I have been cruising along nicely on the Grape Diamonds scarf.  I am enchanted.  The pattern is not memorizable, but the chart is logical, and the mistakes are (relatively) easy to spot. 

At first, I was concerned that the color shift would be too short to work well with lace.  Now I am concerned that the shift will be too long to work with a scarf.

I thought the dark purple would never end, but yesterday the lavender and sage started peeking through.

The edges are curling badly, but I assuming that will block out. 

Lace requires a lot of blind faith.  You have to have faith that the chart is correct.  You have to have faith that each yarn over and decrease is correctly placed in the overall scheme, even if you can't see the general pattern.  And you have to have faith that the crumpled mess of lace will block out into something pretty. 

Today, it is all about the faith. 

One step forward, three steps back

Having finished a WIP recently (the second Gryffindor scarf for my baby boys) I now felt free to start something new. Having recently noticed a dearth of scarves in my wardrobe, a scarf seemed appropriate. But I went a little overboard.

I have three things, in various starting stages.

  

One is White Diamonds Lace Scarf, in Patons Lace, in "sachet".  This one is in the pre-swatch stage, hence the multiple needles. 

This is the Print O' the Wave  Shawl, in a fucshia yarn I bought in Poland ages ago.  The swatch is completed, the size is selected, and I am ready to cast on. 






The third is the Laughingbird scarf, in Yarn Bee's Diva (sequin), in Scottish Heather. 

So, I finished one project, and started three more. Three LACE projects.  This is getting out of control.  Someone stop me.  Please.

Today, it is all about the backward motion. 

Feeling Scarfy

It is official, except for the calendar.  Winter is here.  No more sandals and capris.  The weather has turned cold, and will not be warm again for months.  But winter has a knitted lining.  Time to break out all those snuggly socks, cozy cardigans and soft scarves. 

That was the plan this morning, at least.  I bundled up my baby boys in their winter coats, hats and one recently-completed Gryffindor scarf (Bugaboo refused his, said it was only for Halloween).  I then turned to swath my own chilly neck and realized how few scarves I own. 

How can a knitter have so few scarves? Two old cheap store-bought scarves from my pre-knitting days, two warm weather drama scarves, two novelty boa scarf, and one lace scarf that is presently missing in action.  (I know that I put it "somewhere safe" for the summer, and now I can't remember where.  I hate that.) 

Really, how is this even possible?  How could I have neglected myself like this?  I live in a place that is wicked cold for months on end. 

I am going to have to do something about that. 

So, really, this is just an excuse to start something new.  I did finish one scarf, so that brings it down to only six active projects right now.  I am allowed.

Excuse me, I think I have to go shopping. 

Today, it is all about the neglect. 

I just need a bigger bag

Heard at Knitter-vention on Monday night:

"That is the third thing you have worked on in two hours!"  Yeah, so?  What is your point?

So, I couldn't decide what to bring, and had to grab a bigger bag, what is your point?

So I worked on three different things, there was a good reason.  The first was a sock, my usual briefcase sock that had an error that I needed to locate.  Once the error was corrected, I really didn't have to work on it anymore that evening. 

The second item was the Harry Potter scarf.  I finished a color, and didn't have scissors.  Yes, I could have easily borrowed a pair of scissors from one of six people, but that seemed like a good stopping place on that one for the night. 

The third was my complicated sock in progress.  

What of it?

Apparently, I haven't learned my lesson about endless shawls.  The Merry Berry shawl has been rescued from the bottom of the bag.  It is fingering yarn too, but mohair, so larger needles than the Duchess shawl.  (Size 7, I think.)  There will still be a mind-boggling number of stitches by the time the shawl is finished.  290 so far, increasing by four every other row.  

Meanwhile, I am starting to be tempted by lace.   

Which one shall it be?  I have some pretty sage green semi-solid mohair-ish that would be great for the Celtic Knot Stole.  And some fuschia laceweight that I see for the Print O' the Wave shawl. 

