Of Bouquets and Butins

Feeling like a hamster in a wheel the last couple of weeks! I'm constantly busy but never seem to be DOING anything...know what I mean?

No? Just me then? Okay. Moving on.

CodeNinja and I went to an out of town wedding this past weekend where he was the best man and I was - the best man's date. Also known as the Designated Nagger. "Did you remember to get a suit?" (he didn't), "Did you get the ring from the groom?" (he did, and then gave it to me to hold on to until the wedding) and my favorite, "You know you have to make a speech, right?" (He did, and despite dithering about it to the last minute, he did it beautifully. Then he sat down before actually doing the toast part and I had to hiss at him to get back up.)

I caught the bouquet, in the most bizarre fashion that is so laughingly typical for me. This was the twelfth wedding I've attended and I've never caught the bouquet, mostly because I can't bring myself to look quite so pathetically desperate as to be willing to SHOVE other women out of the way and take a flying leap to snatch up a good-luck symbol that has no actual bearing on reality. (Not that I am poo-pooing the tradition. I wanted that bouquet every time, I just didn't want anybody to know that I wanted it. Not because I thought it was some kind of magic charm, just because it has the same appeal as winning the lottery. Your odds are so bad that the idea of winning is exciting beyond the never-having-to-work-again aspect.) So, really, I was only going to catch that bouquet if it came straight at me and everyone else inexplicably fell asleep. Up until Saturday, that has never happened.

However this particular couple is rather nontraditional and the groom really, really wanted to throw the bouquet, so at the end of the ceremony (literally, as soon as they turned around and were announced at husband and wife), the bride handed the groom the bouquet and he lobbed it straight down the aisle.

Problem is, they forgot to tell anybody they were going to do this. I knew, as I had been at the rehearsal the day before, but I had totally forgotten about it, and so for an instant the entire room sat frozen and confused as that bouquet sailed up into the air and then down straight for the floor - as it happens, right next to me. I had my camera up and was taking pictures when some part of my brain realized it was sailing past me, and my hand shot out, I leaned, and snatched the thing out of the air before it hit the ground, depositing it in my lap quite coolly, thank you very much, as the entire room cracked up and applauded. I'm convinced all the knitting improved my hand-eye coordination. It was possibly the most calm and dignified bouquet catch ever - which did not stop certain people from teasing me mercilessly afterward, but what can you do? (To the inevitable question, "What did CodeNinja say?" the answer is, "Nice reflexes." One of our friends maintains that the expression on his face when I caught it was priceless, but I think he was just impressed at the catch. If that is not the case, he would be wise not to tell me.)



Anyway. You all came here to see knitting (though you will note I am wearing my Boutin necklace in that picture, so technically I have already shown some knitting in action).

As usual, WIPs first. I took my July Pins & Lace project with me but didn't actually work on it. I will tell you why in a moment. Thus, it remains in the same state it was in last week, but since I haven't bothered to take a picture of it until now, I am sure you will be just as amazed.



It's a bit scrunched up on the needles at the moment, but I spread it out so you could see one half at least. It's mostly stockinette at this point - I've just gotten to the point where the real fun begins. This pattern uses the same mesh as Sevillano but in a different way. I ordered a 60" Chiaogoo because my 40" ain't covering it. there will be a LOT of stitches before I'm done.

I think the edging on this pattern is so incredibly clever, as well as pretty.


And...that's it. That's all I have to show for WIPs. I still have The Scarf That Would Not Die, although I think it may finally be on its last legs. Everything else I have to show is done, done, done.

I mentioned my Butin necklace that I wore above. Well, Ms. Nelkin has now released Butin earrings, and I immediately ordered a kit to match the necklace (even though I made the necklace to match my copper earrings - and I am setting a record for parenthetical statements on the blog today). If you'll recall, when I made the Butin necklace it was so much fun that I immediately dug up my leftovers of Schaefer Audrey and got out my beads and made two more, one out of Nellie Bly and one out of...of...shoot. I always want to say the wrong monkey lady. Diane Fossey, that's it!

