Knitting Obsession

Blocking, revisited

First off, happy 4th of July to all who celebrate it....I am "celebrating" while at work, where I will be all weekend as well. The hospitals are usually somewhat empty around holidays, except for accidents, so it looks to be a quiet weekend (any nurse reading this will wince in anticipation of the giant come-down from the universe coming for using the Q word).

I was thinking over my completed Desert Sun, and feeling like I wasn't really satisfied with the blocking job I had done. I am not the most flexible person in the world, and with the cats helping as well it is challenging to crawl around on the floor pinning the shawl. So....I asked my father to build me a blocking frame (that link is a pdf), and he did! Daddy always builds me beautiful stuff, and this is no exception. It was a definite case of trial and error getting the shawl up onto the frame, and Jess and I learned a lot of good lessons for next time (somewhere, Jess is saying "THERE WON'T BE A NEXT TIME, CRAZY.).

This was the first attempt. We never took it completely off after this, instead persevering with what we had, but we realized that we were going to need a lot more string to tie it on. I also needed a few stiff drinks, but I held off. I misread the instructions which recommended three times the length OF EACH SIDE rather than three times the length of the whole piece. We also should have cut several lengths rather than one looooooong length. There were some serious knot issues. We overcame a lot of those problems and got here (and I also sprayed the shawl numerous times with a quirt bottle of water to keep it damp)...

....which is about where Jess had the brilliant idea of stringing up a bullseye to indicate the center of the frame and then she did some mathy things to figure out exactly how many inches I should stretch each point and then....

Perfection. We moved the frame to the porch door to get natural light the next day. It is amazing. Perfectly round, a perfect bullseye, and the lace loved it.

All of the stitches evened out, and then I cut it down to weave in the ends, and the lace just....stayed perfect.

There are a lot more pictures over at Flickr, in a set. One other thing I learned...string the cotton through yarn overs if at all possible. This may seem like an obvious thing, but I strung the cotton through the knit stitches on the point because I thought it would make a prettier point. It was so hard to work knotted string through the damp shawl. When we had to add thread and catch some point on the frame, we went through the yarn overs at the point instead, and it's impossible to tell the difference.

I can't wait to use the frame again (thank you Daddy!)-I'll still block on the floor with wires for stoles and scarves but this is the way to go for large round, square or triangular shawls.

Again, a happy and safe holiday for all who celebrate it!

Contemplation

Isn't knitting supposed to be relaxing?

Jojoland Harmony, HC06

I started my new lace shawl, the Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Shawl. This is my first time doing one of these mystery things, in which you get clues every week (the clues being the actual pattern, divided into easy to digest parts). This is another pi construction circular shawl (inspired by a mandala, apparently. My previous experience with mandalas? A fiction book in which the mandala makes you a crazed, homicidal monster. I hope the outcome isn't the same here.) . I like these shawls because who doesn't like circular knitting? They also are very portable, and like all lace have an amazing payoff in the blocking. HOWEVER. They are next to impossible to start-for me, at least. With Desert Sun, I tried about 10 times to get the cast on (9 stitches on size 4 needles) right, and I finally thought I had it...until I blocked the final product. What I thought was a nice round hole in the center was really a sort of trefoil:

Ick. I actually don't mind it too much, but I wanted to make sure I did it RIGHT the next time. The Desert Sun was done on laceweight merino/silk, which is about 30 wpi and I used size 4 needles. The Harmony is a different beast altogether; a wispy, cobwebby beauty that claims to be 30 wpi but really clocks in at about 36 or so for me...and I am using size 3 needles. I cast on....oh, maybe 17 times? Maybe it wasn't that bad, but it felt like it. After the 16th or so time, I gathered my shattered wits about me and tried "just one more time" with 2 DPNs, knitting with the 3rd. I had been using 5 DPNs (I am stubborn. I have no desire to try magic loop or 2 circulars, and I never have problems with the actual cast on and joining...it's the first row that gets me. Needles slipping out, twisting rows, cat attacks, distraction by Season 2 of "The Wire"...etc., etc., etc.). I was finally successful and completed Clue 1.

