tangled up

Clapotis

A little background: I liked Clapotis when it first came out on Knitty but shied away after I took a very quick look at the pattern – it looked like I’d have to refer to the pattern for every row and I just don’t have that kind of patience. I was inspired to give it a try after seeing beautiful versions on so many blogs. And I was so wrong – the pattern is extremely easy to follow and so much fun every time you get to a row where you can drop stitches!!

 I used some Wool in the Woods Twin Twist that I had in my stash from a visit to the Cloverhill Yarn Shop in Baltimore this fall. Didn’t know about Wool in the Woods before that trip, but I’m a convert. It’s a small Pennsylvania company owned and run by two women with amazing color sense who clearly love fiber. They recommend Twin Twist as a sock yarn because it has a bit of nylon in it, I suppose, but it’s more like a DK weight than sock weight. It’s lovely to knit with. I used size 6 needles. The colorway is Majestic Ridge.  Here's a picture of how it looks on the skein:

 I started it sometime in early January as a good take along project, even though at that time my only outing was to the doctor’s office.  Rather than make a wrap, I modified the pattern to a wide scarf width, probably about 8” wide after blocking. I also added a few extra repeats in order to increase the length, not sure where it will end up when it’s blocked, hopefully around 60”.  I put it down to focus on the Einstein Coat but picked it up again for a little variety and finished it in a couple of marathon sessions over the weekend. When it’s blocked, it’s going to be a gift for my friend Marilyn, who gave me a good deal of help and support during my recovery from weight loss surgery,  including rides to said doctor’s visits.

When I took these photos, I noticed the sorta striping pattern for the first t ime.  It never ceases to amaze me the things that the camera picks up that my naked eye doesn't notice (see also the pooling of purple that looks a bit like an ink blot....)

As I mentioned, the drop stitch pattern was really satisfying, so much so that I'll very likely make this again.  Here's a closeup:

Just saw on their blog that Woolwinders has the same love of Wool in the Woods that I do, and this weekend might just have to include a visit to see their spring/summer collection. I’m trying really hard not to buy yarn but instead to work with what I have, but have given myself the loophole that if I buy for a specific project, I can make an exception. Sounds like an exception large enough to drive a truck through, but I’ve been pretty good so far.

 In the meantime, I’ve picked up Sheerly There again and am almost midway through the top front piece. Working with Koigu KPPPM held together with Rowan Kidsilk Haze is heavenly. It’s not a good take along project, though and since the Einstein Coat isn’t either, I need to get something else simple on the needles. Lots of babies have been born in recent months to friends – maybe it’s time for some baby/toddler projects.

Slow Progress

But progress, nonetheless. If I were willing to knit standing up, I would have gotten a lot more done while waiting in line at airport security at Raleigh. I ended up with a little time on the flight out, a little time on Saturday night after the campaign work day was over and a little time on the return flight. Better some than none.

My goal had been to get up to the armholes on Perkins, about four repetitions of the striping pattern. I got a tiny bit more than halfway there. The various ways I tried to cut down on loose ends didn't really work, but I have been weaving some of them in as I go along. I had another revelation about the sleeves and when I get back to them, I think it will be faster to finish them individually, rather than together. No need to do them together to get the length exactly right because the striping pattern provides a roadmap.

Since I'm putting Sheerly There on hold to make Perkins, I decided to finish the main back piece that I had on my needles. The color muddies a lot in the photo and the texture doesn't come through either, but trust me, it's beautiful. I look forward to getting back to it when Perkins is done. Based on the amount of yarn it took to finish the back, I'm confident that I'll have more than enough Koigu to finish it.

