And Then I Made Nupps

Nupps, or those little buds you see all over Estonian lace, have been bugging me for a long time. Probably since I first picked up the Swallowtail Shawl pattern two years ago and promptly put it down again, I've let the tricky little bobbles get to me. In case you're not familiar, here's what they look like in a very nicely knit and blocked piece of lace fabric.



These aren't my nupps. They're just a sample I found on Flickr, by Sissyvette.

Since I cast on a Swallowtail Shawl a while back, the nupps in that pattern have been looming. I've devoted possibly more time to agonising over them than any other aspect of my knitting for some while.

They come late into the pattern, if you happen to have never made the shawl (thousands have before us!) and so you have plenty of time to pretend the Lily of the Valley border doesn't exist.

I thought I'd do beads instead. And then I didn't because I don't feel like learning that particular skill yet.

And then I thought I'd just ignore the nupps altogether. That whole purl 5 stitches together thing really didn't sound appealing and Shelley was coaching me in ways to make a perfectly acceptable version without them. She should know. She made one for me and I adore it. Right up until the last moment, that was the way I was going to go. I was knitting with fuzzy yarn, after all, who needs to learn something complex with fuzzy yarn?

But the moment came when I had to choose last Thursday night and so I dove in. I'd almost decided to do it, but could just as easily have gone the other way, when I posted on twitter.

to nupp or not to nupp. that is the question.
8:14 PM Nov 25th from web

Sometimes we need a friend to push us over the edge don't we?

Dr K replied to my tweet almost at once and urged me to do it. Rather convincingly, she suggested that as she herself was planning to launch into a project riddled with the things next week, she hoped I'd be her advance party, that I'd go in and test the water, let her know if there was danger ahead or not.

Well, Dr K, I know you saw these at dinner last night, but I'm just letting you know that 24 hours later, me and the nupps are going great. Just peachy. I have loads more of them. See?



I think the nupps aren't so easy to see in the midst of all the Kid Seta fuzziness, but they're there and I'm banking on them standing out really nicely once the piece is finished and stretched. I've recently seen how Kid Seta scrubs up after a long soak and a good blocking and I'm confident the hard work of all that nupping will pay off.

If you avoid them, be not afraid. Nupps are cool. I've spent the whole afternoon enjoying every single one of them. Honestly, I couldn't be more surprised at how nice it is to make them. I'm not saying I'm going to seek them out from now on. I'm not stupid! They always sounded so fussy, so painful and in truth, they're fiddly, but I'm happy to say that me and the Swallowtail Shawl are gonna be just fine.

Bells

Blogtoberfest Day 24: Myrtle Leaf Shawl with Willow Border

Today a bunch of friends joined Dr K in the glorious Southern Highlands for her birthday lunch. A little village called Burrawang, with a stone cottage for a pub. RoseRed has some lovely photos. So does Miss Fee.

While there, showering Kylie with birthday gifts and affection, we had a little fun doing a photo shoot for my finished Myrtle Leaf Shawl with Willow Border. We tried hard to emulate the photos from Victorian Lace Today because, well, why not. In a setting as green and English gardenesque as this, you sort of have to, I think.



If you know the book, these might make you smile.



So this is one of those projects that takes forever and pays off in the end by being every bit as delicate and beautiful and ultimately triumphant as you could hope a piece of knitted lace could be. I really don't think it gets better than the feeling I've got from having finished this. It's not just relief. I don't even feel in mourning for it being over. I just feel so pleased!



And getting to drape it around my shoulders and have a bit of fun playing with Dr K as photographer and George as stylist was just the icing on the cake.



Myrtle was started on the Australia Day weekend in late January and I did put her down for quite a long time while I got on with more practical knits, so really, I think she took seven months all up. It's the kind of project that I think, if I focused, could have been done in three months. I vow next time not to let a big piece of lace drag on because near the end, it does all become a bit of a burden as the desire to work on something new takes hold.

All black is not easy. I think I suffered a fair amount of eye strain as I tried to get through it. The pattern itself is not hard. It's a two sided pattern, which was my first time of doing such a thing, so with no rest rows, it's fairly intensive, but there's nothing overtly challenging once you settle in.

Knitting on the border was a bit of a challenge at first but once I was in the swing of it, it took about three weeks.

