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.

All That Is Left Undone

My daughter is sick and I am unshowered.  All the vomitous drama (vomitous drama!) of the last twelve hours makes going to daycare and/or work impossible, what with all the cleaning and recleaning and medicating and hydrating and rehydrating.
She has finally succumbed to tiredness and is napping on the couch, so I'm doing important things like blogging.  And laundry.

To be quite honest, I've recently had a dip into what is sometimes referred to in my house as "the danger zone," in which I really don't want to be around the planet anymore (thanks, brain chemistry and insomnia!).  I'm slowly piecing my way back to normal, thanks to the help of awesome people who don't treat me like I'm broken, and knitting is helping... as always, of course, one stitch at a time.

This impossible-to-photograph mass is the black cotton shawl, bound off and ready for blocking, paired with a tiny ball of remaining yarn:

This is why I knit shawls using spreadsheets, folks.  There's something so satisfying about knowing I've used every bit of yarn at my disposal to make an object as big as it could possibly be.

The Evenstar has hit the home stretch and I've ramped my pace up to finishing three full repeats in an evening.  Only 12" of live stitches left:

89.29% of the edging done, 50 border repeats finished, 2500 total beads a-beaded, marking 97.76% of the total project and 86,036 total stitches completed.

At this stage, I'm thankful for:

• coffee (before knitting and after knitting, never during)
• the white light at the end of this shawl tunnel
• so many more shawls to knit very soon

FO: Dru Flies

Once upon a time (oh fine, it was last month) in the land of HPKCHC, there was a really awesome Ravenclaw who was temporarily unable to knit for medical reasons.  She was understandably bummed about it, but her fellow Claws decided to band together to make up the points difference so this fierce competitor and wonderful human being wouldn't feel guilty on top of bummed on top of injured.

Almost simultaneously, at my house, my Fairy Mother appeared with a sparkly wand and magicked a large shawl's worth of gorgeous hand-dyed superwash straight into my hands!!  With no solid plan, I figured I'd take some time to pick an appropriate pattern, start it in August, and finish in September.  There's that red-and-gold shawl happening during June, remember, and the Evenstar, of course... just no time to knit a 571-yard shawl in June.  Don't even think about June.

My version of Summer Flies [Rav] by Alla Postelnik; knit with two full skeins of String Theory Merino DK in colorway Garnet

The pattern is Donna Griffin’s no-longer-free! Summer Flies [Rav] Charts 1-6 with Alla Postelnik’s mods for the border. I further modified Alla's border by knitting rows 1-7 of border chart A, added a garter ridge-eyelet-garter ridge detail for the next three rows (total rows 10, down from 20; one butterfly repeat, down from 3) and extended border chart B for two additional lace rows (17 and 19) to use up all the yarn on my favorite part.  :)

This shawl (Shawl #6 for the year!) is currently nominated for a June prize in the Harry Potter Knit & Crochet House Cup [Rav]... I'm trying to be cool about it, but I'm NOT cool and I AM terribly excited.  :)  Everything about this project makes me smile.

Mot-less Monday: Brightly Blocking

Keeping Going

Work is blerg and lack of sleep is blargl.  So keeping going is really the only goal right now:

I have that look on my face right exactly now.

To distract me from life, I have the Evenstar.  And to distract me from the Evenstar, I have... a lumpy little pillow!

chart from Potter Alphabet Chart [Rav] by Mandy Chronister

chart from Array of Stars Chart [Rav] by Niamh Dhabolt

I did these two "squares" for Quidditch, because that's a sentence that makes sense.  Then I seamed them together and lightly stuffed them for a play pillow for Punkin Q. Pie... it's a hit!

G is for Goofus and Gallant

I've also started something for the Through the Loops Summer Shawl KAL, because if one is attempting to knit lace in public in July, it should be both cotton and black for maximum confusion:

Okay, Evenstar time!!
This shawl has reached 53.57% of the edging done and 1500 beads a-beaded, with 30 repeats finished at 328 stitches and 50 beads per repeat.  This marks 90.31% of the total project and 79,476 total stitches completed:

click to embiggen photo; you might be able to see the beads

I managed to lose my first beading gadget, but I was able to make a new one with a minimum of time and effort.

At this stage, I'm thankful for:

• the foresight of Jill Factotum, who gave me the whole spool of jewelry wire as a gift -- you rock, lady!
• rewatching 90s TV from my childhood (The Adventures of Pete & Pete, My So-Called Life) AND my very favorite British TV (The IT Crowd and Sherlock.  Always Sherlock.)  Also: I'm in love with Scandal now... don't judge me.  Or do, whatever, I'm too tired to fight you.

There are a couple of finished shawls I need to post.
But not right now byeeeeeee

FO: Pintesting

Too busy to blog!
Knitting like crazy!
Learning to arm-knit?!
Pintester Movement 2.0!

I read the sometimes-NSFW, always-hilarious Pintester blog, in which Pinterest pins are tested out by intrepid reporter/guinea pig Sonja Foust... and she recently issued a challenge: retest a pin idea that she's already tried and see what happens!  How could I resist?
p.s. Mama, NSFW in this case means there's swearing.  You have been warned.

One of my favorite -ahem- failures (sorry, Sonja) was an attempt at arm knitting; the FO image was pinned from designer Simply Maggie's video tutorial, and I was able to find it as a free! Ravelry pattern as well.  The Pintester did not fare so well (spoiler alert?), but I hoped that my base knowledge of with-pointy-sticks knitting would give me some sort of advantage... and I had a cunning three-step plan!

Step 1: use the correct yarn for the job!
Step 2: easily grasp the mechanics of arm knitting!
Step 3: bask in glory!

Visiting stash... ooh, Step 1: complete!

Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky -- it's discontinued

The tutorial/pattern calls for super bulky yarn held double and I just so happened to have this merino blend hanging around, doing nothin since 2006.  Perfect for the project and stash-busting at the same time...

That sound you hear is me polishing my nails on my shoulder.
Like a boss.

Step 2: um.  Okay.  Let's present this as a series of vignettes.

Long tail cast on: success?  I guess?  looks a mess.  Bless.

Attempt One: in which I leave way too much slack and have no clue how to properly twist the yarn to approximate stockinette stitch.

Nope.

Attempt Two: in which my husband hovers over me and tells me that I look like I'm in "yarn handcuffs."

He's not wrong.

Attempt Three: in which my daughter distracts me so much, I drop a selvedge stitch and don't realize it until it's too late.  Fillagadusha.

Here's what I learned about arm knitting:
Everyone else in the house needs to leave me alone.
Also, I need at least three days to procrastinate.

Step 3: I am a supermodel!

Eat your heart out, RuPaul!

In the end, Attempt Four was a winner, with a cast-on edge of seven and a total length of six feet (ends sewn together).  With prior practice and without distractions, I was finally able to finish this in the promised half-hour time frame.

bind-off edge of glory

double-looped for cowl realness

Thanks for the challenge, Madame Pintester!  I don't know if I'd ever try this again, but I was able to go from yarn to finished object fairly quickly and for cheap-as-free, which counts as a win in my book.  Plus I earned points in the Harry Potter Knit & Crochet House Cup! 

...I've said too much.  Gotta go!  Evenstar beading awaits!