Sick Day WIP: Lupine

 

I'm home with a cold today, so I've been working on this little shawlette design I started a while back. It's actually the second version of it - the first is already finished, and just needs blocking, photography, and an official write-up! I knit the first in Malabrigo Mechita, a super squishy single-ply that has a slightly hazier, softer texture than its distant cousin, Tosh Merino Light. Mechita was an absolute dream to work with, and has earned a spot on my list of recent favorite yarns.

This second version is being knit up in a skein of Evil Genius Dye Lab M1S from my stash, in the colorway Selena. I'm enjoying the combination of gentle tonal color changes and the simple repetition of the pattern, which has kept me happy while I watch documentaries and drink tons of water and tea in bed.

Happy Wednesday, friends - I'm off to nap!

<3

Cory

FO: Suki

  

Are you sick of seeing finished things yet? Wheeee I hope not!

Suki is another striped shawl that I started (and finished) a while back, but it took a while to block and photograph. The mink yarn created an incredibly light, soft fabric that almost feels too luxurious for everyday wear. The pattern had been in my queue for a long time, and it ended up being super fun and quick to knit.

I had a hard time coming up with how to style it - all of the outfits with mid-century vintage dresses that I tried ended up sort of flat and dull. Then I grabbed this strappy silk printed dress on a whim, and surprisingly, it worked! I love the juxtaposition of such a classic color with a fun, modern print. The dress does have a bit of a '70s vibe to it because of the blouson effect, the deep neckline, and long, figure-skimming silhouette - not too much of a surprise, though, since a) I've been jamming on the '70s for the last year or so, and b) mixing genres is fun!

The dress is destined to be garment duplicated, and the shawl has been keeping my neck warm in the wildly variable early spring we've been having in Seattle.

Details on Ravelry here.

FO: Little Bird in the Briar

  

The making I do seems to run in cycles. I'll go for weeks or even months without finishing anything, and then suddenly, wham - it's all done, in a flood of wool, or cotton, or cashmere, or alpaca, or whatever. It's frustrating sometimes, because in all other aspects of my life, I'm a slow-and-steady kind of person, but it's happened enough in my crafting life that I'm starting to think I need to make peace with it.

I have a bit of a fear of putting the finishing touches on things, I think. It's the last moment at which the puddle of crappy fabric you've made has a chance to redeem itself before you uncover its true nature. If something is wrong, the finishing will out: a too-heavy yarn will stretch to its limp, saggy glory; the gauge swatch you ignored will mock you from its grave; fixes that seemed terribly clever in the moment will announce their incompetence (and by proxy, yours.)

And in my heart of practical hearts, I know that the success of a garment is often entirely in the fiddly, annoying, dumb parts of finishing - like clipping and grading the curve of a sewn seam, or threading blocking wires through 5,832,934 tiny fuzzy garter bumps on the side of an asymmetrical shawl at 10 o'clock at night in a poorly lit room, like Lumberjack and I did the other night. (Bless that man, for real.) These are the moments that make you look down at your pin-stuck, throbbing fingers and think, now, why do I do this again?

That said, I am pleasantly surprised by this knit, despite it being a total pain to block: a modified Nurmilintu shawl, which I knit to the end of the last repeat and realized was way too frigging short for my taste. I put it down for a bit in annoyance, then in a flash of brilliance a few weeks later, dug up some extra Tosh Merino Light, ad-libbed a striped garter and lace repeat, and - voila! I finished knitting the damn thing, and only the blocking remained to see if I was successful.

And, funny enough, I think I was. It grew and stretched its little wings into a light but substantial thing, long in the spine and gracefully curved. The bias of the fabric makes it fall in soft folds, and the stripe detail looks like it was meant to be there. I think it's the proportions of the pattern that made my unintentionally beautiful hack possible, but I'm pretty delighted with it nonetheless.

Details on Ravelry here.

FO: Fireweed

  

A while back, the wonderful Kate & Rachel of Spincycle Yarns provided me with yarn support for an asymmetrical shawlette design - and it's been burning a hole in my design brain ever since. I'm always so inspired by the long, subtle color shifts of Dyed in the Wool, and I wanted to play with two contrasting colors with a delicate stripe detail and simple lace border.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the way this piece turned out - the asymmetrical detail makes it a bit unusual, and the interplay of color is organic and striking. (Kate, Rachel, and my friend Sooz all weighed in on my color choice, and I think they picked a winner!) I have found that the petite size and shape make it a good candidate for a shawl pin to keep things secure, but don't be fooled by its size - this little devil kept my neck nice and toasty while I set up the Fiber Gallery booth at Madrona Fiber Arts this week.