Man, I had to work my tail off for it. Clue 2 should come Saturday, when I will be at the Baltimore Rowing Club's Charm City Sprints, cheering on friends. I have renewed my passing acquaintance with the gym and my personal trainer (who promises to "go easy on me"...that isn't going to help this booty though! Beach trip planned for early August...scary!) and it will be great to see my old rowing comrades. Maybe the rowing bug will bite me again? I had pulled away after two injuries and a change in the social feel of the place for me. It might be time to get over some old hurts.

Also in the knitting pipeline: a scarf. Not just any scarf though...this is a scarf with a purpose, a purpose which is admittedly a joke between a good friend and me, but still...it's double knitting, and the pattern being knitted into it? If someone (some manly someone, still undefined) can recognize it for what it is, it will ring my bell. Right now, one can't really tell what it is....

...but it is very pretty. If someone (NOT JESS!) can tell me what it is, maybe they will win a prize!

Summer solstice this weekend....not looking forward to the mugginess of the inner city at its peak.

Delicious lace goodness!

Hi! I finished an object! I have an FO!

This is my first large lace project, and it was so much fun. The yarn, the pattern, everything. Some of you may know that I like my yarn colorways to speak to the pattern. In this case, I went searching for the yarn (called Campfire Songs) for the pattern (called Desert Sun).  The yarn just sang to me....so evocative of the desert and the sunrise or sunset, and all of the different colors....

This is a pi shawl, so as it got larger it started to feel like it was never going to end. And then, I started the edging. Goodness gracious....that took almost as long as the last motif.

I did have a lot of help with blocking. Chloe supervised everything. Isn't it amazing how this:

turns into this?

Specs:

Pattern: Desert Sun by Renee Leverington/Goddess Knits, available for purchase here.

Yarn: Yarn Chef  Crème Brûlée, 50%merino/50%silk laceweight. Colorway "Campfire Songs." This yarn is a dream. The dyer has an Etsy shop here. I will most definitely partake in this again.

Mods: I went down a needle size to US 4, as I am a loose knitter. I did 5 repeats of the last motif (you can do 4-8) before I got scared I would run out of yarn. As it is, I have a bit left over, but definitely not enough to have done another repeat. My gauge was 6 sts/inch rather than 5 sts/inch, and I liked that drape better. I ended up with a shawl about 52 inches in diameter.

My name is Suzanne, and I am addicted to lace.

(The following is for a swap I am doing on Ravelry. Feel free to comment at will.)

1.  What is your name? What is your quest?  What is your favorite color?

Suzanne, to win the internet, and pink or red.

> 2.  When is your birthdate (year optional)?

May 3, 1975.

> 3.  Do you have any special birthday traditions?

My parents often come to help me celebrate. For a few years we planted flowers in my flower boxes that died in a few weeks from a combination of overzealous watering for days followed by forgetting about them completely for days. We also go out to lunch and get yummy cream of crab soup. This past year, a new tradition may have started in that the MD Sheep and Wool festival is the same weekend as my birthday, and a horde of knitters descended upon me. It was awesome!

> 4.  What is your favorite birthday memory?

One of my favorites is the one right after I moved back to the East Coast from Colorado. A lot of my family was here at my new apartment and it was such a good feeling!

> 5.  Any allergies we should know about?

Pineapples.

> 6.  What crafts do you do - knit, crochet, spin, dye, bead, quilt,
> etc. etc. ?

Knit mostly. Some crochet and spinning....but right now it's all about the knitting.

> 7.  Any sorts of fibers you particularly love or hate or are dying to
> work with?

I am an equal opportunity fiber ho.

> 8.  What weight of yarn do you prefer?

Right now? Lace, lace, lace! Or maybe cobweb. Or gossamer. See a pattern?

> 9.  What are your favorite knitting accessories? (i.e.: stitch
> markers, row counters…)

I love cute and little stitch markers that match my current project.

> 10.  Do you subscribe to any crafty magazines?

IK, VK, Spin Off.

> 11.  What do collect aside from fiber-related things?

Fans (my Aunt Barbara started me on them when I was very young. They are all over my walls).

> 12.  Favorite candy, chocolate (dark, white, or milk), tea, coffee,
> other treats?

I am an equal opportunity food and drink ho.

