Bittersweet Shawl Starts

I was so excited to find an awesome yarn (Cascade Heritage Silk Paints in Vino, YAY love it) to make this shawl I've been wanting to make forevah (the gorgeous Haruni [Rav], by Emily Ross)!!!  So thirty minutes after I finally got the needles I needed (32" size US4 addi Turbo Lace), I cast on:

...it so didn't work.  :(  The color changes interfered with the pattern and everything got muddled together.  It's a little hard to see in the above photo, but I gave it 30 rows before frogging.  Sigh.

So this is happening instead:

Not as fancy and fun--  HOWEVER, it definitely shows off the yarn to its full advantage without being super boring to knit.  I'm going to keep this one.  And I'm going to keep my future Haruni, whenever it happens.

Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time

On Friday night, I had the brilliant idea to cast on a cardigan in my busiest knitting month of the year so far:

 

It's for a knitalong, but I'm less interested in the -along-ness of it and more concerned with just trying to gitterdun.  The miles of stockinette are broken up a little bit by the stripes; I hope it flippin fits.

In other news: birthday yarn!  These arrived in today's mail and I just couldn't wait for better lighting:

 

100% baby alpaca laceweight, courtesy of my brother B --
w00t w00t, thank you, kind sir!

Shawls > sweaters.  Officially.

It's Official: I Win at Life

I would just like to say Happy Birthday Week to me and, as Martin Freeman would say...

Nah, just kiddin.  I'm 30.  :)
30?   30??

Yes.  And I'm super excited about it, as you can tell.  I've been waiting for 30 my whole life, and I actually never thought I'd make it this far, so this week, this month, this whole flippin year in fact...

As always, I would like to thank my parents, without whom this personal party would not be happening.  I would also like to thank my husband and my daughter, for reasons.  Now everybody eat cake!

Purple roses are for love, love, love

New GLEE Tonight!

Sorry, guys, I'm a Gleek, so you have to deal with this right now.

The new season starts tonight!  And there's at least one hat!

Fox image ᔥ Entertainment Weekly

They're making a big huge deal about Rachel's "edgier" style, but I'm not seeing how this sweater-short skirt combo is much different from every other similar combo we've seen from her for years.  Maybe that's just me.

Anyhoo: free! hat patterns!  Just add a pom-pom and adjust for maximum slouchability.
Cabled Beret [Rav] by Darlene Dale
Moss Cable Stitch Beret [Rav] by PolarKnit
Quick Cable Slouch Hat [Rav] by Azure

FOs: Bobbles for Baby B

Baby shower for my friend at work today, yay yay yay!

Bobbly Flaps, "designed" by me; knit with 1/4 skein of Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino in colorway 174 Spring Leaf

Leo [Rav] by Martin Storey; knit with over a skein of Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino in colorway 174 Spring Leaf

Fan Lace Hat from Two Lace Baby Hats [Rav] by Heather Tucker; knit with 1/5 skein of Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino in colorway 174 Spring Leaf

Puerperium Cardigan [Rav] by Kelly Brooker; knit with 150yds of Lion Brand LB Collection Superwash Merino in colorways 

107 Sky, 141 Wild Berry, 170 Dijon, and 174 Spring Leaf

Dark and Stormy

It got really gross here, all of a sudden:

So since we've been warned not to travel, there is leftover pizza for lunch and cheery baby knitting on the needles:

Neat and tidy -- little did you know...

The ends are coming for your soul!

I'd also like to keep working on this bright blue lobster thing...

...but I cannot find the sandwich baggie of fiber fill to save my life.  Seriously.  It's not where it was last time I saw it, back in the beginning of June (effectively a hundred years ago in my stash-and-dash organizational system).  Sooooo no lobster yet.

FO: Mariquita

SO!  Apparently now I'm just casting on and binding off fairly large projects with nary a word in between!

Annis [Rav] by Susanna IC; knit with less than a skein of Cascade Heritage Silk Paints in colorway 9942 Misty Blue

There were quite a few pattern modifications for this shawl:

• eyelet bindoff gleaned from another's brilliant mind
• cobalt 2/0 Czech glass beads on every S2KP on row 5 of lace repeat (29 in all)
  
• went up a size on both sets of needles (US9 and US11)
  

I discovered that nupps (done correctly this time, no cheating as before) are slightly easier to deal with if one uses a crochet hook, but they're still painful.  I'm now exactly halfway to meeting my goal of 12 shawls in 12 months for 2012... which means I totally need to step it up, since the year is more than halfway gone.

And here are a couple more photos, because I said so.

