Estonian Lace Wrist Warmers from Evelyn A. Clark.  I thought about turning them into fingerless mitts, but then decided against it because it meant knitting two things, and if it did not work out, I might have 1 1/2 things, and therefore, not really anything.  So, I took the lace patterns from the wristlets and used the stitch multiples from the chart and cast on enough to make what I hoped would become a cowl.  With the dark yarn and it being lace, I wasn't sure if it was going to work out well, but it did.  The fiber was a sample of mystery fluff from Fiber Art Work (lys), and I am so glad to have been able to turn it into something useful.