Happy 4th of July!

Pattern: Swallowtail Lace Shawl - Evelyn Clark
Yarn: Knit Picks Shadow - Hot Rod


Time for sticks and string.....at last!

Still Into Lace

Hours Remaining........ 25hrs 00mins

It's all go. I haven't wanted to pick up my needles for the past 24hrs. I must be ill. I need to pick up my needles if only for the meditative therapy, but I just can't face it right now. Maybe I need to start a garter stitch scarf or something? An eco wool blanket like The Yarn Harlot's making might do the trick I suppose, although a garter stitch blanket does seem rather a large project to undertake when I'm (hopefully) just in a rut.

Maybe it's too much lace, after all I have just knitted my Lace Ribbed Top (photos to come when I stand still long enough to get someone to take some.) It's turned out great I can tell, because DD2 has already suggested that if it doesn't fit me she'll have it! Honestly, if she can't get her hands on my yarn before it's made, she'll try to afterwards. I'm thinking of having a T-shirt printed with "Hands Off My Hanks!" emblazoned on it.

Anyway, we do have growth in the bathroom curtain department. I am seriously wishing that I'd cast on about half as many stitches when I began, as the window is not very wide and I could have got away with a lot less. I've been tempted to frog, but then I think of my night with Daniel Craig and the will to continue returns. There are just too many memories wrapped up in this now. I also have the most enormous ball of yarn to use so I need to really make a dent in it if only to reduce the need for future storage.

DD2 and I are also planning our first summer Knit-A-Long (KAL). We are hoping to tackle Evelyn Clark's Swallowtail Lace Shawl. Feel free to join us if you want to, but I warn you we're slow! In preparation we have raided our stash and come up with some Knit Picks Shadow which we have wound ready to go. I will be using a deep red colour called "Hot Rod" and SusieLusie (DD2) is going for the "Spring Green". Let's hope we'll both still be into lace when (if) we finish.

Hours remaining........24hrs 30 mins

The Mist Lace Scarf And The Cat

Well, here it is, my lace scarf. I just have to sew in the ends and take some decent photos of it.

It blocked up really well thanks to the Knit Picks wires and pins and as for the blocking mats, well, they are marvellous. It takes a while to get rid of that nasty chemical smell that you get with new foam, but if you can get past that, then the tiles themselves are great. I particularly love the fact that I can put them together according to the shape of my piece. In this case I made my blocking board 2 tiles deep and 5 long. I bought two boxes of them rather than one, just to be sure that I could easily block larger projects (each set contains nine 12" mats.) They slotted together beautifully and the pins slipped effortlessly into the foam.

The blocking took place in my bedroom. Having spent so much time on this scarf, I just had to find a place where the yarn could do its thing without the risk of a cat or child accidently destroying it.

My cat, Oliver, has often been tempted. Unattended yarn is like a red rag to a bull with him. I once caught him sneaking up on a pair of Two-At-A-Time socks. When I sprinted across the room yelling at him to "Get Off!" he panicked (wouldn't you?) and took off, catching the yarn around his neck and dragging my "work-in-progress" with him. Cat and knitter could be seen tearing around the house yarn and swear words flying. I finally cornered him in the front room. He looked innocently up at me with a heel flap dangling from his ear. As he resembles the ginger cat in "Shrek," you can picture the look he gave me. "Hard luck, cat," I thought, "if you had the voice of Antonio Banderas, I might fall for your charm, but not this time. I'm not so easily taken in."

Somehow I managed to retrieve my socks from my manic moggy. Actually, I think he was just as relieved as I was. Getting caught up in a mass of fiber and needles was proving to be less fun than he'd anticipated, I think. He looked at me as if I'd saved him from a terrible fate and then slinked off to lay in the sun for a while. Miraculously not a stitch was loss.

Since then I've had to be far more vigilant when Oliver is anywhere near my knitting (yes, he's named after that cuddly little kitten from the Disney animated movie, but he's about as far from that image now as a cat could possibly get.) Even leaping up to answer the phone can mean that when I return I get halfway through the next row to find the yarn has been gently gnawed through in my absense. Obviously blocking lace requires a room with a closed door and if necessary a full blown barricade.

When I took pictures of my work he 'pretended' to protect it.

When I started to block he positioned himself at the top of the stairs in a nonchalent fashion.......................but watched everything!

Somehow the scarf survived and therefore so did he, but the battle lines have been drawn.

It's Curtains For Me!