But I have been obsessing over the idea of a black lace shawl.  Maybe with some sequins or beads or something.  Elegant.  Dramatic.  Fit for the red carpet.  (Because that is something I encounter so often.) 

Snowdrops Shawl would work, though seems the antithesis of the name.  Or, the Rose Trellis Shawl. 

I am trying to finish at least one of the eight active projects before I run out and buy black lace yarn. 

Except. .  . I have a little time between taking Doodlebug for his flu shot and volunteering at the Talk to a Lawyer Day.  Just enough time to stop by the yarn store and pick out that black yarn.

Today, it is all about the licentiousness. 

Public Notice

I have been wearing the Duchess shawl everywhere for the past week.  I am resisting the urge to sleep in it.  It has received many positive reviews.  (Naturally, what else would someone say?  "I know that you have been working on that forever but . . . .I don't really care for it"?)

The knitters oooo'd and ahhhhhh'd the loudest, as you would expect.  The greatest praise came from two attorneys, both of whom noticed the shawl, and realized that it was something I had been working on for a long time.

The shawl is suprisingly warm.  It is a herringbone design, which is quite dense, almost woven-like.  And the yarn is a silk wool blend, contributing to the coziness factor.

I just can't heap enough praise on the shawl.

I have eight active projects right now, continuing my post-shawl promiscuity.  It makes blogging on their progress difficult.  And inch on this one, a half inch on that one.  Not exactly discernable from photographs.  But I don't care.  

Today, it is all about the variety.      

By the numbers

At long last.  The Duchess Shawl.  C'est fini!  So here are some of the statistics:

1980: yards of Knit Picks Gloss in fingering weight.  Color: jade. (For those doing some quick math, that is over a MILE of yarn.) 

700: yards of yarn in the ruffle alone. 

9: feet in the wingspan.  

5: number of Size 5 circular needles used on knitting the ruffle.

16: months of knitting monotony monogomy.

13: months overdue for the Knit-along deadline. 

250: estimated total hours of knitting. 

80: estimated hours of knitting on the ruffle alone. 

1: very happy knitter who proudly wore the new shawl to court, convinced that it would make her look 5'10" and 110 pounds, and just like Her Grace. 

Today, it is all about the numbers. 



Knitting Intervention

I experienced a knitting intervention this past week.  Two actually.  In the same night.  Completely unrelated and uncoordinated. 

Knit Night re-started after the summer hiatus.  The first question posed to me was about the Duchess Shawl.  I had to admit that I had been a bit of a knitting slut lately.  Very slutty.  "No last names, up again the wall in the restaurant parking lot" type of sluttiness.  (Insert roar of laughter here.  We are a wild and crazy crowd, we knitters.)  I was informed that next month, I had to bring the shawl with me, finished or not. 

Then, I left to go to the other knitting group, as it was one of the rare months it fell on the same Monday night.  And the first question posed to me was about the Duchess shawl.  Once again, I admitted my recent knitting promiscuity.  (Same line, even funnier second time around, since everyone had a half-drank pint of beer in front of them at the time.)  I received the same admonition that next time (two weeks later, shorter turnaround time), bring the Duchess Shawl with me.

When I got home, I saw the Duchess Shawl still crumpled on my nightstand, alone and neglected.  I had to face realilty:  I wasn't please how the cast off prescribed by the pattern was looking.  It was curling inward.  There was no way I was going to work on a shawl for about 200 hours (not an exaggeration this time, shockingly enough) and not like how the final edge appeared.  Really not the shawl's fault. 

 So I found some leftover scrap yarn, and started test knitting various methods.  I knit a small ruffle, then started wandering the net for different methods, some stretchy, some not. 

Finally, I found one that seemed to not curl as much as the pattern method.  I am hoping that the small curling blocks out. 

I did start casting off Duchess.  One foot down, around 21 feet to go. 

The days are turning cool, the nights are cooler.  It is prime shawl weather. 

It is time to finish Duchess. 

With any luck, in time to show it off at the next meeting of the knitters. 

Today, it is all about the reconciliation.