The yarn is JaggerSpun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18 and it's just stunning. I'd use it again and again. In black. In any colour. It's the nicest laceweight yarn I've used.



Sure, she's not the kind of shawl I'm going to get to wear every day, but I have plenty of everyday shawls. This one's for special moments, like next month when I get all dressed up to see Tori Amos at the Opera House. That'll be just the right night.

Bells

Blogtoberfest Day 14: QandA

Today's post is blatantly stolen borrowed from a blogger who is relatively new to me. Pea Soup. She makes lovely shawls and takes lovely photos and getting to know her through her knitting and writing has been an altogether ideal blog reading experience.

Blogtoberfest is hard work. Fun, but hard work and I think lots of us find the middle section is when the cracks begin to show. On the whole though, I'm loving the act of writing every day and was reminded of one of the benefits of this exercise recently in a conversation with Lyn of Shades of Grey. Writing daily is good, for writers. Even just a little bit. It's what author Anthony Trollope advocated and he published 49 novels in his lifetime.

He famously wrote

"A small daily task, if it be really daily, will beat the labors of a spasmodic Hercules."

How fittingly that could be applied to so many aspects of our lives! Exercise, household chores, reading....the list goes on.

So to the point of today's post. On her blog, Suse conducted a QandA session. She invited questions from readers so I will do the same. That will take care of today's post and tomorrow's. Ask away! Anything at all, knitting related or otherwise, within reason, obviously. I reserve the right to refuse to answer some questions!

I'll close with a photo of the Myrtle shawl. I'm still slogging through the border. Four weeks til I see Tori Amos at the Opera House and so four weeks, at most, til this lovely but now rather tedious shawl is done!



Bells

Blogtoberfest Day 10: Sara's Scarf

For some weeks now I've been working on a Top Secret Gift. I hinted at it a while ago when I said I'd discovered a new favourite yarn.

Today I was able to hand over, finally, the finished product to my very special friend and workmate, Sara (pronounced like Sarah, just minus the H), who turns 21 today.

Here it is. Branching Out, from Knitty.



Buying the yarn for this was a bit of a gamble. I love Malabrigo, but hadn't used their Silky Merino before. I knew the moment it arrived from Yarn and Kisses that it was amazing. The silk content, married with the light capturing colour (it's Tatami) was just glorious and I cast it on right away.



Two skeins and about four weeks later, I had a finished scarf. I finished it two days before I was due to give it to her and presented it at work yesterday. It's long! Sara is tall and it's longer than she is - she wears it looped around her neck and it still hangs down quite long!



You know, many people talk about Branching Out like it's the perfect scarf for the beginning lace knitter but I didn't find that. I tried it twice in 2006 and each time I gave up. I tried it in fine yarn and didn't get it. I'm not sure why now since it's actually pretty straight forward. In fact, so straight forward I got bored towards the end, and it was only knowing that Sara's birthday was looming that kept me going.



However, it's done now and I do believe it was most appreciated. She wrote down 'Malabrigo' to tell her mum and spent the day wearing it and stroking the kitteny softness of the beautiful Silky Merino.

Happy birthday my friend! Enjoy being 21!

xo

Bells

FO: Shetland Triangle Shawl II

In spite of the unseasonally warm weather this weekend, I took my brand spanking new Shetland Triangle Shawl out and about. There may not be many days cold enough to wear her this year, so I thought I'd better make the most of it.

First of all, she came on a little jaunt with blogless EssiMay over to Tuggeranong yesterday afternoon to Stitch n Bitch at Coffee Guru.



In that photo I'm knitting Branching Out in my new favourite yarn - Malabrigo Silky Merino. Oh my. More on that later!

She came along to the Belconnen Markets this morning where I worked on my toe up knee hi socks over a coffee while Sean took photos.



All in all, I'd say she's perfect. There's a very good reason why I've made the Shetland Triangle Shawl twice. It's a simple and effective pattern. The first one, made from vibrant red Wollmeise, is glorious because of the colour and the size (it's quite huge).

This one is slightly smaller at only ten repeats and just over one skein of Socks that Rock (lightweight). And I think the stand out feature of this one is that the colour (called Winter Solstice) is both delicate and striking. With subtle variegation it's light enough to show off the leafy lace pattern.