Yesterday I finished the Mist Lace Scarf. I feel sad and excited at the same time - sad that it's over because I really got into the pattern; excited because now I get to use the new KnitPicks blocking mat and lace wires that I got for my birthday.

Ofcourse I cast on for something else immediately. The thought of being without a lace project was just too much for me right now, so I sorted through the stash and came across this enormous ball of crocheters cotton which I bought last summer. I had planned to make a net curtain for my downstairs bathroom - you know, one of those floaty, lacy things that hangs there looking prettier than a frosted glass window pane. In the absense of frosted glass windows in rooms that contain toilets here in our corner of the US (maybe it's just a British thing?), a net curtain is something of a necessity when your bathroom is on the ground floor and your neighbourhood is full of little boys! (Need I say more.)

So, I have cast on for KnitPicks Lace Curtain. The cotton is very fine and a bit slippery on my Addi Turbo needles, but as long as I can manage to make some version of light lace fabric without stressing out my arms and hands in the process, then all will be well. After three rows though, I am already missing using a chart. I've discovered that although having the written pattern to follow is just fine, I really rather like the simplicity of a chart. Now, I know that not all lace charts are simple. Some of those huge projects, like the shawl that Rudee is making at the moment, require planning of military proportions to execute, but compared with the written version, they are a whole lot easier to follow once you get going.

My window is a lot smaller than the one in the pattern, but I'm hoping that the finer cotton will produce a narrower result and it'll fit beautifully. Now all I have to do is maintain the patience to see this project through to the end and that, as they say over here, "is a whole different ball game!"

When The Going Gets Tough........

...................the tough cast on lace. I know, only a mad woman would consider casting on for a lace project when all around her seems to be falling apart, but........what can I say? When I need comfort, I run to my knitting and hiding in a project which challenges me with YO's, SSK's and K2tog's has been just the therapy I need. I was even brave enough to take it to my knitting group yesterday. Obviously, I wasn't full of conversation, after all I had a lace chart on my lap, but listening to everyone else's jolly banter perked me up no end.

I've been wanting to tackle some lace for a while and so I have CO with some KnitPicks Palette from my stash. The colour is totally 'me' ofcourse and it seems to be knitting up a treat. I'm enjoying hiding in my 'Mist' Lace Scarf project and avoiding the knot in my stomach created by the fact that my husband is about to lose the job that we moved halfway round the world to take up just over 4yrs ago.

Perhaps lace is the perfect project for a situation like this. Maybe gauge is not such an issue as it is with stockinette or garter stitch? Controlling the tension of your needles as you run the full gamut of emotions that possible unemployment throws at you (with loss of medical insurance and everything that that entails) is perhaps easier with lacework? Who knows? All I know is, it's working for me! Every time I feel that lump leaping up to grab my throat, or that anger threatening to harden my heart, I reach for my lace scarf and knit.

Right now, I'm very glad I'm a knitter.

Christmas Knits

Well, life is slowly returning to normal after all the excitement with Halloween, the election and hubby coming home after a long trip. Now I might find some time for knitting again!

I have managed to complete the cutest little strawberry hat for my niece. It really is adorable. The King Cole Superwash Merino turned out to be perfect for this project. One 50g ball of each colour was perfect for the one year old size (45cm head circumference) and its anti-tickle blend should mean that its not itchy for her. Making it brought back memories of my son at the same age. I blessed him with a blueberry one and he looked adorable. Don't tell him I said so though!

I've also managed to cast on for the deep navy hat for DH. It's a very simple knit taken from a Gjestal pattern so it'll be my 'out-and-about' project. It fits perfectly inside my handbag, so I'll be able to whip it out in doctors waiting rooms and at sports events should the mood take me. I'll only need to concentrate when I come to shaping the crown and that won't be for some time yet, so I should be fine. I'm using KnitPicks Telemark to make it with, which feels as if it will knit into quite a robust fabric.

As for the Central Park Hoodie? Well, I'm about to cast on for the right front, so hopefully I'll be able make some good headway on it this weekend. Mind you with the amount of sporting and church events on the calendar, DH's hat could actually see more action!

Catching Up

It's Halloween, a great occasion for dressing up here in the US. DD2 has to play in her school band tonight at a High School football game. They are all dressing up in Halloween costumes for the event. She had planned to dress as black panther and started knitting K. Schmidts Official Kitty62 Hat last weekend. By Sunday night she'd completed the main part of the hat, only to discover that it was too small. She stretched it over a plate for a few hours which, thankfully, made it wearable. By Wednesday though, panic was setting in. She'd never made earflaps before or picked up stitches, so it was Mum to the rescue. I took over the project and started making the earflaps, I-cord ties and the ears.