Came home to find the new Patternworks catalog in my mailbox. I only looked through it quickly, but noticed that it had a new Koigu scarf pattern that looked pretty and easy to work. Another alternative to Charlotte's Web?

blocking out the weekend

I have lots of knitting related plans for the weekend. My first goal is to block both the flower basket shawl and the Matisse Charlotte's Web shawl. The flower basket shawl looks pretty ratty now but I have high hopes for it after blocking. And yes, another Charlotte's Web. After this one is completed, that leaves only one more on the needles, the Noir Charlotte which I plan to take my good old time with. After blocking, the flower basket shawl will be finished. The Matisse, named by my friend Joannie who also named Seville and Provence, will still need its crocheted edge and fringe. The Koigu for Matisse was purchased during a visit to Denver, where Joannie lives, and fittingly, it will go back to Denver finished as a gift for her. Here is what they both look like BEFORE:

Two other pieces ARE going to get finished this weekend: the Turino mini-poncho and a lovely Colinette Giotto top for my friend Sonya. If I truly can get all that done, I will feel like I've accomplished somethng. I also don't want unfinished projects to go undone when I've got such a yen to start new ones. Big question that I need to research re: the mini-poncho -- how do you block silk? I've never done it (I never blocked anything before the last couple of years) and one expert knitter I asked said that you can't block silk. How can that be?

I've knit about 6 inches on Sheerly There and love how it's working up (pictures when there's more to see). The Koigu held together with the Kidsilk Haze looks beautiful and makes me particularly happy because I desperately need to find other uses for KPPPM beyond Charlotte's Web shawls. Now I just have to get enough of the mohair to do the whole sweater -- another task for the weekend.

I've been on a bit of a yarn binge and I was unrepentantly planning to continue that this weekend, but I'm less certain now. Woolwinders is having a big sale but from their blog, it sounds like most of the sale items are already out the door. I had been planning to get some Big Kureyon but that's definitely already sold out. I will probably still make the trek up there anyway, but I will have to lower my expectations. According to their newsletter, Yarns International has put out their new Koigu and that's a regularly scheduled stop for me on Saturdays anyway. I need to put together my holiday list before I go so that I'm not just randomly purchasing yarn that strikes my fancy. Somehow, though, that's what it usually gets down to -- the question is, can I change?

not sheerly there yet

Finished off Pooling Indira Gandhi last night -- the ends wove in invisiblely because the loopiness of the yarn -- yeah! I went all over the house this morning trying to find the right light to get a picture that shows its true colors to no avail. Maybe this weekend.

Also wove the ends into three squares that I'm going to send off to Kay today for the Afghans of Afghans sewing party. I knit them on the beach during my vacation figuring that if the cotton got sandy, they could easily be washed none the worse for wear.

I know there's more to finish, but having those two things out of the way gave me license to start working with the Koigu I bought on Saturday. I went into Yarns International (originally looking for Schaefer Anne but also hoping that they had gotten in their fall shipment of Koigu KPPPM and Kersti) and found both the women who work there starting new projects using KPPPM and Kidsilk Haze held together. One of them was wearing a sweater she had already knit in that combination. The pattern was Emmeline from Rowan #28.

The combination of the yarns was breathtaking and I was hooked. But their new Koigu shipment wasn't out yet and they didn't have enough of the KPPPM I liked to make Emmeline. I couldn't resist the yarn though, so I bought it without something specific in mind: 4 skeins of KPPPM #515 and 3 skeins of Rowan Kidsilk Haze #588 Drab. Now, what do to with it?

I thought about another Flower Basket Shawl, but decided if I do another one, I'm going to go solid this time. I flipped through the old magazines I bought in North Carolina and found what I think will be the perfect use for this yarn in the Winter 2000 Knitters. The pattern is called Sheerly There and here's a photograph (no scanner yet). I've got enough of the Koigu to make it work and it should show off the best qualities of both yarns. I need to pick up more of the Kidsilk Haze but dyelot matching won't matter because it will be for the sheer parts. I modified the pattern because it seemed like the texture of the moss stitch was going to take away both from the look and feel of the yarns held togeter, substituting 6 rows of garter for the edge, moving to straight stockinette. When I get to the sleeves, I'll either do the same or maybe all garter. I'm really excited about it and if I keep to it as my travel around project, it might be finished in time for my friend Rosemary's birthday in October.