It's pretty much an instant gratification shawl. A bit over two weeks is all it took, and it would be less if project monogamy was something I was capable of.

Speaking of shawls, I have completed the body of my black Myrtle Leaf Shawl and I spent two hours this morning trying to fathom the instructions in Victorian Lace Today for knitting on the Willow border. TWO HOURS! Who has that much time to just throw down the toilet? I almost threw the shawl across the room in disgust. I have knitted on a border before, but not in the way the instructions say to and not in black cobweb lace.

All advice gratefully received, in this instance. I have researched blogs, Ravelry forums and have read the instructions again and again. To no avail. Has anyone who's made it or understands complex knitted on borders know how to explain it in as plain a manner as possible? Unlike the Shetland Triangle, I don't think I'll ever make Myrtle again!

Bells

Of Shawls and Babies and Jumpers

There's a really nice ending to the story about John and his jumper that needed rescuing from certain death.

We arranged to meet on Wednesday outside my building and when I showed him the repair job, he was very pleased. Delighted, in fact. Two unexpected things occured after that.

He offered me money. Not a specified amount. Rather, he asked how much he owed me but I didn't want to take any money. He'd already brought me a coffee. That was enough, really. For 15-30 mins work and about a metre of green wool I already had in my stash? I would have felt silly. If perhaps it had been an arduous task that had taken me hours, then I'd say we'd have been talking a dollar amount, but not for that.

Unexpected thing number two was that he asked what book I would recommend for someone wanting to learn to knit. I recalled at once that my own re-entry to knitting came through Stitch N Bitch but I thought I'd ask him who was wanting to learn before I recommended that.

"How about an old bloke like me? I want to learn!" he said. Still, the only book I could think of, on the spot was Stitch n Bitch. So I told him to overlook the name and check it out. He thanked me and we parted ways. Yes, I suppose I could offer to teach him but somehow it didn't seem right.

Later that night I sent him a text saying I thought that the website Knitting Help probably a better option. I hope he follows it up. What would you have recommended? I was really stumped.

* * *
Last night I tried out blocking wires for the first time. Here's a photo I snapped quickly before work of the shetland triangle drying on the mats we bought from Bunnings last weekend. Sean picked them up becuase he thought they'd be good exercise mats. I misunderstood and thought he was suggesting blocking mats. Turns out we were both right!



They're awkward and I'm not sure I got it right, particuarly as I had to use two across the top of the shawl. What will it be like when I have to block the Myrtle shawl which is now, unblocked, taller than I am? I may go back to using cotton. It's definitely quicker than using a gazillion pins, but I'm not convinced I got the level of tension I wanted. I'll see how it goes on the weekend but maybe I'll re block it.

Also, this was my favourite photo this week. Me and sweet little Alice. She and her mum come for lunch most weeks. We have sushi and a coffee and Alice flirts with people sitting nearby. She also gives the best cuddles you can imagine. I think six months must be a very cuddly age.



This week i figured out she has teeth. Sharp ones! I love that she gets to wear her handknits when she comes out on our still rather cold days.

Bells

ps I'm thinking I'll probably run A Long Lacy Summer again this year, starting in November. Stay tuned!

Viral Knits

This week, in a fit of crazed startitis, I cast on a new shawl. Not just any old shawl, but a pattern I've meant to make for a long time.

This is the Swallowtail Shawl, just one of Evelyn Clark's many wonderful lace patterns and for the longest time, I've put it off because I had this crazy idea it was hard. Well pfft. It's not. Admittedly I haven't hit the nupps yet, and I'm not sure I'll include them, but so far, piece of cake. Even in Madil Kid Seta which will no doubt be a bitch to undo if I have to.



Note the absence of lifelines. I like to live dangerously.

Sure it's a viral knit (a popular knit as opposed to a virulent strain of head lice!). Lace lovers everywhere have made it but this doesn't detract from the pattern's worth at all, in my view.

So I was thinking about viral knits - those patterns that everyone seems to be knitting. If you show up at an event where two or more knitters are gathered, you're going to see multiple versions of those oh so popular knits. Some people find that disturbing. They don't want to make what everyone makes. I get why they might feel that way. We all have our ways of distinguishing ourselves.