Side note: I'm working at the shop instead of the booth this year, but I will be at Madrona as my Muggle self on Saturday - please feel free to say hi!

Back to the shawl - Fireweed is in the pattern development stages, and will be on its way to testers soon.

More details on Ravelry here.

FO: Plum Judy

  

I've knit quite a few Swallowtail Shawls over the years. The first, I knit in three or four days while studying abroad in Japan - I still think of the echoey beige halls of the university every time I see it - and the second and third, I knit in quick succession the summer after I graduated from Oberlin. It's such a fun and pretty little pattern, I could knit it a dozen more times and be happy!

This Swallowtail, unlike the other two, was never destined to be mine. A while back, a few of my friend Sooz's shawls were tragically and hopelessly damaged, and I knew she was pretty bummed about it - and Sooz being a dear friend, a beautiful knitter herself, and and immensely knitworthy gift recipient, my knitterly wheels started turning.

So I chose this beautiful Pagewood Farms fingering weight from my stash, in a color that I had seen Sooz wear before (and that looks smashing on her), and bang - a few days into January, and I had a brand new Swallowtail! I finally got the shawl blocked and photographed last weekend, and this week, we grabbed dinner, and I gave her her new shawl. She sent me pictures after she got home that night, and it looks great on her!

For as much as I proclaim to be a selfish knitter, I get such happiness from sharing the wooly things I make. There's nothing quite like seeing a garment that you had this close relationship with as you made it, warming a person that you care about. In their own ways, knitted things become objects of connection and love - and I think that's why giving away my knits is sometimes even better than keeping them to my selfish self.

Details on Ravelry here.

Of a Different Stripe

So Little Bird still needs a bath, but when I went to take photos of my newly striped Suki, they were sitting next to each other on the table and it was sort of amazing to see how different they are, even though they're both grey + warm hue striped shawlettes.

This one of the things I love so much about yarn: the ability to tell completely different stories based on choices about color and texture.

 

Little Bird is exactly like she sounds: petite and delicate, the colors slightly blurred, like the grainy-soft color of a sparrow's wing. I had never thought of Tosh Merino Light as a rustic yarn before, but in many ways it is: the fabric it creates is gently uneven - almost pebbled - even though the yarn itself has a smooth, luminous core.

 

Suki, on the other hand, is all sophistication. There is a softness, yes; but it's a different animal entirely. Though there's depth and texture to the color, it's the polished kind: it's a purebred stallion to Little Bird's wild wing. It's classic, perfectly balanced in its simplicity and luxury - which is usually not quite my style, but I'm enjoying myself so damn much that I don't care.

Happy Friday, friends!

<3

Cory

WIP: Suki

Today I'm home sick from work with my second cold of the season (boo), but in between Theraflu-induced naps and chapters of The Making of the Atomic Bomb, I've been able to get a little knitting time in.

My Little Bird in the Briar is newly cast off and waiting for a bath - my ingenious plan worked, by the way! - so I chose a new two-color shawlette: Suki from The Sock Report, Vol. 1. Yarn Harlot made a beautiful version of Suki a few years back, and I fell in love with the idea of using a soft, melty yarn to make my own. In one of my few yarn excursions while I worked on my collection in 2013, I got some burgundy and grey Lotus Mimi for my devious shawley purposes, and it's burned a hole in my stash ever since.

So far, I'm thoroughly enjoying myself. The yarn is 100% mink, and touted as being cruelty-free. The burgundy colorway is deeply shaded - a glaze of ruby over black - and even without blocking has created a light, cohesive fabric with a dark halo.

And since my head feels like it's stuffed with small, furry animals, what better way to enhance the whole experience than with yarn that feels like cuddling a friendly mink?

WIP: Little Bird in the Briar

A while back, I discovered a sweet little shawlette pattern called Nurmilintu, and thought it would be perfect for one of my many lone skeins of Tosh Merino Light - in particular, a skein of the colorway Briar, a lovely warm violet color.

The pattern is garter stitch with horizontal lace accents, and a little picot bind-off after the last lace section. So charming! So I cast on, and was humming right along - I managed to finish most of it in a little less than a week - but when I got to that last repeat of the lace pattern, I realized that it was tiny. Too tiny for me to wear, really. And I had a lot of yarn left over, but not enough to knit an extra repeat.