> 13.  Do you enjoy handmade soap and body products?

Yes, indeed!

> 14.  Are there any scents you love or hate?

I don't like very strong florals or heavy musks. I like clean, natural scents right now.

> 15.  What is your favorite: flavor, flower, letter, number, film, artist?

Chocolate, carnation, no idea, 17, three way tie between "A Princess Bride", "Top Gun", and "Dirty Dancing", and I love impressionism.

> 16.  Anything we should *not* get for you?

A large crate of pineapples.

> 17.  Do you have a blog and or wishlist that are not linked on Ravery
> or listed in the GoogleDoc?

nope!

> 18.  Anything special you would like your partner to know?

Have fun!

Tootsie says

*cough hack gag* ackkk (doesn't she kind of look like Bill the Cat there?)

Even my brother wants to know why I haven't blogged

....and he has a kid and everything. I have no such excuse, other than the R word, which continues to suck my time continually but in A Good Way, and really I don't have any other excuses. I can't even say that I have kept up with other blogs because...I haven't...so I expect my subscriber list is rather skimpy right now. I'm flying out to California to see my nephew (and my brother and sister-in-law) soon and I think I will archive all of the blogs I am behind on so I can read them on the plane. I have many big plans.

So, knitting! I did finish all of my Christmas knitting, which was amazing. My sister-in-law loves bright colors, so I made her Haruha in a bright J.Knits sock yarn in colorway Kansas:

This is blocking. It is pretty wild, but I am very happy with it. It pooled in an interesting way, almost stripy. The knit itself was fast and fun.

For Mom, I finally, finally made her something out of the brown-gold mohair that she has been coveting. This is a simple wrap, which I think needs a little more length, but for now is working out well. The yarn is Misty Mountain Farm Brushed Mohair, in an unknown colorway, which has been marinating since MD S&W 2006.

I'm certainly glad I managed to take a great picture of the one BIG mistake, which is the double row of garter stitch from when I put the wrap down in a fit of "can't take anymore" and picked it back up weeks later.

Since Christmas, I've been casting on innumerable projects and have developed severe second sock syndrome. I think I have 8 single socks hanging about. I also have a bit of a lace fetish going, which is keeping me hopping until my sock mojo comes back. The Ravelry Helpers are doing a KAL, for Tiger Eyes (that is a .pdf!), and here is mine (well, now it has about 5 more repeats. But I don't have a more current picture):

This is Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Sierra. It is tasty. I love the slight halo the mohair gives it. The pattern is a lot of fun, but I am always a little thrown off by the row in which you create the eyes, since you end up knitting and purling into the same giant yo four times, and it's kind of tricksy (for me). But fun nonetheless and currently marinating.  PS-I love my new camera. I "lost" ("lost"= intoxicated at New Years Eve ball and left it on the table when finding cab-hi Mom!) my other one. I lurve this one. It has image stabilizer. Good for the trembling hands.

I did also start the Kitri Mantilla, which is a kit I picked up in Rhinebeck last year. I got it with the Kitri sock pattern, but the mantilla has been calling me. This is truly my first large and real lace project, real in the sense that this is the smallest yarn I have ever worked with (unless I count crocheting doilies on size 20 yarn, which isn't that small really). It was agonizing the first two rows, and now I am getting a bit of a rhythm. I think I am going to wear this undraped, that is without the gathered area at the bottom, because really. I don't need to accentuate my booty that much. My booty is a little smaller since dropping 30 pounds, but let's face it. It's still there. The mantilla will still be gorgeous and as I am a fan collector, this really makes sense to me. Here's a pathetic cell phone blurry shot, with Bob as accent.

Let's see....I'm sure I have something else new on needles....oh! I started my first double knitting project. This was a wee challenging to me at first, but now it is humming right along.

I kind of love it. I love the bright colors. This is Uncle Argyle's Scarf from "Son of Stitch and Bitch" and the designer is Lindsey Hendricks, who I KNOW in REAL LIFE and who autographed my book. Sweet! Notice how I was able to cover up my mistakes with rotten duplicate stitching. Well, hopefully you can't notice it. Because otherwise what would be the point?

Tootsie is not impressed.

Hope to see you soon!