Month: August 2007

Uh, Oh

First off, thanks for all the nice compliments on the Forest Canopy shawl. It’s reblocking as I write this, for a couple of reasons. I blocked it in a bit of a hurry, and it was a little wonky. I also soaked it in my favorite woolwash, Kookaburra Delicate, but was in such a hurry that I forgot to rinse it. I think it might have been OK to leave it, but I wasn’t certain, so I redid it and rinsed it this time. I also got a little more stretch in the process. The final size is about 74 inches across the top, and 35 inches from neck to tip.

I got a couple more questions about the blocking mats that I use. Every time I show these I get a request for info, so I should probably put the link in my sidebar. They are the interlocking foam mats that most people use in kids playrooms. I bought mine online, from Wonder Mat, and got 16 of the 2 foot squares, along with edge pieces. This makes a huge mat, way more than I need for most blocking, but I also use them when John’s grandkids come to visit. We just cover the floor downstairs and they can romp at will. The mats do show holes eventually, but that doesn’t bother me in the least.

Now it’s on to Langsjal Jóhönnu. Here’s how you do the diacritic marks, at least on a Mac. Type option-e, let it go, then the letter you want the accent mark on. For the umlaut, type option-u, then the letter. I think the option key has the same function as the alt key on a Windows keyboard, but a Windows expert would have to weigh in on this one.

Here’s a photo, very roughly pinned out to give you some idea of what LJ will look like:

I am using lifelines on this one, as it’s pretty easy to get off track on this and screw it up. There is no easy purl-back row on this, all 10 rows of the pattern repeat are full of yo’s and decreases.

Now to the “Uh,oh”. A while back, Fleegle was kind enough to post a link to a Chinese online shop selling ridiculously cheap cashmere and cashmere-silk lace yarn. Of course I jumped. It arrived this week. First of all, the service was perfect. I got a prompt confirmation with a note that the standard shipping takes about 30 days. It actually only took about 12 days for mine. I ordered the cashmere-silk, 1600 yards worth of a lovely pink.

Note the “clothing” (wink, wink) on the customs form. This didn’t fool my husband in the least. Neither did the little checkbox that says “gift”.

And just how fine is that yarn, you might ask?

That’s the green Zephyr I used for the Forest Canopy shawl. The pink stuff is 800 yards per 50 grams, and the straight cashmere they sell, at 500 yards per 50 grams, is probably a little more like a real laceweight than sewing thread. Their regular price for both varieties is $9.99, and some of the colors are on sale for $6.99. You could get a damn big shawl for cheap with this stuff. Go buy some, so I don’t feel silly buying pink cobwebs from China. I do have an idea for what this might be someday, but I’m keeping it under my hat for now.

Forest Canopy Shawl

And finally, here are the photos of the blocked shawl. This week got away from me. We’ve had a variety of visiting friends and relatives staying with us over the past 2 and a half weeks, and I worked all last week. It was also cloudy and rainy much of last week, which doesn’t make for very good photos. Those are my excuses, and I’m sticking to them.

Here’s the shawl blocking:

Sorry if that looks a little psychedelic. Here’s the taped-to-the-deck-rail shot.

And a close-up.

Project Specs:

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl, by Susan Pierce Lawrence. You can buy the pattern here.*
Yarn: JaggerSpun Zephyr laceweight, a 50-50 wool-silk blend. I’m pretty sure the color is Bottle Green. At least I think it is. I bought this before I started my obsessive compulsive Access yarn database file, and there was no label with the yarn.
For: Me me me.
Started: Way back last fall. September, I think. Yup, here it is. I did the first version in the Mountain Colors Weavers Wool that she recommends in the pattern, and liked it so much I immediately started this one in laceweight.
Finished: Last week.
Needles: Holz & Stein 3.25mm ebony circular.
Modifications: I used laceweight yarn instead of the sportweight yarn called for in the pattern. I just did repeats until I was close to running out, and then did the edging. Otherwise I knit the pattern as written.
What I Learned: I just love knitting lace. The finished project also really impresses people, especially non-knitters. I also love Zephyr yarn. It has a great sheen, and comes in tons of lovely colors. This is a perfect pattern for lace virgins. Trust me, if you can knit and purl, you can do this one.

Here’s how much yarn I had left. The shawl weighs just a hair under 80 grams, and that little bit left weighs 1.8 grams.

Next up on the lace front? Langsjal Jóhönnu**, which has been in hibernation for over a year. I’ll show some photos next time. Right now I’m busy trying to figure out where I left off with the pattern.

*Oooh, oooh, oooh! Her lace patterns are all on sale! Go there now!

**I’m pretty fracking proud of myself for figuring out how to do the accent and umlaut on that word. It only took me 14 months.

Lookie Here…

It’s DONE!! The Forest Canopy shawl is done done done. It’s in the sink for a soak before blocking, then some real photos, but I couldn’t resist.

Here’s another one to tide you over until the blocking party is over. We keep threatening to get Riley in the canoe on the lake, and this is the summer. Here she is with my sweetie, out for a dog paddle.

I’m off to find pins.

How Big Is Tacoma?

I found this video on You Tube while trying to answer that very question. While we don’t actually live in Tacoma, but the next community south, I work and play there, and it just sort of runs together. This is a hoot, though not much of an enticement to move here.

How Big…

And the answer, per the 2000 census data, is 193,556. Lakewood, my home town, is only 58,211. Seattle’s the big city at 582,454. Now you know.

