Break Month White-Knuckling

Ah, August: that beautiful month when summer colds aren't even as bad as it gets, upheaval-wise; HPKCHC is on break between terms; and everyone seems to be talking about Ben Affleck as Batman (I don't dislike him, I just nothing him).

Here's my only active WIP!
It's a laceweight alpaca cowl...  I will banish this menace from my stash once and for all:

Mama, please say you'll take this off my hands soon

Pretty, huh?  The beads are leftover from Evenstar and I think they look like tiny dewdrops.

Here's a random photo!
This is right before and right after grafting the closure of Evenstar's knitted-on edging:

Cool, huh?  I forgot I had it while writing the FO post, but there's no image police on this blog, so you'll get it now and you'll like it!  The color values are off thanks to differences in lighting: Photo 1 was midday, directly under a skylight; Photo 2 was late at night with indirect lighting from a floor lamp in a mustard-colored room.

Here's a swatch!
Imma make a blanket soon and this yarn is great, yo:

Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in colorway 9885 Jade

Intriguing, huh?  It's center-out circular! It's not modular! Which means it's as close to shawl-like as I'm going to get while ending up with a non-shawl FO.

Today I was home from work with a sick kid, so I got to take that three-hour nap I desperately needed several months ago.  I have a test knit in the can I'll be sharing with you next month and so. many. plans for September, I can't keep track of them all... but Ms. Spreadsheet knows it's not for lack of trying.

Mot-less Monday: Nest Eggs

FO: Gryffindors Always Pay Their Debts

Oh hey, this one, too!  The sheer amount of shawls is getting ungainly and difficult to manage...  too bad!
CAN'T STOP WON'T STOP   #YOLO   #HASHTAG

EZ 100th Anniversary Gull Wings Half-Circle [Rav] by Mwaa Knit; knit with Dragonfly Fibers Djinni Sock in colorway Dragonberry and Wullenstudio Superwash Sock Merino Nylon in colorway Sister Golden Hair, one skein each

This is a half-pi design based on the work of the illustrious Elizabeth Zimmermann.  I completed a single-color version of a similar design last year and well, why not push the limits of garishness while I'm at it?

 

 

Is it "stunning in its opulence"?  It's certainly unique.  I've already fielded comments from colleagues about the Washington D.C. football team and a certain non-Ravenclaw house at Hogwarts.  As long as no one mumbles "Cersei Lannister" in my presence, I'm okay with it.

 

FO: Estelio han, estelio veleth

After all that commotion, it is finally complete -- and since the beauty shots won't be taken until November, I only have blocking shots to share...

EVENSTAR
Done in three months!

Evenstar Shawl [Rav] by Susan Pandorf; knit with 3.5 hanks of Knit Picks Gloss Lace in colorway Natural

The project name I've chosen is from the song “Evenstar” with Elvish lyrics by Philippa Boyens; translated from Sindarin, Estelio han, estelio veleth means “trust this, trust love” and I thought it was perfect for my friend on her wedding day -- can't wait to see what this will look like on her!

 

The beads are silver-lined clear glass 8/0 seed beads and they made their way onto the yarn with a twiddly bit of jewelry wire (teased earlier, video tutorial here) that worked like a charm.  I spent the entirety of July on that beading and I'm SO GLAD I gave myself a full month to do it; that stuff is no joke.

The Brushstrokes Fitted Sheet of Discomfort and Scratchiness has now been fully repurposed into the Colorful Blocking Sheet for All Circle Shawls, with diameter markings for 59”, 57”, and 30”:

already switched it out for the much-more-photogenic Sage Comforter of Simplicity

The craziest part?  Even after all that work, I want to knit another one just for me me me!

FO: Dragon: Fly, Wings!

This is the story of a shawl that is not a shawl.

Ceci n'est pas une shawl.

Dragonfly Wings [Rav] by Boo Knits; knit with slightly more than half a skein of Cascade Heritage Silk in colorway 5608 Pine

I started this little piece of pretty as part of the Crafts from the Cwtch Pick a Boo! Summer Shawl KAL and it hummed along, doot-do-doo...

...so quickly, in fact, that I only got one progress shot!  So easy!  I'm going to make 12 shawls by October! Woohoo!  Hush, inner monologue: no one wants to hear your smugness.

Now: if one wants to participate in the Ravelry group "12 Shawls Forever" (AKA 12shawls4lyfe!!!1!), there are some rules to follow.  Most of them involve very technical requirements: minimum depth, minimum yardage, garment shape, etc.  FUNNY STORY: even though it meets the minimum depth requirement, this shawl does not meet the minimum yardage requirement (only 16 yards off!), so it's not a shawl, it's a... glorified scarf?

Also, it's hilariously-shaped:

So even though I don't have a "shawl" for the Pick A Boo! KAL, I do have a pretty bit of frippery to make me feel all fancy at work.
Thanks to Sarah at Crafts from the Cwtch for spurring me to cast on!

FO: Urban Druid

To those who think Wednesdays are for Works in Progress only, I say to you: pishposh!  Pishposh, I say! On to the parade of FOs!

Lavalette [Rav] by Kirsten Kapur; knit with 2 100g skeins of Classic Elite Provence in colorway 2613 Black

MODS: DK weight yarn, went up one needle size, removed final stockinette section’s repeats 8-10 to avoid running out of yarn

It seems like everyone was knitting along with at least one group this summer and I'm nothing if not a joiner (hey, can I be a part of your club? sure, I'll do your homework for you! love me!).  This was a Through the Loops Summer Shawl KAL project and Kirsten Kapur has some awesome designs from which to choose... but I jumped in with zero planning, totally on a whim, hence the only free! shawl option.

I cast on with some DK-weight black cotton -- because that's what I had -- and then, THEN, the New York Times's superawesome Bill Cunningham did a fashion vlog about flowing, lacy black garments for summertime!  He called it "Urban Druid" and I heart that.

Black yarn is impossible to photograph; forgive me.

After taking it out for a day “in the wild,” I can say with all certainty that this is the perfect shawl for me: goes with everything, keeps me just the right temperature, and drapes with exactly the right coverage with zero tugging, fussing, or slipping.

Watch This Space

Other knitting bloggers have been posting vacation photos and beach shots and lots of summer barbeque pics...  I haven't been posting, and I haven't gone on vacation.  But there's still stuff going on:

Owl Bookmark with Tassel [Rav] by Toria Clarke; knit with a few yards of Cascade 220 Superwash Paints in colorway 9860 Jelly Bean

So please: watch this space for a flurry of FOs!  But not right at this second, because I apparently need to go play with PlayDoh rightexactlynow.