Seemingly Endless Last Rows of Top Down Shawls.

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I just finished the "Wings of Horus" mystery shawl from Kalinumba. It is always tricky doing a mystery shawl, one never knows quite how it will turn out. But this particular designer has a nice collection of designs, all with quite clear and precise charts, so I knew it wouldn't be too risky. What I didn't count on was having to solve a riddle relating to Egyptian mythology in order to obtain each of the six clues. Suffice to say - this was one aspect of my education that is sorely lacking. I didn't have a "clue" so to speak. I never DREAMED Egyptian mythology was so complex. I actually ended up reading the Kalinumba forum on Ravelry, searching for hints, and finally (for some clues) just typing in random names willy-nilly. (That can shoot an entire afternoon!)

I used the 2008 California Variegated Mutant fleece by "Tattoo" which I bought from the White Barn Farm in Michigan. I separated out about 200 grams of what appears to be all the same shade of grey, lock washed and combed it. I was religious about spinning from the cut end of the locks.

I wanted a fine single, I spun it on my electric wheel from Alden Amos and spun as I knit. I have never been able to spin all the yarn for a project ahead of time very successfully, I lose interest. This worked swell, and there was some variation in the shade of grey which added to the design features of the shawl.

The shawl took 1560 yards and ended up weighing 130 grams, it is quite light, it fits thru my engagement ring (well not MY engagement ring, really some dead woman from Yountville's engagement ring, but that is another story . . . ). My choice of beads was spot on in terms of their color, just about two sizes too small, they really only add weight to the bottom of the shawl, they are lost in the design.

Was just cooking with the knitting until the last clue. One always forgets with top down shawls just how L. . O. . N. . G the knitting takes for the last 10-20 rows. And stopping to put on beads with the tiniest crochet hook ever slows one down as well.

Quite happy with how this turned out, I think I am going for one of those "Cast on 486 Stitches" shawls next!

Oh - about Raggs, the Standard Poodle, if you have ever owned a poodle you will understand the "product" placement aspect of the picture. It was all I could do to keep him out of the other pics!

"MUIR" and other summer knitting

I began this in October of 2007, with the idea of giving it to my sister-in-law-once-removed (I think that is what Frankie is!) for Christmas 2007. Little did I know what a DOG on the needles this would become! Not to say that I am not pleased beyond belief with the finished project, but this was such a difficult knit for me. I never got comfortable with the actual rhythm of the pattern, I had to have my eyes glued to the pattern at all times. And winter did not have NEAR enough light for knitting black lace. I think the choice of "Superior" as the yarn was the first hazard. It is 70% cashmere/30% silk and honestly feels like one is knitting a spiderweb. Ever so slippery on the needles, I ended up using size 6 Addi Lace Circulars (24"). The pattern is Muir from Fall 2007 Knitty. The shawl ended up 29" x 86" after a pretty messy blocking:

I found that I had permanently bent my blocking wires blocking the Spitzenstricken. I will have to go back to the welding supply place and get the next larger diameter. But I did block with thread, which I ran thru the picots along the sides and the loops along both ends. This SORTA worked, but many of the side picots became inverted, necessitating quite alot of pin placement. Totally worth it, they all poke out now.

Gonna wrap it and mail it today. Meanwhile - I am planning a rectangular shawl for my Aunt Dorothy who requested something in purple. Her first shawl was also my first shawl, it is the one at the head of the blog. I found some wonderful Alchemy Haiku at Knit Purl in Portland. Lovely customer service, I have never been to the store, but any internet retailer that wraps my yarn in tissue, includes a personal note and gets it here fast gets my repeat business.

I bought the Pablo's Solace colorway, and knit up a gauge sample, testing some designs I have found both on the internet and in recent book purchases (I need an intervention for book purchasing). Lovely yarn, can't wait to begin the shawl after I figure out the exact design.

Oh - and I finished the "Summer Sampler" by BadCatDesigns. I did end up adding my own edging lace, one that I found in an old Burda Lace magazine. It ended up a bit tight, I did not measure the stitch/row gauge correctly of the edging and "do the math" for attaching it to the sampler. But it is also, quite nice and blocking did a lot for it. The cotton yarn I used "Habu Non-Twist Cotton Boucle XS-43B" is very very soft, the color is quite deep. And - as an added benefit, the shawl FITS thru a ring!

And then there is always my usual mindless knitting, a couple of pairs of hats, two felted slippers, three pairs of socks. And while rooting around in the black hole of crafts, found this bit of fair isle I designed and knit a sample for:

I gotta get knitting!

Engeln Spitsenstricken B Done!

I finished my “B” version yesterday. I found it quite difficult to follow all new symbols for the knitting stitches, so I graphed it all out in spreadsheet format with symbols familiar to me and just printed out the parts I needed as I went along knitting.

I LITERALLY had 2 feet left of my yarn!

Blocking was difficult, I had a very hard time getting the two sides to come out symmetrical, so I tried a novel approach, I folded the shawl and blocked. Just had to steam out the fold line when I was done. Finished size is 29” deep and about 60” tip to tip.

Engeln's Spitzenstricken Trachtentuch B

I finally began this lace collar/shawl pattern I have loved for years. I bought "Orenburg" lace yarn from here during their New Year's Eve sale. Not my most favorite color, but now that I am knitting with it, I love it. The yarn itself is core spun mohair, I assume Kid Mohair, but it seems a little thicker at times. It is core spun on a silk thread, and the shimmer of the silk shows thru here and there. Thinnest laceweight I have ever knit with, and I am using Addi Lace size 3. I am doing the "B" version.

The pattern is available two places, Lacis as part of the booklet:

"Spitzenstricken Von Erich Engeln Bk 3 "

Or the pamphlet alone is available Here

In looking at the finished products others have knit, I am not enamored with the edge stiches (this is knit from the center neck down).
So - I charted out the first two blocks of the pattern using my charting font and open office spreadsheet. I HAD to chart it out, and will have to chart out the rest, the symbols he uses are so non intuitive to me.

The original pattern makes no definition for the "3" indicated on the edge stitches, though it is evident from the pattern progression that it is an increase of three from one stitch. I added a 3 stitch garter edge, followed by a YO, twist stitch, YO, and then proceed to the first knit stitch.


I also have finally gotten brave in my combination knitting style, and I am not bothering with reseating the stitches in order to twist them the usual way (knit in the back of the stitch) and am instead just knitting the as it is seated thru the front of the loop. My single twist stitches twist to the right instead of to the left, and it doesn't seem to matter.

My Alternate MS3

I finished blocking my alternate version of "MS3" today. It ended up about 23" x 72". I used two entire skeins of JoJoLand fingering weight cashmere (I used my math skills and ended up with only 5 yards left of the 800!)

It is OK, though the "bees" violate my lace rule of having no hole big enough to get one's finger thru. The bees looks more like butterflies and I think I went overboard beading them. But, all in all, a very satisfying project. Can't wait to see how the real version (I am doing it in black) turns out.

Hard to photograph adequately, this is the best I can do.