I personally like to avoid, as a matter of personal taste, the music that 'everyone' is listening to or the latest reality tv that 'everyone' is watching but sometimes, something that's very popular seeps through all the garbage that's out there and I end up loving it - like Buffy. But mostly I don't get on those bandwagons. Knitting is different. If there's a pattern that 'everyone' is knitting, chances are I will at least consider it.

Personally, I've made loads of the most viral knits, like the ubiquitous Clapotis. Haven't heard of it? Which rock have you been living under? Here's mine, made well past the point where everyone was making them. Better late to the party than never huh?



I've also made Monkey socks, at least three times. I think maybe four. These are the ones I made for RoseRed for Christmas.



Why have I made this pattern so many times? Because it's a damn good pattern. That's why it's viral. It's simple but not boring. It's versatile. It works with many different kinds of sock yarn and the results are fabulous. For me, it was a great transition from plain socks to patterned. I know it's been the same for lots of knitters.

Also, I made the pi blanket, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. A gazillion knitters jumped on board with this one and I made it twice.



Oh and then there were the Fetchings. Four pairs at last count. I've just realised that several of my favourite viral knits have come from Knitty. I often think I haven't made much from Knitty but I think I ought to revisit that idea. It looks like I've made more than I think.



I love all of items things I've made, no matter how much they have been knit by others. Yes, they've been knit by thousands and thousands of knitters, but those knitters didn't knit these versions. I did! They're mine and that's all that matters!

I get kind of cranky when I hear people bemoan the popular patterns, as if it means that to knit them means you haven't had an original thought since 1993. Even if you knit the pattern without modifications, by choosing a colour you like, perhaps substituting a yarn you prefer, you have made it yours. It's unique.

Even RoseRed and I have both made, at the same time, February Lady Sweaters from red Cascade 220, but we made our own versions with the buttons we chose, the length of our sleeves or the body. I'm sure we'd probably avoid wearing them to the same event, but otherwise, we celebrated our shared good taste rather than whining about each other's lack of originality. Again, it's a good pattern. That's why it's popular.

Sometimes a pattern just captures the imagination of knitters everywhere. Ysolda Teague must be loving that her simple little Ishbel shawl is so amazingly popular as well she should. There's something exciting about stuff that works and let's face it, the internet has made our knitting such a shared activity now and I'm loving all the shared creativity and happiness.

There are many, many more viral knits in my future, I'm sure of it and every single one of them will be uniquely mine, just as yours will be uniquely yours. Let's celebrate the shared creativity!

Bells

Loving the black lace again

Does anyone remember my ebony Myrtle Leaf shawl? If you do, maybe you thought I ditched it?

You'd be forgiven for thinking that since by my reckoning, I've not worked on it since the day this photo was taken, way back in April, at Knitting Camp!



To recap, it's from Victorian Lace today. The yarn is JaggerSpun Zephyr wool-silk and the pattern is Jane Sowerby's Myrtle Leaf Shawl with Willow Border.

Really, I just put it down for a few months because I was too busy knitting cardigans. I long ago decided that there was no rush on this particular piece. I don't particularly need a black lace stole but I sure as hell love knitting this stuff. So I decided it would take as long as it takes. It's not particularly hard, although the black is a bit draining to work with sometimes.

Having said that it will take as long as it takes, I'd kind of like to bump it along a bit and have it done well before the anniversary of starting it, which is late January. I'd like to have a fresh lace project of substantial proportions to work on once cardigan weather is over and I'm again in need of light, airy knitting that doesn't make me overheat.

So I reckon I could, if I focus, get this done before the end of September. No promises, but I do work well with a deadline looming and the thought of choosing something new, something not black, might just spur me on.

I'm home sick this week with a pretty nasty flu virus. The Dr told me to stay home until I'm no longer contagious so between naps, I'm sitting in the full glare of daylight and getting a bit of this lace knocked over. I'm a little over half way now I think and I know that if I focus, it moves fairly quickly.

Let's see how I go!

Bells

Small Shawls and a Baby Kimono

I've had a bit of a weird week since I last posted. A bit patchy on the knitting front, a bit crazy on the work front, and a bit odd on the 'other things' front.