So I ordered up some earring findings and jump rings and set to making Butin earrings for all three necklaces. There is a note in the pattern that says "Wet block to shape. THIS STEP IS SURPRISINGLY IMPORTANT." and she does not lie. Here is the Nellie Bly earring, which has not been blocked. (Apologies that the picture is so dark, my laptop makes everything look lighter than it is and I sometimes don't compensate well.)



And here are the Diane Fossey earrings, which have:



They totally stay that way when I pick them up, too. I did not think it possible. I didn't do anything special, just soaked them and pinned them out.

It seems I forgot to photograph the first set I made from the kit, in the Elizabeth Kubler Ross colorway, but I'll try to show those off later. I still only have one Nellie Bly earring because I lost my little baggy of jump rings. I've looked everywhere for it and made CodeNinja look too and I can't find the darn things anywhere. It must be gnomes.

I had less knitting time on this trip than I expected, and even less knitting time in which I could knit something I had to pay attention to, so as I mentioned, the shawl stayed in my bag the whole time. I did have the car ride both ways, but I had taken three pairs of socks with me that needed finishing, and two were at the heel turn, so I spent my time in the car doing that so that I could get one sock to a point where it would be mindless, and the other sock to a point where I could start the foot chart. After that I only had snatches of time here and there, enough to work a sock chart but not enough to work rows on a big lace shawl. So, I got nothing done while I was gone but socks.

I finished the plain socks that I started a million years ago out of Dragonfly Fibers Djinni in Pink Hydrangea.



I finished the Serab socks from Silk Road Socks in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga colorway Arachne, so they are ready before their recipient (whose birthday was in March) returns from her travels. It's times like this I wish I had a sock blocker, because these just look weird with no feet in them.









And I finished one giant mansock for CodeNinja. This one had been an inch or two away from done for some time, I just needed some time to work on it where I had him around to try it on as needed. I don't know what this yarn is but I despise it, it is a single with some mohair content (I think) and it is an absolute pain in the rear to knit. The colors are lovely but sooooo not worth it IMO. How about a group shot for some size perspective?



Remember, girls, it is just as easy to love a man with small feet.

Sadly, this is only the first sock in the pair, which means I have to knit another one. I don't think I have enough yarn to make the stripes match up since the repeats are so long, but CodeNinja (because he knows what is good for him and where his socks come from) says he doesn't mind if they're, in the YH's words, fraternal rather than identical.

I also made some new yarn acquisitions from Calla Lily Knits & Gifts, mostly from Mountain colors. I got this skein of sock yarn in Turquoise:



And two skeins of lace yarn in Wild Horse.



I also got a bag of largely unidentified yarn and spinning fiber from the bride, who was happy to destash it to someone who will love it. And I always love free yarn. The fiber and yarn are from local farmers to their area. I haven't gone through it all but I think it is a mixture of wool and alpaca.

By the way, have you seen Puppy Snips from Hiya Hiya? They are the cutest tiny little scissors!!





Teensy weensy! The first time I used them they didn't cut that well, but I got out a piece of tinfoil and cut it up with the Snips, and that seemed to sharpen them up just fine. No problems since. I think they're adorable.

So, that should catch me up and I apologize for the radio silence. I am a bad, bad blogger. I will try to do better. Romi has finished the design of Muse #1 and it's now in the hands of the test knitters, so expect to see that as soon as the pattern gets into my hot little hands. I have two yarn combos I'm considering. Neighborhood Fiber Company in Edgewood and Sheridan Circle:



And Sunshine Yarns Classic Sock (the yarn the shawl was designed in) in Luna (the white) and Dobby (the multicolored).





Romi has announced that Muse #1 is Kleio, the muse of history. I'm thinking about knitting this one twice and just using both combos. Then I can keep one for myself, and give the Sunshine yarns one to my best friend. The colors are definitely much more her than me and since she is the person I have the most history with, and is a bit of a history buff herself, it seems appropriate that she receive Muse #1.

I will now leave you with a picture of the most inexplicable thing we saw on our trip, so that you may boggle this puzzle until I post again.

