Where'd she go?

Well between work - being on call sure does eat up time! - and marathon knitting in between the usual life stuff......I kind of disappeared for a bit. Pretty much had to go quiet on everything else from online groups to taking non-emergency calls, even from family. This was for the quick project for a friend at work (her daughter's wedding....nothing to wear....) that I referenced in my last post about samples (swatches). She decided on the fishnet pattern and merino in forget-me-not blue. Pretty. Basic. And took all my spare time for the last couple weeks :-). "Spare" is relative.... I'm not a particularly slow knitter - perhaps even fairly quick but my spare time might be a little different from yours ;-).

The "pattern", such as it is, is below the picture......


Instructions & the "particulars" of the project:
Materials I used:
~36 grams (576 yds) of 3/44 Superfine Merino laceweight from Colourmart
3.25mm needles - straight or circular. I used 24" circular because it was convenient
Dressing (Blocking) supplies
Dressed Gauge ~ 22 stitches to 4"
Dressed size for mine: 17" x 60"

Knit on 89 stitches (multiple of 2+1; also added 4 per side for garter = 80+1+4+4=89). Mark 4 on each side with the first row - they will stay garter stitch.
Garter stitch 6 rows.
Begin pattern -
Rows 1 and 3 (WS): K4, P to the last 4 sts, K4
R0w 2: K5, *K2tog, yo; rep from * to last four stitches, k4
Row 4: K4, *K2tog, yo; rep from * to last five stitches, k5

I did 106 repeats of the 4 row pattern. I also chose to slip the first stitch of every row purlwise with yarn in front.

Knit another 6 rows garter stitch.
BO: with WS facing, slip 1, *k1, knit these two stitches together. Repeat until only 1 left and do your usual yarn break & weave in

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!

Bits & pieces.....odds and ends?

In spite of casting on for not one, but TWO new shawls and making substantial progress on at least one of those.....I've actually done a good bit more in the last week. Just a few of those things......

I managed to do some more housecleaning and clearing out to storage this past weekend. Plus more moved out of the old storage and into the new. The storage consolidation project progresses.....and the weather might finally be starting to cooperate again to move things along more briskly. Not to mention that as things progress my motivation to have it done increases. That and I'm super antsy to get my loom moved into the back room so I can finally do some weaving again. I have a couple of weaving projects that are just begging to be made ;-).


I added a few more rows - several actually - to Peacock. She's getting to be quite respectably sized! This picture is actually from today! - I'm about done with the second type of feathers and moving on towards the third. I did put her on a 47" needle yesterday morning. Good for the pic but I'm switching back to 24" circs - that extra cable is just annoying however much it might make it easier to see a bigger view for pictures!

My Branching Out scarf gained some new repeats - enough to add another 5% to the completion status. Ok, I guess I should say I added them since they did not mysteriously appear. No pixie dust for the knitting.

Faroese grew a little......about what I'd call 1 %. This one and Branching Out are a bit of a shock - size 10 and 8 needles respectively. I say shock because it's a bit of a jump between 2.5 or 3mm on up to 5mm+!

.....and of course Isis #1 grew quite a lot and #2 grew a little, hehehe.

Then there's that Mystery Lace KAL. Hmmmmm, what do I say about that one? The sheer volume of mail & time for that is just silly considering the topics. Things turned into quite a mess. Honestly, I think it started with over sensitivity, stress, etc and reacting badly to things that likely were not meant as they were taken. Miscommunication at it's best - er, worst? The designer was also trying to do too much - answering every question over and over again instead of referring people to prior posts or letting experienced folks help. Just a big mess and many folks, especially the designer got pretty worked up about some things. So.......she's closing the group and opening a new one for those who want to pay $10 to participate. Well.......she seems like a nice lady who is going through some bad times. But ..... I think I will pass for a huge mixture of reasons.

And.....as of today I have even finally done some more updates on project entries (see below)......

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 ;-)........

Branching Out Scarf

A nice, simple pattern I decided would be a quick and easy knit to test out some beautiful 100% baby camel yarn. I was going fast on it until I got sidetracked - and ran out of the first ball of yarn. But I've past that point now and a repeat here and another there will see this done long before I'm able to use it considering the weather here these days!



The pattern is from knitty.com. It's not likely I'll post too many more pics for this one - probably a final one or two when it's done and dressed but the pattern is all what you see here so it only gets longer. Yummy yarn though :-).

Faroese Shawl

This one is just a nice big, warm hug for myself ;-). It's also a really simple knit.....it would be done if I didn't keep getting distracted by all these other things.



The pattern is from A Gathering of Lace and the yarn I'm using is Ellen Cashmere - a nice DK weight cashmere blend in a deep navy blue. It will be big and cozy. I like this book; there are several things in it I'd like to make....

I need a new picture for this one, too - it's grown a goodly bit since taking this!

More progress on Peacock

A little closer to where I really am in the pattern.....at least where I was on 4/13 ;-).....the Christmas placemat was handy for a good contrasting surface. A bit out of season but.....the contrast worked, lol.