A visit to the fair

Shown above in the well-protected display cabinet, three of those shawls have been seen here before. This time, they went visiting at the county fair and were quite well regarded. There was only one category for all knitted shawls, scarves, etc for adults so they were competing against each other as well as a handful of others.

The experience was fun; the people were wonderful and we made some new friends in both the fiber and 4H worlds. I managed the opportunity to watch the judging for these as well and that was interesting and educational. As for how we did......

Coming in with an "Honorable Mention" we have the Summer Sampler


The judging results......
In second place (for this show) we have the lovely Titania


Her judging results:

And last, but far from least, in first place and Reserve Champion, we have the Veil of Isis


The results:

A HUGE THANK YOU to designer of all of these beautiful designs, Bad Cat Designs and to the Bad Cat Designs Yahoo group who have supported me, cheered me on, and added so much bonus fun to the knitting of these shawls. You guys are awesome :-).

The Veil of Isis Unveiled

She's been off the needles since August 3, but the only pictures I had did not do her justice. Today we changed that at long last. It's true, the size is not quite large enough and I am currently making another......because I just don't want to rip back the hours of error-free work in the border and do it over for this one. Crazy, I know!





Project Name: The Veil of Isis #1
Yarn used: 2/28 white 50/50 cashmere/cotton
Amount used: Just under 1000 yards / 64gr
Other materials? 22 gr clear, silver lined 8/0 beads
Total weight ~ 86 gr (3oz)
Yarn source: ColourMart
Needles: 2.5mm
Finishing method:
- Washed by hand (dish soap, shampoo, multiple rinses and conditioner)
- Run through the dryer on low after washing twice for shrinkage
- Wet Blocked for final dressing
Finished dimensions: 41" square
Pattern name/source: The Veil of Isis by Bad Cat Designs
Modifications: None
Other notes, including techniques used: Should have gone for the 6th repeat for that little bit extra but she's beautiful anyway. (Even if I do say so myself!)

A little news.......

Well how time just flies right by. Update the blog? Answer email? Knit? Garden? What DO I do with my time? hehehe

No pictures today, just a very quick blurb to say I'm not only still around but yes, pictures are coming. So many things actually moving along or even FINISHED. Weekend before last I finished knitting the Heartland Lace Shawl. I haven't posted about this one - it was a quick knit in terms of knitting time but had many time-outs while I worked on other things. I did that one to both console myself and keep myself away from this year's Estes Park Wool Market where I would have had many new things just follow me right home ;-). It worked. Blocking and pictures coming soon.....

Last weekend, I finished binding off the first of my Veil of Isis shawls WAHOO! It's amazing...... blocking plus pictures of that will also be coming soon.

I am cruisin' on Peacock with the intent of finishing THAT also before my sister's wedding shower since she is having it here in Colorado in 9 days. Cross your fingers for me.

I have so many things on the needles calling me and more to come.......but approaching the finish of several others in addition to these. So far I have actually NOT cast on anything new.....yet.

Many other things going on.......so I'm still around, just running a good bit.

New beginnings.....

Well now that the immediate round of marathon knitting is finished I'm reorganizing a bit. The list of things on the needles is warring with the list of things I'm wanting quite badly to make so I'm trying to reset things a bit for priorities and also efficiency. It's much easier for me to work on some things "anywhere" and other things only where I can focus a bit hmore. One of my excuses....ah, I mean reasons.....for having multiple projects going at once. Quite valid really but even so, it helps to reset a tad here and there.

So what's still on the needles? Peacock is still moving along a bit. Unfortunately she is one of those that takes paying a bit more attention to counting on right side rows and thus does not get as much attention as others! Still, she will be quite gorgeous when finished. Peacock is another that the number of stitches grows as the project does. I've done 3/5 of the NUMBER of rows but......not 3/5 of the total actual stitches. The yarn is still super yummy. Wonderful to work with and will be just gorgeous. Note that she needed a bath and I finally was able to capture some of the shimmer effect of the yarn. I still love it. We shall see if Sally does.

Isis #1 is about 50%+ complete. I have decided 5 repeats for that one will be enough. It's a fun knit still and one that's good for taking most places. It could go even more places if it weren't white - such a dirt magnet! To give you some idea......right now it's more than 600 stitches per row. By the end of repeat five, it will be close to 750.....with the border ending a bit short of 900!


I'm still working a bit on the second one but am a little more focused on the first iteration at the moment. They'll both get done. But only #1 has to be finished before October.....in case Sally likes that better than Peacock!

My Faroese Shawl and Branching Out scarf are both also still works in progress and are moving along a bit. I'm toying with setting aside other works temporarily to wrap both of these up since they really are getting close to done. We'll see.

I have been swatching like mad for the other projects I want to begin. Some have been on my mind for a long time......some are much newer. Even so, I'm keeping options open for a few add-in's ;-). Some of these knit alongs are nice and easy that way - you can only finish your clue and wait......so if you're like me, that means more than one thing at a time, for sure! It's also part of the organizing. One project I will probably cast on for in the next couple of days is a pair of socks. There's a birthday coming up (July)......... As for others.....well, I might fit in another couple of quickie projects like this:

Isn't she cute? This is the Little Flower Doily from Bad Cat Designs. Doesn't Andrea come up with the best designs? Project specs:

Project Name: Little Flower Doily
Yarn used: 2/28 Silk - Sky Blue
Yarn source: Colourmart
Needles: 2.25mm (US 1)

Swatches and more swatches

Yep. Swatches. I know I already have plenty on my needles....but......I have a friend who needs a scarf or shawl for her daughter's wedding. This will be simple. Quick. It'll have to be, the wedding is May 25th!

