Here it is again, in all its resized glory:
And a closeup of the center cable section:
It’s actually prettier than that last picture would indicate. This color is hard to photograph well. Either it’s so dark that you can’t tell it’s a cabled sweater, or it’s washed out from the flash.
I think the size/gauge is going to be correct this time out. And the number of stitches on the needles is correct this version, unlike the first time, before I found out that the pattern was incorrect. I’m sure that there will be some other glitch that I will discover, but only after I’ve knit another eight inches or so.
I got quite a bit done on this the past week, due to a trip to Phoenix to visit my sisters. I have two sisters, one lives there, the other one still lives in North Dakota. We all met in Phoenix for a week of sister activities. The long-standing joke is that if any two of the three of us gets together, the third one has to show up too, or the other two will talk about her. Because of this, we actually see each other rather often. I worked a bit on the two pairs of socks I have in progress, but mostly on the sweater. And I didn’t do any yarn shopping while I was there. There are a couple of yarn shops in the Phoenix area, but my sisters have a low tolerance for hanging out in yarn stores, and I really don’t need any more yarn anyway.
Ack. I can’t believe I just said that. I did buy some yarn online before I left, and it was delivered while I was gone. Here’s a picture, but it just does not do it justice.
It’s laceweight silk, from Hip Knits. I purchased it from a UK shop called Yarnsmith, which quite possibly has the best online service I’ve ever experienced. Good communication, fast shipping, lovely yarn, and a handwritten note in the package; what more could you ask?
And what might I be planning for that lovely pile of ivory silk, you might ask?
This:
This is the Frost Flowers & Leaves Shawl, from A Gathering of Lace. I have a few things to finish up before I start on this one, but I’ve been dying to make this ever since I saw it. When I saw the silk yarn, I knew that it was just what this one needed. I hope it swatches up ok, as I’m not sure exactly what else I’d do with 3600 meters of silk laceweight yarn.
When my sisters and I get together, usually there is a lot of fun and shopping involved. Often it involves wine and bourbon. (OK, it almost always involves wine and bourbon, but we’re getting more responsible as we get older.) One year we each got a second ear piercing done while we were together. This time it was a tattoo*.
Really. Well, only two of us got tattoos, my third sister decided that it just wasn’t “her”. Here’s mine, first, just getting started:
And finished:
Note that I’m smiling in that first picture. It wasn’t nearly as uncomfortable as I had thought it might be. I have wanted to do this for a long time, and decided to put the first (!) one where it can be easily covered up, in case I didn’t like it. I love it! The next (!) one might have to be knitting related!
*And no, there were no alcoholic beverages involved in this escapade. Tattoo places insist that you be sober and not under the influence of anything when you sign up for body modification.
Oh, it’s great! I love it.
You are one hot momma, lady. That tattoo is pretty awesome!
And they’re addicting, huh? I want a couple more, but I’m running out of places to “hide” them.
The sweater looks beautiful (and yes, that shade of purple is particularly difficult to photograph). The lace yarn is scrumptious–I love that frosty shawl, too, and it’s on my “list”. And the tattoo? Ouch! (But cute.)
Your post made me miss my Phoenix area yarn haunts. Having moved to a lys-less area, it breaks my heart to think of Fiber Factory.
Cute tattoo!!
Cute tattoo! I have been trying to come up with a knitting related tattoo for months. Let us know if you have any success.
A new tattoo, YAY! It’s very cute Lorette. I just love tattoos. 🙂
The shawl that you’re planning for later is really beautiful. I think the ivory silk is going to be great in the pattern.
the eggplant sweater is beautiful! i also can’t wait to see how that silk knits up, i think it will be one knock out of a shawl. the tatoo is lovely!
I got my first tattoo in exactly that same place. What fun yours is!
I thought your asterisk was going to be that it was a fake. Glad it’s real! The shoulder is a good place to start because it’s less painful, but I’m guessing you know that thanks to poking people in a professional setting regularly. 🙂
I want some of that yarn… I have that book but haven’t done any projects from it yet.
woot! Tattoos! They’re addictive… I have one and I’m making myself wait for my next one because it will be visible and obvious and I’m not sure I want something like that in the conservative place I live in now. It will be hard to get jobs in the future.
The sweater looks great. I love the silk, and the tattoo is so cute. I’ve been thinking about getting one, but not sure of what just yet.
Ok, so maybe we’re not twins separated at birth – I don’t think I would get a tattoo. It’s probably an age-related thing. I’m a product of the 50’s. But that silk yarn – man! It’s to die for. I’ve drooled over the Frost and Flowers leaves for as long as I can remember. Don’t know why I’ve never done it. Be sure to check out the errata for the book – I’ve heard there are a lot!
Nice tattoo there! Not all places require sobriety…I have a friend who got very drunk and then got a not so attractive butterfly tattoo on her, erm, bosom. The moral? Get tattooed sober, like the lovely Lorette 🙂
I love the cable on your eggplant sweater. Nice tatoo!
Great tattoo!! I am thinking of getting another after baby ;D
Great tat! Welcome to the ranks with the rest of us. They are very addictive. You will be finding pictures that you like very soon. I can just get a whiff of that certain smell that reminds me of getting one and I want another. The small of your back is a good place to get one. That was my least painful one. Although you know what they say, no pain no gain. And since they only hurt while you are getting them, it’s worth it. Also on the drinking thing, it tends to thin your blood and make you bleed more. That’s what the artists at tatoo parlors usually tell you.
Beautiful silk and great progress again on the eggplant sweater.
🙂
…it’s kind of funny..this blogging stuff! See, I had this thought of some cool but serious, calm, Dr-like person!!?? and what do I see? A TATTOO????? Very cute! gee, I instantly thought of knitting with this FIRST one…ya’ know…frogging a project.
From bluegrass to sitting in Spain to writing a million words (or whatever it is)to pulling out your knitting to a cute little (beautifully colored) frog….this is why I just keep coming back to your blog! WAY TO GO :+) …how did honey like it ;}
Holy cow, a tattoo! My only tattoos have been the lick ‘n stick variety. You are much braver than I am. The little frog is very cute and quite cool!
That tat: Phat.
Still love your blog (avec frog).
You are such a cool chick Lorette! Actually I was fortified with 2 Vitamin “P’s” (oxycodone to those in the know! – “luckily” I was having some dental work done at the time!)for my tat because I was sooooo scared, unfounded as that fear turns out!
I love that sweater so much, it’s shaping up to be a real stunner! And that silk, ooooh la la…it will make a glorious frost flowers!
I love the tat, too!! 🙂
Darn you, you knitting enabler you. Some of that silk is gonna be headin’ my way as soon as I get my next paycheck.
And I’d get a tattoo in a heartbeat if I could find a design that I didn’t think I’d get tired of in 6 years.
Dude, that is radical. Cute frog.
How fun! I love it! At one point in my previous job, when I felt like my previous working environment was killing my creative spirit and nerviness, I got my belly pierced, (immediately before going to a Madonna concert). It was my little secret at work and made me smirk when I was surrounded by dull cookie-cutter colleagues.
The eggplant sweater is stunning. As is the silk yarn. You selected the lace pattern I have longed to knit for a long time! It will be outstandingly elegant.
As for the tattoo, you go, girl! But, I thought it would be of yarn and knitting needles….
ooh, very lovely tattoo. I want one now.
Hi!! I found this while looking for knitting tattoos. . . . . A Dr. w/ a tatoo — tres cool!! My Dr. complains about mine every year. he he he.