A Pause to Reflect

Today is the first of August and it strikes me as a good day to look back over all the knitting I've accomplished this year. I really knit like a fiend for the first six months or so, always too many projects on the go and probably more anxiety than was really necessary about getting them done. Now here we are and the year's more than half gone, and I find myself feeling like I'm in a bit of a lull, knitting-wise. I'm definitely still knitting, and I love the things I'm working on, but I'm not quite as...hmm...I don't know. Excited? I hate to say that because it sounds like I'm bored with what I'm doing, and I'm not.

Usually this happens to me when I have a bunch of things on the needles, or when I'm working on stuff I feel 'obligated' to do - gifts etc. And while I do have a few things like that (The Scarf That Would Not Die), I actually don't have that much on the needles right now. So, I think, maybe I should just step back for a minute and look at everything I have accomplished this year.

So let's take a look at my 2011 knitting, shall we?

Bluebird (Romi Hill) was my first FO of 2011, though it was mostly knit in 2010.


It was swiftly followed by my Phoenix Rising (Sivia Harding) shawl, which I absolutely adored. It was absolutely the perfect combination of yarn, beads, and pattern concept, and it was absolutely volcanic. I adored it. Plus it was huge, so it felt like a real accomplishment to finish. This one was also mostly knit in 2010 so it doesn't count for the challenge, but that doesn't make me love it any less.


My next FO was on a much smaller scale, the Limestone One Skein Shawl that I did using a skein of cashmere yarn from Zen Yarn Garden. This was a fun, frothy little knit.


Then came the predecessor to the scarf that would not die, the hat for my darling CodeNinja, whose massive intelligence requires a larger than average container, so commercially knit hats don't fit him.


Right around that time I started to lose my head a little bit and I got a nasty case of startitis. I started Galadriel's Mirror even though I knew I didn't have the time to work on it.


It still languishes, I'm afraid. I still love the pattern and I occasionally consider picking it up, but it's a bit hot for it right now. This is quite a large fingering weight shawl and I'm afraid I would just roast alive if I made any significant progress on it. I'm really looking forward to picking this up again in the fall though.

I was really excited about the In Dreams shawl, as well, but...I never started it. I'm not totally sure why. It's a bit complicated, for sure, but I like complicated. I think I just can't make up my mind about the beads. There are SO MANY BEADS. I can't decide whether I want to bead it as written, not bead it at all, or bead only parts of it. I've waited long enough that the pattern is complete, the mystery KAL long over, so I could really make some decisions about where to bead and where not to if I liked.


I started the lovely Umaro blanket (Jared Flood)


Didn't get very far on that one either. It's in my bin, waiting for the fall to come again. I find I can only work on this a small amount at a time, as the huge needles hurt my hands if I use them for too long.

I took the shawl design class and started on my Sea Turtles shawl design.


I may not be cut out for designing. It was fun and I liked it, but - the shawl remains unknit. I only have a little bit of work left to do to finish off the pattern enough that I, at least, could knit it. I had grand plans for this one. I should really set aside some time for it.

I also knit Avira for the Light and Dark Lace Club run by PennyRose Yarns and Zen Yarn Garden.


And, during all this time, I was also knitting Sevillano (Romi Hill).


Love that shawl. This was the second time that the yarn and the pattern really just came together in that Perfect Storm of Awesome. I love wearing this piece.

Oh yeah. I'd also started this, The Scarf That Would Not Die.


They seem to go so quickly in the beginning, and then they hit a certain length and you just don't see progress anymore. Sigh.

I started Taygete (Romi Hill) before I finished Sevillano, as I recall. Projects were just coming thick and fast, and I was knitting like a fiend to keep up.


As soon as Sevillano was finished, I cast on for Fiori di Sole (Romi Hill). This is the third Perfect Storm shawl - perfect yarn, perfect pattern, perfect, perfect, perfect.


Immediately after Fiori was finished, I jumped right into Spanish Moss (Romi Hill).


Somewhere during all that mess I knit a prayer shawl.


And a second Taygete (still Romi Hill).


Alcyone (Romi Hill) was next.


Followed quickly by Sakaki (Romi Hill).


Then I went to Alaska.


As soon as I got back, I knit a bunch of Butin necklaces (Laura Nelkin)


(there was a third but apparently I never took a picture of it)

Asterope (Romi Hill) was next.