Not that I intend to discuss it much, because talking about weight and food is a bit dull, but I started Weight Watchers, in an attempt to shift the damage inflicted by two years of futile fertility treatment and generally not taking much care of myself as a result. I've figured out so far that I eat good healthy food, just too much of it. Who knew?

On the knitting front, I think it's probably quite normal to hit a bit of a knitting slump after finishing something like a cardigan, especially one that was part of a race and took only 20 days to knit. I'm not sure if I exhausted myself exactly, that'd be overstating the case, but I felt at a bit of a loss once the Garter Yoke Cardigan was done.

I did start a little shawl (thank you LynS for pointing out shawlette is a nasty word!). I started right away working on the Aestlight shawl, a simply knit small shawl made in the traditional Shetland way, according to designer Gudrun Johnston.

It was pointed out to be by mad keen shawl knitter Jan of Pass the Slipped stitch Over. It was lovely. Really gorgeous, until I hit the birds eye lace section. I don't like that stitch, not one bit. I stuffed it up and moved on. I think I'll go back, because it's so cute as a project. But not now. Jan, however, has made a beautiful one. Check it out.

Instead, I started the Milkweed shawl. No doubt, if you inhabit knitting blogland, you'll have seen it already. It's everywhere right now. A bit Ishbel-esque in its popularity and I can see why. It's a very pretty little knit. Laura Chau is clever and I'm plugging away at it for now, not holding my breath because me and shawls are kind of not seeing eye to eye at the moment. But here it is.



The yarn is by Ailsa, or Knitabulous, and it's called Merlot Friday. The observant among you might have picked what the colour also looks like. Hello, knitpicks cables anyone? I am certain Ailsa never intended it but it amuses me to think of it from time to time while I knit.

I did manage to finish off a sweet little cardigan for my niece Alice, who was an all day visitor at our house yesterday while her parents attended a family wedding. I started this kimono about a month ago and just needed to add sleeves, which I spent Friday night doing. Here she is modelling it yesterday morning.



I have to say I have mixed feelings about the pattern. It's the Seamless Baby Kimono. I made one for Alice a couple of months ago and the little chubster has outgrown it. So I made another.

The problem with the last one was that it was very floppy around the neck. I read that some people added a row of single crochets around the neck to reinforce it a bit. I did that and it does help, but the front is still kinda floppy and I'm not keen on how the wrap does up.

Maybe it's me? The underneath section of the wrap doesn't connect to anything. It kind of hangs, like it needs some button or something to tie it up on the inside. It's only held together properly in that photo because I put Sean's fingers in the right place to hold it. Anyone who's made this got thoughts? I reckon I'll make a regular cardigan for Alice next, or a dress. I do enjoy knitting this little piece. It works as a concept, just not as a successful wrap, for me at any rate. I just can't get it to a wearable state I'm happy with.

Anyway, I'm sure Alice will still get wear out of this, even with its faults. It's still cold here. The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 8ply in Pink Opal and I think she looks very pretty in it.

Edited to add: First comment by Leonie shows I have utterly failed to read the pattern well. It asks you to add a button to hold it closed. Duh.

Everyone says it but it's true, baby girl knits are so much fun.

Bells

ps thanks for all the fabulous suggestions on naming the Knitting With Bells bear. I have stared at the list and stared at it and I can't decide. I will choose one - it's just so hard!

A Tale of Two Ishbel Shawls

Once upon a time, I wrote plaintively of wanting to knit Ysolda's Ishbel shawl. I felt driven to start what so many others had started before me. I pinned so much hope on her and so despite having several projects on the go, many commenters said go for it.

So I did. Ishbel looked like this.



And we sang her praises at the time. She was declared beautiful. The alpaca/silk blend seemed just right.

Things went downhill from there and I neglected to mention Ishbel again for some time. I don't like failures but I don't like to pretend forever that I never have them. We all have projects that just don't work, right? So I'm mentioning her now.

Ishbel failed. I finished the stocking stitch part and launched headlong into what I can only describe as an entirely un-intuitive (to me) lace section. I bombed. About three rows in and I was in dog's breakfast territory.

I believe that with a lot of lace, you get a feel for it right away. I've never persisted with a lace pattern that didn't feel, early on, if not easy then at the very least, enjoyable or relatively smooth. Lace is enough of a slog without labouring over every single stitch.