 

LYS Trip: Yarn Soup

So in all the Ravellenic madness, I forgot to share one of the coolest parts of my trip...  a visit to Yarn Soup, the LYS in Dubuque, Iowa!

I wasn't able to get any photos of the inside, but there are a couple of good ones on the website that give one a sense of the coziness of the place -- there's some serious cozy going on there, even with the high ceilings and open floor plan.  The shop itself just opened within the last year (I think), but the decor inside and out fits in so well with the space and the rest of Main Street, it feels as though it's been there forever, in the best possible way.

Ahem.  Cascade Heritage Silk Paints in colorways 9958 (Vino) and 9942 (Misty Blue).  I know what I like and it was a dollar cheaper than my nearest shop at home.  So yeah, I got some yarn...

and Sara the Awesome Shop Owner (I believe that's her official title, but it may have Honcho in there also) dangled info for the Eastern Iowa Yarn Hop [Rav link] in front of me.  I was thisclose to driving to Manchester right away, but I had my mom and daughter with me, so I had to be on good behavior.

AND THEN!  My mama was all, oh look over there, a bookstore, I'm going to kidnap my granddaughter! so there was nothing to be done except settle into the über comfy seating area and work on Trip Project #3 and listen to some quiet aria and talk about those ruffle scarves that everybody wants.

Such a lovely place; if I lived closer, I would be there constantly.

In related news, I cast on a shawl pretty much the second I got home:

...so you'll be seeing progress for that coming up.  Another beaded shawl!  Apparently the only thing keeping me from beading everything in sight is the scarcity of beads within arm's reach.

FO: The Path to Sixty

So this happened last night...

...and I'm so pleased to be finished and so proud of my work!!

It was a long journey from cast on to border bindoff:

slow and steady

fun during Blog Week

reclaiming yarn

trying out different patterns

seaming nightmares

cross country road trip

Better pictures later, possibly.  For now, here are the stats...

free!  Pathways Blanket [Rav] designed by Frankie Brown
cast on Apr 14 2012, knitting done Jul 6, border finished Aug 21 2012
108 4" x 4" garter stitch squares with single crochet border (6 rounds)

knit in 2329 yards of worsted weight superwash merino wool
all yarn from stash! all originally bought from Knit Picks!

main color is Knit Picks Swish Worsted in colorway Squirrel Heather
body = 9.29 skeins = 464 grams / 1021.9 yards
border = 2 skeins = 100 grams / 218.9 yards

contrasting colors are:
Knit Picks Merino Style (disc.), colorways Dusk, Eggplant, and Storm
Knit Picks Swish Worsted, colorways Caribbean, Cobblestone Heather, Dublin, Indigo Heather, Lawn, Marine Heather, and Royal

And now: to ship it to its recipient -- I sure hope she likes it!

FO: Ravellenic Glory!

 

 Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl [Rav] by Gail Tanquary; 

knit with under 3 skeins of South West Trading 

Company Bamboo in colorway 138 Purplexed

 

The pattern doesn't have beading in it, but I decided I wanted to put a cobalt-colored glass bead at the tip of each fan module, and I think it was the right decision.  Spray blocked, soft, sublime!

Lemme, Lemme Update You

When we last saw our heroine:

I have since returned from my trip (for those playing along, I was in the midwestern USA for several family reunions, not in London for my triumphant Olympic debut) and there's been some progress...

1) Pathways Blanket [Rav] by Frankie Brown

I was only able to work on the seaming on the bottom half of the blanket during the first travel day, soooooooooooooooooooooo

I didn't get this finished in time to leave it there as intended. 
-sigh-  Sad panda.
It's going to be really great, you guys, I swear.

2) some sort of baby blanket square without enough yarn in stash
I was able to order yarn from WEBS and have it shipped to the location of my secret vacation lair!  I was able to choose a pattern and complete the required craftiness!  I was able to PULL THIS ONE OUT!

OPHELIA baby footprint dishcloth [Rav link] by Bridget McKenzie; knit with 2/3rds skein of Cascade Pima Tencel in colorway 1693 Sky Blue

...does it look like something?  It's something.

3) Baby V-Neck Vest [Rav] by Katy Moore

This got done -- with three hours to spare -- but I lacked the smarts to get a FO shot of baby vest greatness, so this is what you get:

Baby V-Neck Vest [Rav link] by Katy Moore; knit with 1.5 skeins of Knit Picks Comfy Worsted in colorways 6406 October and 2138 Pomegranate

Hugs to the baby's mama!

4) Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl [Rav] by Gail Tanquary

Ravellenic Games Progress!

There is beading and purple and I love this pattern EXCEPT
it is modular, which I'm a little tired of right now.
But that's the fault of Blanket Slog, not this shawl, so more please.

