UFO Is Out Of Sight

That's right, another UFO debunked and moved to the pile of FOs - finished objects.  Yep, friends of the cyber world, there is nothing like the smell of wet wool on a misty morning to get the happy thoughts flowing.  So delighted am I with this one that before commencing the task, I actually put away (properly) all of the clean dishes, washed the sheets and remembered that wet sheets should go in the dryer and the dryer should be turned on. 

That's a whole lot of delight and happiness. 

Pattern:  Nymphalidea by Melinda VerMeer which is available on Ravelry.

Yarns:  Baah La Jolla in black & Louisa Harding Amitola in color 119 which is more appropriately named Embrace.

She has been dubbed le Papillon.  This photo was taken whilst planning the blocking of this oddly shaped triangle that morphs into a mostly crescent shape.  Thus the planning of how to block.

And might I add, this baby is so long that it is on the floor for the blocking process because the yoga mat that I use for shawl blocking is not long enough, nor is the counter top long enough and so a part of le Papillon extends over to the freshly washed rug, which means that I had to wash and dry the rug yesterday so that it was clean for the blocking AND I am crawling around on the floor planning and pinning and inserting wires and replacing pins and smoothing and stretching wet wool and I stopped to write the blog post and rant about who in their right and sane mind crawls around on the floor with wet wool at 8:20 in the morning!

And that, gentle reader, is the truth behind my yarn obsession.

Let's Go Shopping

Last week was very productive.  And I even found time to knit!  This is my version of the Princess Kate Shawl.  The theme is the focus of a knit-a-long at one of the knitting guilds to which I belong.  Those of us who are participating will all wear our shawls at a holiday party in December.  And yes, I am patting myself on the back that I am finished months and months early.

The shawl is unique in the way it is constructed.  There are many shawls that are knit or crocheted side-to-side.  That is not the unique part.  What makes this one special is that the ruffle edging goes around the whole thing and it is worked as the shawl body is worked.  Fun short rows do the magic.

The other magical thing about this version is the texture that results from twisted stitches.  All that is needed to make the twist is to knit through the back loop (tbl).  I love the result!

I am convinced that this twist is what slowed down my knitting.  From cast on to weave in this simple shape took three months.  That's a long time for me to work on something so small. 

To be totally honest, this one got ignored a lot.  There was a crocheted tee, a shawl, two necklaces, a gift bolero, a gift scarf, two market bags, a shell, flip flops, a cardigan and three hats that interrupted the knitting.  So, I was not really slacking off. 

The thing is, I don't think this shawl is complete.  I keep looking at the center point and it looks dull.  As it happens, I was recently gifted a bit of copper metallic embroidery floss. 


And my thoughts are off and running!

Every Last Bit--The Scrappy Neckpiece

One crocheted Convergence Top named Destin-y, one necklace of beads and shell and bits should be all that three balls of yarn can give.  But not the Noro Silk Garden Sock.  After staring at the remaining  wad of yarn, it was clear that more could be accomplished.

Behold the neck piece that shall be named Scrappy.  Knitting on the fly with no pattern sometimes yields a fun result and this is no exception.

The recipe is simple.

Scraps of yarn all in the same weight.
Knitting needles 4-6 sizes larger than the ball band recommends.  Lost the band?  Go with a US 9 for sock; try a US 10.5 or 11 for DK.

Cast on 3 stitches
Row 1- K1, kf&b, k across
Repeat for 2-3 inches.  This makes a nice point.
Row 2-  K1, kf&b, k across to last 2 stitches, kf&b, k1
Repeat this for 2-3 inches.  Increasing on both edges changes the slope of the piece.
Lace Row-  Next row is lacy and adds depth.  Do not increase on this row.  Work each stitch as a twisted drop:  insert as if to knit, wrap yarn around both needles then wrap yarn around right needle and off.  Ugly loops appear at each stitch.  Hang in there.
After lace Row-  k across (no increases)
Repeat Row 2 for 2-3 inches
Repeat Lace Row and After lace Row
Row 3-  k1, kf&b 2 times, knit to last 3 stitches, kf&b two times, k
Repeat until just enough yarn remains to Bind Off  loosely or use a stretchy BO.
NOTE:  add in lace rows anytime.  These add depth.

Color My World

Holes.  What is it about knitting or crocheting a hole that thrills me so?  Well, technically one does not knit or crochet a hole.  Technically one knits or crochets stitches that leave a blank space, aka hole. 

