CatKnitsandThings.com

I am guiltily avoiding my Pretty As a Peacock shawl. So much for “knitting along.” Oy. I know I have to rip it back to the lifeline again, and I don’t want to. So, while I avoid thinking about it, I have been buisily knitting other things. Little easy things. Things that are soothing and calming for the most part - and that have been relatively quick knits.

Frankly, I’m just a little bit amazed at the incentive I’ve gained while avoiding the inevitable. So, to that end, there have been baby hats, a dishcloth or two, second sleeve to a sweater finished - and a bazillion ends woven in…but the sweater is sort of in that same “Pile of Avoidance”. (Marihone is still waiting for me to get the courage to steek the armholes and sew the sleeves on and then finish the neck. All firsts for me. So, they’re waiting for the day I’m feeling rather invicible. That hasn’t happened yet - so it waits.) And, since I just love how my Faroese style shawl fits, I’m making another one now. Out of some yarn that I have had for a few years. It’s cotton.

I really don’t like knitting large projects with cotton. It sucks the life out of the skin on your hands. But - I think I have ENOUGH of it for a summery shawl, and the color I had dyed my handspun suddenly occurred to me was NOT my color. So, since at least at this point, I want to knit every shawl in that book - I cast on for Barbara in a coral-colored DK weight cotton that I had in my tiny stash. I got it from Elann.com a couple of years ago. I originally purchased it for another shawl - but that one required p5tog tbl and, while that’s probably “doable” with a nice flexible wool - at least for me that was NOT going to happen with this yarn. So, I abandoned that idea.

Since then, this yarn has actually been:

• knit almost completely into a sweater and frogged -
• another sweater started - also frogged -
• and now it’s becoming this shawl.

Hopefully this is what it will end up being. Besides, I’d already practiced the pattern, so no use waiting until I forgot it again. Seems as good a reason as any for using a yarn with this one’s track record.

Tags: Barbara, Faroese style shawl, Myrna Stahman by EllyMae
2 Comments »

It finally occurred to me, that I could actually practice a lace pattern before I started knitting it up into the actual shawl or scarf. I know that lace patterns take me a few times doing them before they finally make sense, but up until I decided to try this one in dishcloth yarn did it ever occur to me that I could actually swatch to learn the pattern. Usually I’m just ripping out what I’ve done and starting again and hoping the yarn holds up. This is one of Myrna Stahman’s Faroese shawl lace patterns. Likely the next one I’m going to knit. Possibly, it will be in some of my handspun since other options don’t exist right now. I have 3-1/2 repeats here. First one is close, but off in a couple of spots, second one is the one where you are all… “oh, okay I think I’ve got it - and then you get too cocky and make a ROYAL mess of things” - third repeat - humility has returned, and I’m finally into the “zone” of kind of “chanting” the y/o’s and decreases to myself as I go along - and finally it’s right. So, now I have a nice lacy dishcloth to add to the stack - albeit humble with it’s flaws and inconsistencies, and a lace pattern learned that I can now apply to wool.

Win.
Win.

We like that.

Tags: Uncategorized by EllyMae
1 Comment »

I almost forgot my “D” installment for the ABC-Along. The daffodils are starting to bloom in my neck of the woods.

Tags: ABC along by EllyMae
No Comments »

Don’t you just love Elizabeth Zimmermann’s idea for making a gauge swatch - make a hat, then it doesn’t seem like you’re just wasting time (not that gauge swatching is wasting time, mind you…) getting on with a project. This is a pattern in one of the Baby Dale books Dalegarn #142 and this is “Nr 5″. I don’t know it’s actual name. But there’s a pattern for a cardigan, a pull-over, a vest and this sweet hat. It has these baby chicks, cows and hound dogs on it, and I originally bought the yarn to make the sweater with it for my new grandson. It’s done in Stork. This was my attempt at swatching for the project. But it may end up just being the entire project - well, plus a pompom because they’re kind of fun to make.

Tags: Baby Dale, Dale of Norway by EllyMae
1 Comment »