I finally finished Spanish Moss (I'm wearing it today and have received two compliments from nonknitters).


Then Live Oak (Romi Hill)


Which brings me pretty much up to date. I'm currently working on the Serab Socks from Silk Road Socks (excuse the out of date picture - pretend this is a whole sock).


I'm also working on the July Pins & Lace shawl, The Scarf That Would Not Die (in this case 'working on it' means I glare at it every once in a while as I walk by in the hopes that sheer intimidation will cause it to knit itself while I am gone) and....that's really it at the moment.

But, looking back at this list - no wonder I'm tired!!

Forward and Back, Hot and Cold

When last we met, I hoped to have a new shawl to show this week! And I do! Except, I don't. The shawl is started but not photographed. The new shawl is the July installment of Romi's Pins & Lace club. Since I get the pattern and pin but not the yarn, I needed to go shopping, and since this past weekend was Fibre Space's birthday sale, the timing could only have been better if it landed on payday. Well, we can't have everything in life - I went anyway.

For the new Pins & Lace Shawl, I got this:



Photographed on my knees in the car with my phone, because I was that excited. This is Miss Babs Yet (65 wool 35 silk) in colorway Bog Berry. It's a slightly darker, more saturated color than what shows in the photo. I also got a skein of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Maisonette in colorway Hampden for the last Pins & Lace installment, which I didn't do when it came out because I was already buried in WIPs.



This pattern, Lisianthus, is now available to the public and people are jumping right into it on the Romi Rav group, which is making it a real temptation for me to cast this on right now! I'm determined to finish the new shawl first, though. I have observed that Romi tends to release something simple (Spanish Moss) followed by something complicated (Lisianthus), and the new shawl is no exception, being simple yet beautiful, easy to knit and yet - I've already messed up.

Last night I came home angry (first bad sign) and tired (second bad sign) and sat down to work on it (all signs indicate this was a bad idea). I finished the chart I was on and went to the next one, absolutely failing to notice that the repeat markers had moved and where I was previously simply knitting across the row, the YO's that had previously happened on the outer edges only needed to be distributed across the shawl according to the pattern directions. I was at least five rows into the chart before I figured this out, if not more. The discovery was not pretty. There was swearing, there was grumbling, I said things to myself that were not nice. Then I ripped. Except, I didn't really want to rip and have to get all those tight little stitches (that's me, supatight knitta) back on the needle, so I tinked. I tinked more than one row at a time. I've heard people talk about doing this but I've never attempted it before and needless to say, my first attempt was clumsy at best. It WORKED...sort of. But I'm not sure it was all that much faster than individually tinking. Regardless, I managed to undo everything I did last night, so that we can forget it ever happened and tonight I can start over. If only all problems in life were so easily solved!!

Here's another picture of the two yarns together that has better color.



And, lest I get a scolding from a certain someone who I know reads this blog, I also finished the first Serab sock. I plan to start the other one...um...this weekend. Yes. For sure. It's vaguely astonishing to me how much faster patterned socks seem to go than plain socks. I can only guess it's because I get the sense of accomplishment that comes from finishing a chart, and also the sense of having a finite beginning and end. It's much easier to know exactly how many rows you have to knit than it is to have to knit to a certain measurement, where you're constantly stopping and measuring, and every time you measure you get a different result, and you have to fight yourself to keep from stopping too soon just so that you can move on to the next part. Or is that just me?

I actually enlisted CodeNinja to help me with the measuring of the foot of this sock. There is a chart pattern that goes down the foot, and then you simply repeat the last line of the pattern until the foot is long enough and you do the toe. See aforementioned issues with measuring. I didn't want my poor recipient to end up with a short sock because I was tired of knitting, so I made CodeNinja measure for me, figuring he was objective. Then I argued with him that he was doing it wrong and the sock had to be longer than that. "Look at it! It's huge! You can't be right, there is no way the sock needs to be this big." My smaller than average feet may have skewed my viewpoint on this matter further. If I had been knitting the sock for me, I would have done the toe immediately after the chart pattern finished. Anyway, we eventually agreed that the sock was long enough and I did the toe. I dearly hope it is not too long. When I measured the finished foot, it was a little longer than my book measurements said it should be. Still, a sock that is too long is much easier to fix than a sock that is too short. I vowed, as I do every time, to never ever knit a sock again if I can't force the recipient to sit by me when I get close to the end so that I can make them try it on a dozen times to be sure it fits. I expect this vow to be as effective this time as it has been in the past.