 These holes are a major design element of Color Craving from the nimble mind of designer Stephen West.  I participated in the Mystery KAL which brought a whole new twist to the project.  While there was video support for some of the tricks involved, there was no photo released during the phased pattern release.

And it was fun!

Yarn choice was left up to each knitter.  I chose La Jolla from Baah!  If you are making your Holiday Wish List, put this yarn at the top.  Utter perfection.  As in perfect yarn.  Skeins that do not get all tangly when you wind them.  Yarn that glides through your fingertips and slides into stitches with nary a hiccup.  Colors that make your skin glow.  Can you tell that I love me some Baah!?

If you plan to knit the unusual triangle, be warned that the final blocked shawl is "of a size."  It is huge in one direction.  There is plenty of stitch work to wrap around a person in a multiple of unique ways. 

See for yourself how tall/long it is.  Easily over six feet.  Much of that is a gradually narrowing point to the triangle.  Don't go thinking that the narrow end will keep you warm.  That narrow part is best put to use as accent for the larger field of stripes, holes, and color bands.

 I love this piece of art.  I love it so much that it went on an outing to the theater before I shared it with you.  Only after I wore it, did I allow she who crochets to touch it and serve as model once again.

This is one that I will make again - - as soon as I rush out to get more Baah!

Version II

Do you remember my Daystar?  Well, there was a glitch in the pattern, so it is undergoing an edit and awaiting final input from the testers.  I will post a Beta pattern soon.  OR maybe the first to appear will be the pattern for Nightstar - aka Version II.

This one only has three sections and one row of beads.  That should make Nightstar more approachable. 

Section 1 is a stockinette panel with a starry center spine.
Section 2 is a lace pattern that is worked exactly the same on both the right and the wrong side.
Section 3 increases for a soft wave that is beaded. 

This version of the shawl ends with a "fake" i-cord edge.

What's that you say?  You don't know how to execute "fake" i-cord.  Actually, you do know how.  You just call it something else. 

J'adore le Poulet

I do love this chicken shawl.

Expect to see it - - often.

And since you are going to click to see the photo in a bigger slide show, I'll confess that at the exact moment the last two photos were snapped, ends remained unwoven.

I ended up blocking, by choice, this to be about 46"x 19".  For me, that is great.

Repeat, Repeat, Repeat

One of the most versatile items I knit/crochet for myself is the small shawl - aka shawlette.  I like a size that wads up for stuffing into a purse, shakes out to prevent wayward breeze from chilling the neck and can still cover my shoulders as the sun sets.  A scarf almost works.  But it can't cover my shoulders.  So, I make a lot of little shawls.

 This yarn from the dye pot of Cathy over at Twist.  I love the subtle shade variation. 


I knit a lot of neck warming stitches. 

Now I'm making lots of holes.  Holes are important.  Holes allow maximum wadding of the shawl for jamming in a purse - especially during travel.

Holes also get bigger during the blocking process and give length for keeping shoulders covered when needed.  I like holes. 

I need to knit a lot more holes.  And an edging.  This Twist, yarn of intrigue, is like the forever giving skein.  No matter how much has been knit, there is still a whole heap of yardage left.

PS - I'm thinking beaded edge.  Just because I like beads almost as much as I like holes.

In Between Knitting

This month is turning out to be a series of fun adventures broken up by short periods of calm.  And it appears that the only time I have for yarn work is in between the adventures during those short periods.  I even missed my favorite Monday knitting group. 

So, you are wondering why Bert is the first thing you see in this post.  Simply stated, I am finding that sitting near the beast (his jungle scream has been particularly loud and demanding lately) keeps him calm and gives me a comfy place to try to get a little knitting done.

This is Multnomah,  which can be had free here.   It is an extremely easy piece of work.  Except for one thing.  It involves the ageless feather and fan pattern which is never my favorite to work.  Mind you, I love the final result.  But something happens to my fingers as they manipulate the sticks and string to K2tog and YO in the appropriate places.

It is inevitable that on every non important row, something will go amiss which causes the important working row (that being the K2tog & YO work) to be missing a stitch or two.  Thus I am forced to check each and every stitch in the prior row to find that one little mishap that make the whole thing go awry.  Sometimes it turns out that a YO was missed way below.  Sometimes it turns out that six does not mean seven nor does it mean five.  Sometimes it is impossible to figure out what when wrong where and how to insert/delete an extra stitch so as to fool the eye into thinking that nothing is wrong.  Sometimes it is. . . .

Is my frustration showing?  Don't fret.  When this one is done, I'll be please as punch.