Besides, this gave me a wonderful chance to play with a few of the Colourmart yarns I hadn't yet cast on with. You could say the swatches were as much for me as for her. I have several upcoming projects......yarn decisions will need to be made :-). I did five of them total, four different yarns in four different patterns but a total of five colors. They ranged in size from tiny to large......and told me fun things about the yarns. I must say.....it's perhaps a good thing I hadn't played with that merino any sooner. Yummy stuff. Perhaps she'll choose one of those..... I don't have pictures of the other two - both different cash/silk samples and one of those was a bit of a surprise - I'm going to have to do a second 2/36 sample. It bloomed even more than I had expected! The fourth pattern was just another mesh.

Two strands of 2/50 Chocolate Silk; fishnet pattern; 3.25mm needles

3/44 superfine merino, Forget-Me-Not; Stork's Nest pattern; 3.25mm needles

3/44 superfine merino, Ice Blue; Cat's Paw pattern; 3mm needles


I actually have done a bit of work on other things as well ;-). For example, Isis #1 is into her fourth pattern repeat! This would be out of either 5 or 6 repeats, I haven't decided although I am leaning in favor of 6. That would be oodles of stitches on every round (even more so than now by a goodly bit). And that last repeat would take a fair number of beads.....adding a bit to the weight. We shall see. I will probably put her on string and dry block after either repeat four or all the way through five......that will take a bit of time, it's true, but not as much as the possible alternatives for having to fix it if I made the wrong choice!

You might note in the picture that the center is considerably more dense - fluffier even - than the knitting closer to the needles. I got something on it and rather than continue to worry about stains, I washed the center. It may bloom even more when I finish it properly but none the less it does show a nice bit of the contrast with how much the "bloom effect" can make a difference!

Another one!?!?......how about two?

Well.......last weekend I was either very bad or having a really good time, depending on how you want to look at things. It continues, too. Saturday I cast on for yet ANOTHER project. But oh what a fun project...... The Veil of Isis from Bad Cat Designs has been on my upcoming project list for a few months now. I'd studied the charts......and actually at first had a little trouble wrapping my head around quite how they fit together. I had, in fact, finally concluded it was one that would come together when I had it on the needles. I think it would have......but as it happened, it clicked for me a little sooner. I had even joined the yahoo group created by the designer. I had put it off long enough in spite of the urge to try it quite some time ago. So I cast on. I must say, I normally am, at worst, mildly annoyed at the fiddly process of a circular beginning. I love knitting in the round outwards, it's just the starts can be awkward. Normally. This one was downright painful for some reason.....but only the beginning. Once I had it going, oh what a joy to knit! I am actually approaching the end of my third repeat out of 5-6 (roughly). It just flows and is very addictive to knit. I'd have thought the beads would slow me down more since I haven't used them before. They did at first but I think I'm getting the hang of them ;-).

I'm using clear, silver-lined beads and another Colourmart yarn - big shock, right? hehehe. This one is a white 2/28, 50/50 Cashmere/Cotton. It runs about 7000 yards per pound. White, in spite of the colorful, gorgeous yarns that arrived on my doorstep that same Saturday in luscious bright, pretty spring/summer colors. But white it was to be for another option for the October wedding. Well.....here's what it's looking like so far......a bit hard to see the full picture at this stage. Actually this is what it looked like 4 days ago - it's grown a nice bit since then.




But.....I kept thinking about the pictures on the designer's web site.....and looking at them and the design....and there were those colors....... Now, I could have asked Andrea my very simple question. She seems very nice indeed and I'm sure she would be happy to answer. That's even one of the reasons for the Yahoo group....to ask and answer. But......if I had done that than what excuse would I have had to cast on a SECOND Veil of Isis in a lovely mint green color of the most exquisitely soft cashmere/silk blend you could ever hope to knit with? One that, even still in spinning oil as it is, coming straight off the cone, frankly makes other yarns - even soft ones - feel rough? Well, that would just never do ;-). This one didn't even give me a hint of trouble with the circular beginning!

Isis 2 - I don't think I can call it "revisited" since I'm still working on the first one! This one has clear, rainbow coated (AB) beads:


I'm enjoying the yarn and the great pattern. I'm working on this one a good bit less......but I'm happy to have started it ;-).

A note about the yarn for #2.....it's a 3/45 - 65/35 cashmere/silk blend (about 7500 yards per pound). I love it but frankly, I'd have done a little better in terms of patience and time to have reversed these. The cash/cotton is a much firmer yarn. The cash/silk is a bit prone to splitting and not one I would knit without watching. It's so soft & fine you can hardly feel it on the needles!

Excuse me.....I need to go pet my knitting, oh, I mean knit now ;-)........