I have one other project on my list of 'soon to do' and that is to make a pair of thrummed mittens. Thrummed mittens in summer! That's crazy! Yes, it is, but so are my friends, who are going to be missionaries in Mongolia. Since I have always wanted to knit thrummed mittens (and because she is a dear friend and there is not much else I can do to help) I offered to make her some. Besides, she is the only person I know who will ever be anywhere cold enough to warrant thrummed mittens.

We looked at a bunch of different colors and kits and things and ultimately settled on black mittens with yellow or red thrums. I picked up some Cascade EcoWool at Fibre Space and pulled some wine red fiber from my spinning stash, and set the whole lot aside for a time when it's not too unbearable to knit mittens. I think I can do it once this heat wave passes, but I just couldn't handle it with the temps the way they were this weekend. And, you know. I had a shawl to knit. I'm thinking of also knitting her some Maia mitts or something to wear under the thrummed mittens, to keep her hands warm when she needs to take them off to do something. I can't imagine there is much you can accomplish while wearing mittens like that. If nothing else, she can wear them around the house or something. Maybe I'll knit a hat too. And a scarf. Lots of warm wooly love while she does the Lord's work. I should have bought another skein of ecowool. I wonder if I could do an Esplanade with worsted weight wool, or if that would be unbearably bulky? I'd have to improvise a bit on number of cast on stitches and the decreases...maybe I'll just stick to my old fallback, Kim's Hats. I suppose I could thrum a hat but that might be weird. Static nightmare with one's hair, I'd imagine. I should have bought more EcoWool.



I am quite taken by my Chiaogoo Red Lace needles, I have to say. And from the way they were flying off the shelves at Fibre Space, I'm not the only one. They are as sharp as the Knit Picks needles and much, much sturdier. The only thing I would change is that I wish the surface were slicker. It has sort of a velvety finish, and while it hasn't really impeded me, I'd be happier with something smooth. I've heard knitters say that they felt like the yarn was scraping along the needle and they couldn't stand the gut reaction they had to that sensation. I totally understand what they mean, but I'm glad I can put up with it. So far. I need to knit something in 100% silk to really test it out. Silk has a reputation for being a slippery fiber but I've actually found it quite difficult to move along the needle - perhaps because it IS so slippery, the stitches slide over one another and get all bunched up. Or maybe it is my supertight knitting style. No telling, really.

I tried using two Chiaogoos for the Serab sock, and I had mixed feelings about it. Knitting at such a tight gauge (especially because I was knitting with Bugga which is heavier than your average sock yarn), the lack of slickness is especially noticeable, and the braided steel cables are a little stiffer than the KP cables, so the needle that wasn't in use tended to stick out dangerously. I'm hoping they will soften up a little with use and dangle a bit more. In the meantime I've taken to sticking the ends of the needle not in use into the sock so I don't take somebody's eye out with them. On the plus side, the sticking out keeps the metal tips from clanking together, which always annoyed me.

Hoping to do lots of knitting this weekend, so I will have more than yarn to show you next week - although we do all like looking at yarn, don't we?

Block Party

I didn't get the blog post in last week, but I'm making for it this week! When I'm done with this post it will look like I've been really busy, when really - I've just been lazy, letting FO's pile up and blocking them all at once.

But, in keeping with tradition, WIP's first. I owe some birthday socks that I'm long overdue on, and I finally got them started this week:

These are Serab from Silk Road Socks in Sanguine Gryphon Bugga, colorway Arachne.



I have to say I really appreciate that the directions for this sock told you what to do when your double-increase was the first stitch in the round. I always get so frustrated when those little details are left out of the pattern. It's such a small thing, but it really saves me personally a lot of aggravation. I don't like to guess.