At the time I blamed the yarn. Not that I didn't love it. It was a long ago given gift from Julie. I'd held onto it for a long time deliberating over the choice of project. But I blamed the yarn rather than myself or the pattern because I thought perhaps the slight variegation was obscuring my view of the lace (let's not discuss the appalling lack of correct numbers at the end of every row).

So I quietly frogged Ishbel and put the alpaca/silk away for another day. Soon after, I started Ishbel again - a remarkable feat of perseverance on my part, don't you think?

You might remember. Ishbel II looks like this - made from forest green Wensleydale.



And look, really, there's absolutely nothing wrong with her. I flew through the stocking stitch part and even began fairly optimistically with the lace. It's ok. I'm managing. Or was I before Tour de France began and I lost focus on anything that isn't a race knit.

Will I continue? I don't know.

The lace doesn't speak to me. It doesn't sing. What's wrong with me? The vast majority of the knitting world adores it. Some people finish it in less than a week. And I keep shrugging my shoulders and wondering what I'm missing.

Suggestions welcome.

Bells

Nibble nibble nibble

After a rather inelegant fall down some restaurant stairs at SnB a couple of nights ago (thanks to new black heels (not high) and a shiny wooden floor), I'm a little bruised and sorry today and so have not done an awful lot in the way of movement.

This is all very convenient, because, you see, I have a rather large task ahead of me. My brother's pi blanket, which has been growing rather rapidly in the last week, is near the end.



I am quite literally nibbling away at the 576 stitches of this blanket, adding a garter stitch edge by knitting together the eighth stitch of the edge with the last row of the blanket. Doesn't make sense? No it didn't to me before I did it for the first time either.

I'll tell you one thing, in Knitter's Almanac, Elizabeth Zimmermann says, 'You will think at first this is going to be an infinite job....' and well, yes, I do think it will be. The knitting itself is straight forward but it's the huge turning and lifting of this massive blanket every time I complete an 8 stitch row that makes this arduous.

Still, my brother's birthday is a week away so I'm well on track. Sometimes, I stop and look at the blanket unblocked and think it looks like some kind of weird lunar landscape.



But this isn't bad for two weeks' work. A day trip to Sydney last week really knocked over the last part of it.

And so despite the finger-numbing pressure I've put myself under to complete this before my brother turns 30, I've still managed to cast on a couple of other smaller things to relieve the monotony of a plain blanket.

Ishbel was in fact begun, despite trying to talk myself out of it. I chose some beautiful alpaca/silk which was a gift from Julie a couple of years ago. I think it's a perfect match. So far, given it's largely stocking stitch, it's been good for bus knitting.



And for fun, I've cast on another little baby project for my niece, Alice. It's the Seamless Baby Kimono from The Complete Fabrication.



I think I've broken the spell of dark colours I was under for a while there, don't you?

Bells

It's polite to share

After the Victorian bushfires, there were all manner of great ways in which people could donate to the cause for helping victims put their shattered lives back together.

One of those ways, of particular interest to the knitters and crocheters amongst us, was to donate to the Red Cross and leave a comment over at Serendipity to say you'd done so. Contributors went into the draw for an astounding array of prizes donated from all over the place. There was much buzz.

I didn't win anything. That's ok. Really. It would have been wonderful but that wasn't really the point.

RoseRed, on the other hand, scored big time. One whole kilogram of cashmere was hers for the choosing from Colourmart in the UK. That's 2.2lbs of cashmere, for the non-metric among you.

And she could choose cones of heaven in any colour or weight combination she liked. You can imagine the discussions that flew back and forth across cyberspace. Days of examination. Hours and hours of agonising. Dreams galore.

And the absolute best part of all this? RoseRed said she was going to share her bounty with me. Is that not the most wonderful generosity?

So the agonising was mine, too. I could choose a cone of anything I liked and so I did. Behold.



This is a 150g/5.2 ounce cone of laceweight cashmere to call my very own. It was delivered by Kylie on the weekend, who took her mission most seriously.

Want to know the yardage? Sure you do.

2103 metres, or 2300 yards. Bloody hell. What's a girl to do with that much laceweight cashmere?