5) All Twisted Up Yoga Socks [Rav] by Bonnie Pruitt

I knit on this while under the watchful eye of the baby vest's recipient's mother... bait and switch.  :)

super pretty stitch marker made by Stitched Together -- thank you so much!

Oh, yes -- and there was yarn!!  More on that later.

AND before I forget: 
HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, M&D!! 
and HAPPY BDAY, T!!

Let the Ravellenics Games BEGIN!

Aaaaaaaand GO!

(yes, I know, this photo was staged before my trip; whatevs, blog magic)

Team HPKCHC! 
Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl [Rav], a free pattern by Gail Tanquary!
Hurray!

Competing in: Shawl Sailing PLUS balance beads, holiday hurdles, lace longjump, synchronized stash busting

You May Be Right (I May Be Crazy)

I may or may not be going on a trip soon.  This alleged trip may or may not involve four days worth of sitting in a car with a toddler.

I may or may not be taking all this with me:

1. Pathways Blanket [Rav] by Frankie Brown; top half completely seamed, bottom half has 2/3rds of the horizontal seams done; still need to do that crocheted border!!
2. some sort of baby blanket square; I don't what I want to do yet AND I don't think I have enough yarn AND I'm supposed to have it shipped by July 31st.  Le sigh.
3. Baby V-Neck Vest [Rav] by Katy Moore; needs to be done by July 27, but I still need to cast on...
4. Panda Silk DK Fan Shawl [Rav] by Gail Tanquary; casting on at the start of the London Olympics!
5. All Twisted Up Yoga Socks [Rav] by Bonnie Pruitt; lives in my purse for now

Two of these projects may or may not be making their new homes at my destination.  And all this knit work may or may not be totally fun!

p.s. all the patterns listed in today's post are free!
Because that's what happens.  Maybe.

Unseamly

This is not fun.

Yesterday or so, I completed all the horizontal seams on the top half of The Blanket that has Eaten My Summer.  Those who are paying attention may be realizing now that this is Bachelor #3, the center heart color configuration; probably wouldn't have been my choice, but since the final product is not for me, I've deferred to the infallible wisdom of the recipient's sister (hi there, Ma!)...

...and here are the squares I have left to manage.  The original plan was to do all the horizontal seams before seaming vertically, but even 54 squares is such a pain to have on my lap that I have realized (brilliantly) that I can totally seam each half before grafting them together.

I hate finishing!  I like knitting!  I miss knitting!  Bah!

Slow Blanket Slog

Blanket fever is bordering on obsession at this point (and I haven't even reached the border yet - BAH!).  All 108 squares have been knit, finished, and blocked  PLUS  I've got to cast on and complete another s.e.c.r.e.t square for another project.  Whoa nelly.

Here are some color configuration ideas I've been knocking about...

 

 

The quality on all of these is horrible; the combination of awful lighting, large blanket, and small-ish me does not make for excellent photography conditions.
I'm torn between the safety of an organized gradient-like presentation seen in these pictures and the potential excitement of random let-the-chips-fall-where-they-may placement.  Either way, I'm definitely going with the geometric small diamond pattern.

Mot-less Monday: Blanket Blerg continues

p.s. happy 32nd birthday to my super duper bestie!

Hashtag Winning

Again with the radio silence!  This may make me a bad person.  It definitely makes me a bad blogger.  I got all distracted with the best visit ever from my parents and evenings filled with blanket squares...  but no matter, I'm back (for now)!

Remember this year's Knit and Crochet Blog Week?  (If not, I'll wait while you peruse these entries written by me.)  OK, so: that Friday, we were supposed to write about Something a Bit Different (all prompts here; my entry here!) and fellow blogger Stitched Together had such an awesome idea: knit a stripy shawl with color order chosen by the commentariat!  She used her very own free! design, the More Than A Triangle Shawl [Rav link], in a bunch of beautiful colorways of Shetland wool [Rav project page].
Bonus: a random commenter wins the fabulous finished fanciness.

So guess who won?...

me me me me me me!!!  So excited.  :)  Every single color coordinates with the totality of my wardrobe and I'm just pleased as punch.  The triangle construction makes it easy to wrap-and-go, and this garter stitch is so squishy and nice!  All the glory goes to Stitched Together for her superlative skill in both knitting and designing.

There are much better pictures of the process and finished shawl on Stitched Together's blog, so head over there to fully appreciate the AWESOMENESS that is this gorgeous wrap!

Finished measurements: 102in/259cm (8.5ft) wide; 26in/67cm deep

Thank you thank you thank you again to Stitched Together!

 

I am a gigantic dork and also possibly a vampyre.