Knitting patterned socks always seems to go much faster than knitting plain socks. I love the sense of accomplishment I get when I finish a chart. It's much less satisfying to knit to a certain measurement, in my opinion. For this sock, you're given the chart and then told to repeat the last row a certain number of times, and if you want to make the sock longer you can simply keep repeating that last row until you're ready to do the heel. I just did the number of repeats indicated, since I've never done this pattern before and I've never used this yarn before, so I didn't want to push my luck too much on yardage. I think I would've been fine to make it a little longer, but I didn't want to take the risk.

One thing I don't really care for in terms of making patterned socks is doing the heel according to the instructions given. Now, I could've just tossed out the heel indicated and done my preferred heel, but I'll try anything once so I did the heel as directed. The flap seems a little long to me, but I checked it against my foot and I don't think it's a problem. It's a teeny bit baggy on me but I have smaller than average feet, so I think it will be fine for the person receiving it. Anyway, for a Saturday afternoon, I feel like that's pretty good progress.

I haven't started a new shawl because the next shawl in Romi's Pins & Lace club is due to show up in mailboxes starting this week, so I thought I would hold off and see what she's cooked up before I pick a new project. Crossing my fingers it's something I can use stash yarn for, but if not, a trip to the LYS may be in my future. I was down at Fibre Space a couple of weeks ago and their lace yarn selection is pretty delicious. I couldn't make up my mind what I wanted, though, so I ended up buying only sock yarn. I got three colors of Capital Luxury Sock from Neighborhood Fiber Company:

Edgewood


Sheridan Circle


Kalorama Circle

I'm thinking the two greens together might be pretty for Muse #1, but we'll see. I want to see what the dyer Romi used has available before I commit.


I'm still working on the endless scarf for CodeNinja. I think I have about six inches to go. It'll just take a few dedicated hours to get through. I'll rent a movie or something, I guess.

My charity knitting group is working on baby hats this summer so I've been working on one of those too. They gave us some patterns for DK weight yarn, but of course I'm a glutton for punishment so I'm working a fingering weight hat from some yarn I had in stash that I decided was probably never going to get used for actual socks. It's Ty-Dy - is that Crystal Palace, I think? Something like that.

Anyway, I've blathered on long enough - time for the FO parade!

Alcyone, the final of the seven sisters from 7 Small Shawls to Knit Year One: The Pleides, done in Ellen Cooper's Yarn Sonnets in colorway Aqua Tide.






Spanish Moss, Romi's Pins & Lace Club January installment, in Yarn Chef Spun Sugar in colorway Wild Sage. I did, in fact, finish this over the 4th of July weekend as I'd intended, but I didn't get it blocked until yesterday. This is the first time I've used this yarn and it was lovely, not quite as tightly twisted and round as Schaefer Andrea nor as loosely plied and flat as either BMFA Silk Thread II or Sundara Silk. I thought it gave a nice balance between the soft hand of the latter and the crisp stitch definition of the former. Would definitely use again! I had only a small ball left over from this, but I haven't weighed it. The colorway was named quite appropriately, and reminded me both of the grey-green color of Spanish Moss in the south and of the wild sage that grows in Yellowstone. The leaf sections are beaded but they don't show well, unfortunately - the beads are transparent white with a pearlized finish and they look exactly like dew drops. I'm so thrilled with them, and they were from stash. I also beaded the points on the edge - in fact, on one side I apear to have placed some extra beads, so I may go back with a pair of pliars and crack off the extra ones. Or I may just leave it. More bling never hurt.





Live Oak shawl, newly released from Romi in the latest issue of Knitscene, in MadTosh sock in "Tart" - I did an extra repeat of Chart A to make it slightly larger and still almost got this done in one skein. I ended up breaking open the second skein for the last row and a half plus the bind off. This was a super quick knit - I think I finished it in less than ten days, if memory serves, and it's beautiful. The lace is done in three sections and each leaf point must be pinned out in three places to get the lovely leafy edging, so blocking this one was a bit of a challenge for me. I'm happy with how it turned out.







By next week, I'll hopefully have a new shawl to show (and, if I'm very lucky, a finished pair of socks).