Well for a start, I'm just going to love it. And love it. And love it. And some day, I'll knit it into something really, really big. Just not any time soon. This thing's gonna need some seroius training first. Some preparation. Some build up.

Oh and I might have to finish this black beauty first. And have a little rest. Then, maybe I'll be ready.



For now I'm happy to dream. Dreaming is good. So are friends who share. Thanks RoseRed.

Bells

Dot Points: Or Why I Want to Knit Ishbel

I present for your entertainment (or otherwise) a random selection of dot points because I can't be bothered dealing with photos tonight.

• Today I bought the absolutely gorgeous Ishbel pattern by Ysolda Teague. You know, the adorable and apparently deliciously simple shawl (or shawlette) that so far a mere 700+ people on Ravelry have already made? I want to be one of them.

• I am heavily committed to completing a large project for my brother's birthday in less than 3 weeks. I know I'll do it and that some leave I'm having in that time will help with getting it done, but still, I have a wandering eye and Ishbel is so alluring. Evil temptress.

• RoseRed has not helped. She is urging me on to do it via email. I should have just turned off the computer.

• George did not help either. She said that I could do it provided it wasn't another very dark or black project. I had planned dark yarn. Duh. I need another darkly coloured project like a hole in the head.

• Moving right along. I heard a school principal use the word 'incursion' today in a most annoying fashion. He spoke of his students taking excursions or incursions. He said it many, many times. All I could think of was young kids undertaking military maneuvers. I wasn't even sure that's what incursion meant, i just knew I heard it most often in news reports about the Middle East. And so I cringed. Many times. I think he meant activities where the kids don't leave the school.

• If you are wondering what happened to all the blog post topic suggestions, I haven't forgotten them. Many of them require time to think about and draft, with photos. I've got some excursions planned. There will, however, be no incursions on these excursions.

• I miss camp. I miss lots of people from camp. Can we go again next weekend?

• It's so cold right now and I am happy. Today I wore a black flared skirt, heavy black stockings, black heels, a black t-shirt and a black cardigan. Over the top, wrapped around like a scarf, was my red shetland triangle shawl on its first outing as a shawl and not a shrug. I felt so good. I am going to have to knit more such shawls because they work brilliantly as accessories. Oh, I know, what about Ishbel?

• Oh that's right. I'm being good. Not casting on anything else right now. Committed knitting must be done. I am sure my brother will appreciate the sacrifice. No, you're right, who am I kidding? He won't. He'll love the item (psst: it's a pi blanket). He just won't get what a sacrifice it was for me not to cast on Ishbel tonight.

• Being responsible is sometimes so boring. This is not meant to sound like I don't love the pi blanket. I do. But I love Ishbel too.

It's time to knit and watch TV.

Bells - who still wants to knit Ishbel.

Pretty bloody happy

This is how I looked when I arrived at the Royal Canberra Show yesterday afternoon, standing in front of the cabinet where my Shetland Triangle Shawl was hanging with a nice blue ribbon attached to it.



Jejune was there ahead of RoseRed and I and she was excited to show me what she'd known for an hour or so already.



My entries were awarded not one but three first prizes in the knitting section of the show! I wrote to tell Julie last night that the piece she designed did so well. I was excited to do that for her.

Having never entered a show like this before, I really am quite surprised. I had no idea how my pieces would rate against others and so this was just a delightful little thrill.

Here's one taken in front of two of the winning pieces, my steeked jacket and my Hemlock Memory Blanket.



To add even more thrill to the afternoon, as we moved around we saw that our friends had also won. Both George and Quilting Mick scored incredibly well, winning prizes in their chosen sections of crochet, sewing or knitting. What a great body of work we'd presented, and seeing it all there on show amongst other beautiful and impressive works was fabulous.

I reckon I'll start thinking about next year's show.....in a while.

The rest of the hot, dusty afternoon was spent wandering around the show. We stumbled across a German food stall and indulged in some amazing sausages.



We checked out the animals such as these goats - in sheep's clothing. No idea what this was about!



I felt sorry for this dude. He was literally panting in the heat. Can't imagine wearing a coat like that.



Before heading home we sought out Kylie and her other half in their dog sport activities. I always wondered what the game of flyball was about, when Kylie and Trent would talk about it. Now, having sat in the sun and marvelled at just how fast dogs can run, I know.