It's now countdown time and I have one ear to go. I've already told her that we'll have to forego the pom-poms. There's just not enough time for that. Will I make it? I have 5hrs before she needs to wear it!

Meanwhile, I've almost finished the left front of the Central Park Hoodie. I'm still loving making this piece. Cables are my thing. I just love the artistry of them.

Next time I will knit this jacket in the round though. It's a little frustrating going through the same process up to the armholes three separate times (and I hate sewing up seams), but it's a good exercise in sweater construction, I suppose.

My yarn arrived for hubby's Christmas hat too. Now I'm really committed to making him one. I've picked out the pattern and am sure he'll love wearing it when he's out in the garage or roaming the garden. It's KnitPicks Telemark in a deep navy.

WIPs And Gifts

Well I finished the Odessa Hat and it looks lovely. The blue beads add a subtle elegant touch to the piece which will suit its recipient perfectly. I also came across the tube of pearl beads that I was sure I'd bought in the summer, but couldn't find when I went to start this project. (That's how I ended up using the blue ones.) I found them in a pocket in my handbag! Looks like I've been walking around with them in there for months!!

I now seem to have several works in progress (WIPs). Despite a totally manic weekend when my time was certainly not my own, I did manage to get myself organised enough beforehand, so that I had a small project with me wherever I happened to be. The project in question is Nicky Epstein's Chameleon again. This is my second version and on Thursday I took a moment to wind a skein of Cascade 220 (whose shade is aptly named Puget Sound) into a suitable ball for the project. I do not have a swift, so resorted to my Nan's tried and tested trick with a couple of chair backs. My greatest challenge was completing this exercise before the cat decided to investigate! Thankfully, I just got finished before my large ginger and white bundle of fluff strolled languidly into the kitchen to check out what I was doing.

I repeated the same procedure with the lilac Cascade 220 that I am using to knit the Central Park Hoodie. I cast on on Saturday evening and am so excited to see this pattern taking shape.

I managed to score a whole bag of this yarn at a closing sale at the beginning of the summer and it's knitting up beautifully.

My other WIP is the Strawberry hat that I'm making for my niece. As I've hit the construction of the top, it's not such a portable project anymore (I actually have to concentrate a bit now!) so I'll be working on it at home over the next few days. It will be another of my Christmas projects completed, so I'm feeling quite pleased with myself now.

I'm now awaiting the arrival of a KnitPicks order which will contain some beautiful yarn for my final Christmas project - a lovely hat for the man in my life. After 20yrs, it's about time I knitted him something!

Excitement

I am hugely excited for a number of reasons. The Odessa hat is coming along wonderfully and I'm really pleased with the way the metallic beads look on it. I've just started the decreasing and as I'm using Peer Gynt as opposed to Rowan Cashsoft DK, I just had to join in the second ball of yarn. This necessitated re-threading the remainder of the beads on to the new ball before they all started spilling off the end of the first one. Good job I was awake enough to realise how far I'd come. You know how it is when you get into that pattern funk and everything's sailing along nicely. It would have been so easy to overlook the question of yarn supply and suddenly end up with a lap full of beads!
I was sitting outside at the time enjoying a few hours of sun yesterday morning. In fact I was hiding out in front of the shed by the vegetable patch, escaping from the family and enjoying some long awaited sun and a bit of peace and quiet. I was also pleased with myself for weaving in the ends of the two balls of yarn once I'd joined them. As I started the decreasing, I managed to weave those ends in along the back at the same time so I won't have to get out the needle and thread when the whole project is finished.

I'm also excited because my order from Knitpicks arrived on Saturday. This is the first time I've ordered yarn from them, in fact this whole thing is quite a journey for me as I'm getting to know a lot of new yarns. It would seem that different places have different yarns, so every time I move to a new country, I have a new lot of yarn to get to know. Things are changing though, thanks to the internet. With online purchasing, the market is becoming more global, which is wonderfully exciting as yarns become available to a wider audience.

To top off my weekend, I met up with fellow knitters on Saturday to mark World Wide Knit in Public day. The weather was kind to us and we had a great time chatting and knitting. On the strength of a tip, I then headed off to try to find a LYS that was closing and had a 45% sale on. Picked up some di.Ve and some Heirloom and some more beads. I could have stayed there all day.