!@#$#@^%*(&!

Whomp!

That was the sound of the knitting goddess whomping me on the head for the sin of hubris. I’m knitting the Forest Canopy Shawl, which I keep referring to as an easy lace pattern. It has 8 pattern rows, half of which are straight purl back rows, and a 5th row is plain knit, so there are only really 3 rows that you have to pay attention to. Should be easy, right?

On top of that, I’m getting close to the end, and have what I think is enough yarn for a couple more repeats and then the 8 row border pattern, which is just repeated once. I’ve been trying to think out how I could safely use as much of the Zephyr lace yarn to make the shawl as large as possible, and still have enough for the border. I finally came upon the brilliant idea of using my drug-dealers scale. I finished a row 8, weighed the remaining ball of yarn, then started in on another pattern repeat. My plan is to finish another repeat, weigh it again, then I should be able to calculate roughly how many repeats I can get out of it. There will be a little fudging with this, as of course the rows get lonnnnger with each repeat, but it should be better than just guessing. I was feeling pretty proud of myself for coming up with this plan. Even a little above average, I would say.

So I’m knitting merrily along, about 3/4 across a loooonnng row 5, and discovered I’d somehow dropped a stitch or something screwy. I haven’t been using lifelines with this one, as it’s a pretty easy pattern to tell when you’ve goofed up. (More hubris.) The only hope was to tink back, stitch by stitch, across lonnnnnggg rows until I got to where I’d fracked it up. I ended up unknitting 3 rows before I found it. Somehow I’d skipped 3 yarnovers all in one little inch long section. I probably didn’t forget to do them, but somehow dropped them on the purl back row. I apparently screwed up the “easy” purl back row. I’m also more than a little embarrassed to admit that it took me that long to figure out that it was dropped yarnovers. Those actually are fairly easy to fix without tinking back, if you know where they should go. An average knitter could probably figure that out.

There are no photos of this. A blob of knitted lace done correctly doesn’t look much different in a photo from a blob of knitted lace with mistakes. Just imagine them, OK?

This is where a knitting blog turned out to be a blessing. I had the very brief, but very definitely serious thought of ripping the whole thing out into a pile of ramen yarn, then taking it to the backyard and burning it. Except I’d have to admit to all of you that I did it. Sooner or later somebody would comment “whatever happened to that pretty green lace shawl you were knitting”, and I’d have to confess. So I tinked. I tinked three very loooonnnnnnnngggg rows. And I reknit, and now I’m back to that row 5. I still don’t know how many repeats I can squeak out of this baby. I’m off to knit rows 6-7-8.

I’m Not Average

Just a quick post to show you an article in our morning paper, the Tacoma News Tribune. It’s a short biographical piece about a 91-year old woman who sounds like a real hoot. The first paragraph, however, refers to her by saying “Hull, a lively and sometimes mischievous woman, isn’t your average knitting grandma“.

Hmmph. I’m neither average nor a grandma, and neither are many of you. I’m in the process of drafting an email to the reporter to let her know that there are many of us who don’t fit her stereotype. I suppose I shouldn’t get worked up about these things, it’s probably a sign that I’m avoiding dredging out my office before all the visiting relatives get here tomorrow.

Here’s the link. The woman that she profiles in the article looks like a good role-model for women getting older.

I’m off to clear a path through the maze.

Edited:
I did send an email to the reporter. She promptly replied, with an apology for the stereotyping. It turns out she’s also a knitter, it just never occurred to her that the “knitting grandma” thing might bug some crazy menopausal woman. I invited her to our weekly knitting group, she said she’d come, and there you go. So don’t send her any hate mail!

I’m Still Alive…

OK, another 2 weeks got away from me. All of a sudden it’s August, the month of visiting friends and relatives. Our extra bedrooms are fully booked for the next 2 weeks, so if any of you want to come out and visit, take a number. And of course, now that we have people coming to visit, the weather has gotten crappy. It’s only in the 50’s this morning, though it’s supposed to get nicer later.

Here’s what I’ve been working on.

I’m close to the armhole decreases. I’m still working with a somewhat nebulous pattern. I want a v-neck, but after Lisa posted this, I’m revising how v-d it will be. I don’t want it to grow into something I need to wear a camisole with. I also want three-quarter length sleeves, but I’m not sure I have enough yarn. Of course, if this stuff grows that much, I can just do short sleeves, and wait.

I’ve also been working on those Krauterbeet socks, yarn from the Wollmeise. I have one done, and the second started.

I can’t even tell you how much I love this yarn. Wendy posted recently that the hank she had split like crazy, and was very twisty while knitting. It is very twisty, indeed. Mine doesn’t split, though, I’m not sure why the difference. I have, ahem, four more skeins of this in different colors in the stash. Well, I couldn’t just order this all the way from Germany and just order one hank, now could I?

And here’s the shawl and Riley, being Kinneared:

Sorry about the crappy quality of that photo. I just held the camera down and clicked, hoping to get some version of the shawl and the lake. Riley was a bonus. No, she wasn’t drinking the wine, I was, that might account for the photo.

Here’s what else I made last week.

Upscale BLTs, with pancetta, arugula, and mozzarella, and heirloom tomatoes. These were yummy enough that we’re doing them again today, this time with the burrata cheese that the recipe called for, and homemade bread. The recipe is in Bon Appetit from August this year. You can find it here. These are just unbelievably good, so go make some. I’ll take photos of the finished project and post them later!