Archive for the 'Clementine Shawl' Category
And by auto-blocking, I don’t mean that my knits shape themselves automatically—I mean that I block them on my car.
If there is one thing Sparky the Stash Weasel loves more than wool, it’s wet wool, which means that blocking chez moi is out. Indoors—Sparky will be all over it. Outdoors—Sparky will be all over it. Indoors at Melissa’s home—also too much feline assistance. But outdoors at Melissa’s home—that can work. She lives in a tough neighborhood, but the parking’s in a central courtyard, so she doesn’t get foot traffic beyond her immediate neighbors. And my car, small and practical as it is, provides a big enough surface for most knit objects.
So I drape a couple of sheets across the top of it (suhtting their edges into the doors if the day is windy) and get to work.
Using a step-stool helps.
This won’t do for items that need truly aggressive blocking—there’s just not enough traction, nowhere to pin—but for cooperative knits, my wonky system works.
And here’s a look at the finished project…
… my version of Clementine worked up in three skeins of Malabrigo. Mmmmm. Soft and big and cozy and bright.
Meanwhile, sock the first has been joined by sock the second.
(If my legs look a little funny, it’s because I made Melissa photoshop them to hide my nubs.) Now that I have socks that fit, I’m afraid to wear them—I don’t want to wear them out.
October 13 2007 | Clementine Shawl and FOs and Socks | 7 Comments »
I hope so, because we have more to drool over. Check out this lovely piece from Crystal Palace Yarns (via Knitting Pattern Central, which means the pattern is free, free, free!):
I’m not sure it would flatter me, but I have a tall, skinny sister it would look great on. I love the way it mixes the classic (cables) with the more fashion-forward (shrug shaping, cables running horizontally instead of vertically). The yardage isn’t bad, either: 845 yards total of bulky-weight (U.S. 10.5 needles) yarn for the medium size.
I am delighted to report some actual completed knitting. I finished the first sock of the pair I started on Monday and am delighted with the fit. I like my socks snug, so instead of following the recommended dimensions for my foot size, I just measured a pair of comfortable store-bought socks and used those numbers. In theory, it’s a good inch shorter both in the foot and the leg than it should be, but in practice it’s just right. (Can you hear me? I’m saying that in my very best Goldilocks voice.)
Kitchenering that sock also gave me the confidence to pull out my poor, neglected Clementine Shawl as well. The two halves are now joined, ready for blocking, then a photo shoot.
By the way, for those of you who want to know, naughty Sparky was quite sensible in his choice of a sock yarn to wrap the neighborhood with: he choose a skein of KnitPicks Essential. Cost? Only $3.29.
September 13 2007 | Cats and Clementine Shawl and Socks and Spartacus and WIPs | 2 Comments »
Sometimes cats talk with me. Don’t ask me how. I’m far too committed a rationalist to claim psychic powers, and I know cats don’t speak English. Nonetheless, it happens. Just last week, Damian asked a perfectly intelligent question about the availability of free government pamphlets on trout farming. Several times I’ve heard Archy using a French accent to murmer innuendo to his favorite throw pillows.
Last night, Bea and I had the following exchange.
Bea: This summer, let’s get Sparky swimming lessons.
Me: I don’t know. I don’t think he’d like going in the water.
Bea: That’s okay. I could push him.
And on the Knitting Front
I’m almost to the end of my third ball of Malabrigo on the Clementine Shawl. Once I finish in the next day or so, I’ll be taking a trip to my LYS, so I can have someone look over my shoulder and coach me as I graft it. I can follow printed instructions for Kitchener stitch, but I’m not yet completely confident about tension and the like—and I don’t want to mess this project up.
I’m also about three-quarters of the way done with a new, larger Easy Triangular Shawl in Noro Blossom color 19 (courtesy of Little Knits). This pattern has a crochet cast-off that makes a little, loopy fringe, and I’m thinking of switching to a very drapey, purple-brown rayon I’ve got in the stash (I think it’s rayon—I don’t have it in front of me) for that part, which should be easier to manage with the crochet hook and have a more graceful line. I’ll wait to move on to this last bit until I’ve has a chance to consult with Melissa because I trust her eye for color.
Last week, when I was sharing pictures from Jo Sharp Knit 3 I’d noted that my back-and-forth stockingette can get a bit wunky. Well, I played with it some over the weekend (in between writing placement tests), and I’ve figured out a way to improve things. I knit continental style and had been bringing my needle over the yarn, then drawing it through the loop; if I bring the need under the yarn and sort of scoop it through the loop, my stitches come out much more neatly. Having discovered this, I’m in a transitional phase just now, using my over-the-top method for projects already underway (luckily, none of these have big stretches of stockingette), but starting to switch the the scoop-it-up technique as I begin new pieces. It feels a bit awkward, but is well worth the effort of re-teching myself in terms of the quality of the finished project.
And in closing, let me share this picture of Damian, hard at work putting the cat in catatonic.
May 31 2007 | Archy and Beatrice and Cats and Clementine Shawl and Damian and Spartacus and WIPs | No Comments »
Here’s my Clementine in Malabrigo, looking a bit odd on the needles (but I have great faith in the miracles I’ll be able to work with blocking).
This pattern is a delight to knit—interesting, but simple enough that I can do it while enjoying a baseball game on TV or a book on tape. I’m particularly appreciating the feel it’s giving me for using increases and decreases to shape my finished work. I will never be one to design (let along wear) a knit swimsuit, but if you are so inclined, that teardrop-shaped bit at the end could teach you everything you need to know to make a nicely curved bra cup. (I’ll be waiting for the pics of everyone’s beachwear creations to come rolling in.)
With three balls of Malabrigo, I’ll easily have enough to make a good-sized shawl. I’m planning to use one ball for each half, then to continue knitting both at once from both ends of the third ball, so I get the most out of my yardage.
While walking on a windy beach yesterday, I got the idea to modify the Easy Triangular Shawl pattern into a poncho. I had a rectangualr shawl wrapped around my shoulders and pinned together, so the long ends were keeping my front warm, but I was really wishing for more fabric in the back when the shawl/poncho vision descended. I know the main wave of poncho fever has come and gone, but I haven’t knit one yet, so I will not be forestalled by the possibility of looking “so last year.” I’m guessing I’ll need ten balls of my beloved Soft Delight Extremes, and have put that on my shopping list for when I visit my sister at the end of June.
Last night I gave Sparky a little pompon-type ball that I’d had marinating in catnip for the past several months. You should have seen him go at it! He lunged at that pompon as if it were a particularly trecherous foe and spent a full half hour alternating between killing it and carrying it about in his jaw triumphantly. Spartacus: Mighty Slayer of Puffs!
P.S. On the evil spendthrift front (actually, it was only $11 with shipping from Rosie’s Yarn Cellar), I’ve ordered the Manos Cotton Collection 4 book. I’m in love with the back/white/grey 3/4 sleeve mosaic-stitch jacket. If you click on “View Image Gallery” here, it will be the first picture that pops up. It looks so classy and comfy all at the same time, and the washclothes have gotten me enthusiastic about the joys of mosaic stitches.
April 30 2007 | Cats and Clementine Shawl and Easy Triangular Shawl and Soft Delight Extremes and Spartacus and WIPs | 1 Comment »