That was a nice weekend. Really nice. Couldn't ask for more.

Bells

Great Expectations

For Christmas, Sean bought me two books I have long wanted to own. 

Victorian Lace Today

and A Gathering Of Lace.

These are both books I pick up again and again in bookshops and at friend's houses. I've gone over and over patterns on Ravlery, seeing how others have made them and I have dreamt of great and wonderful projects I want to make. 

Since opening them on Christmas morning to great surprise (I knew Victorian Lace Today was coming, but A Gathering of Lace was a surprise he thought of all by himself) I've devoured each of them, dreaming, planning, scheming.

Eventually, once all the busy stuff was over, I set about casting on. I could bore you with the process of arriving at a decision but I won't, except to say it was not easy. I was quite literally suffering from an excess of choice and each choice seemed loaded with, well, difficulty. 

I know, I know, how hard can it be? Pick a pattern, find some yarn, cast on. 

Wrong.

See, I really think I am my own worst enemy. I build things up to such an extent that the moment can't actually live up to the expectation. All through the Christmas knitting of November and December, I knew this moment was coming. I had the special yarn selected and I saw myself floating in a sea of quiet days and delicate stitches. 

So far, I have cast on and ripped out three items. Casting on itself is part of the problem. Casting on in lace, if you've not done it, isn't easy. I don't like it. To me they are flabby, clumsy pieces of work and I get upset. 

Rather amusingly, when I was googling for alternative methods last night, I came up with a post by Samurai Knitter Julie which was actually written for me, and I'd forgotten about it. Sean found that highly amusing - that I googled a technique and found a post written just for me.

Julie wrote about the long tail provisional cast on and what do you know, it works! 

Now if I could just get through a first repeat of the Curved Shawl with Diamond Edging without screwing it up, I'd be ok. 

Three hours work today and I have this.


It was going well until I hit the end of the first repeat and realised I'm seven stitches short. Also, more so than any other lace I've ever knit, it looks butt ugly. I know it'll probably look marvellous once it's blocked, by my God knitting lace is sometimes such an act of faith. You have to believe it'll be incredible because you sure as hell can't see it during the knitting.

So once again, my ability to blow what was a nice plan into The Big Moment has hindered rather than helped me. You'd think I'd learn.

Maybe I'll go knit something plain for a while.

Bells

Oh My.

My Hemlock Ring Blanket is blocking. I think I'm in love. It's turned out far better than I dared hope.

Here is how it looked when I got home from work.

And here's how it looks now, all pinned out on the lounge room floor. The lighting is bad but you get the idea. I'll do proper photos when it's dry.

Ball of cotton included for scale. It's quite large! I haven't measured it yet. But 7mm needles clearly do the trick.

Isn't the middle part pretty?

The feather and fan part is also quite lovely.


And here is how much I have left of 3 balls of Bendigo wool, at 200g each. I ran pretty close huh? At the point where I decided to cast off, I was in two minds. I thought maybe I could keep going but I just didn't want to risk it. So I quit and did the crochet cast off. Phew. I'd forgotten how hungry crochet stitches are.

I just love this blanket. One week's work. Well, really it was because I was on holidays and could devote hours a day to it, but even so, I still think it's a damn fast project. 

Thank the Knitting Goddess for BrooklynTweed. He's a clever guy. 

I like to think that this officially kicks off my Summer of Lace. Anyone else kicking off yet?

Bells

Early Mark

Today being Friday, and the end of a good but draining week, I took an early mark from work and found myself, for the first time in a long time, standing in late afternoon sunshine in my garden on a week day.

What to do? The cleaner had been earlier and Sean will do dinner later, so I was free! Here's how I spent the fading afternoon.

I went exploring first. More signs of spring have appeared during our weekday absences.

Our first anenome, just unfurling.

And here's one of the tiny grape hyacinths. They always make me think 'purple mushroom'. Maybe that's just me?

And then, when it was time to come inside, I gathered my Shetland Lace Triangle shawl, newly finished and soaking in the bathroom sink, and set about pinning it out.

A full shot over the weekend, when it's dry. I can't wait. This is love.

Great start to the weekend huh?

Bells