Rats.

So I let it sit for a little bit - that is, until a few nights ago, when I had a brilliant flash of inspiration: I could use a contrasting bit of Tosh Merino Light to stripe the last garter section, knit another lace repeat in the new color, and do the picot bind-off in the original color. And I just happen to have half a skein of Tern left over from my Stevedore Hat! And it contrasts beautifully with Briar! Hurrah!

So I finally ripped it back and started it again. We'll see if my devious plan works, and if I end up with a cute and wearable shawlette from it. I have high hopes.

My project is on Ravelry here.

Happy Friday, and Happy Halloween!

FO: Alfalfa Ashton

  

Next up in the finishing parade, a little Ashton Shawlette knit out of Abstract Fiber Matisse - a tightly twisted 100% BFL fingering weight - that I finished um a while ago.  So long ago, in fact, that I didn't even take notes on when the knitting was done.

The finished fabric is very light and crisp, and the color is fabulous - the yarn didn't pool but instead broke up into uniform runs of color stacked on top of each other.  This is my second time making the Ashton pattern, and the second time was just as fun as the first.  I think in general, though, I'm starting to gravitate back towards bigger, cozier shawls - this one is cute and small, but it doesn't have much heft around the neck.  A good summery shawl nonetheless!

Pattern: Ashton Shawlette by Dee O'Keefe

Yarn: Abstract Fiber Matisse 100% BFL

Yardage: ~400 yards of a 420-yard skein

Needles: Size 5 US Addi Turbo Lace

FO: Prairie Rose Shawl

Last week before heading out to Oberlin, I finally wove in the ends and got pictures of Prairie Rose.  It was actually my second version of the shawl, because the first one was a gift for one of my professors.  I finished both of the shawls I was knitting as gifts with plenty of time to spare, but almost immediately cast on for a second Prairie Rose for myself because the pattern was so fun!

This shawl is a very different color than the ones I usually make - most of the shawls in my shawl drawer are either jewel tones or lighter shades of pink or purple - but I like the finished product a surprising amount.  I've really liked mixing neutrals in the last few months, so I think this shawl will be great for pairing with creams and greys.  It's definitely less striking than the first one I finished, which was a deep turquoise, but beautiful nonetheless.  The yarn didn't soften as much as I expected on washing, but it's still very light and warm.  It's probably the most rustic lace I have.

The pattern threw me a little because only the right side rows are charted, which makes "reading" the lace pattern a little more difficult.  There's a weird art to reading charts as a whole rather than line-by-line.  They mirror the final look of the lace almost exactly, but you have to know how to look at them correctly.  Almost like those Magic Eye books that were popular when I was a kid - mystifying at first, but once your eyes find the shapes you can't un-see them.  They're great for me because I have to have a visual sense of the motif before I start knitting - the first lace scarf I ever knit, I was frustrated by the line-by-line instructions the whole time because I had no idea if what I was knitting looked the way it was supposed to.  Anyhow, one I memorized the way the pattern looked and didn't have to rely on the squished-up chart so much, the knitting hummed right along!

Pattern: Prairie Rose Shawl, by Evelyn Clark, from The Knitter's Book of Wool
Yarn: Cashmere America 2 Ply Cashmere, almost all of a 437-yard skein.  Yarn is discontinued.
Needles: Size 5 (3.75 mm) US Addi Turbo Lace
Modifications: I did one extra repeat of Chart B, with very little yarn left to spare.

WIP: Prairie Rose Shawlette

What's that you ask?  Why yes, I have started another shawl.

After finishing the Onda Cowl in a day, I reluctantly went back to this project, the Prairie Rose shawlette from The Knitter's Book of Wool, which I started knitting out of some random cashmere I got at a yarn and fabric shop's moving sale.  I saw this lone skein on the counter with a 50% off label on it, and I snapped it up.  What can I say?  I'm a sucker for cashmere.

I've knit this shawl once before, and though the pattern called for 370 yards with the given number of repeats, I was just barely squeaking by (and ended up ripping back a whole repeat) with 400 yards.  This time I have 437 yards, so I'm prepared to knit until it's almost gone.  I think this yarn, a discontinued domestic brand called Cashmere America, still has some oil on it - it's pretty scratchy for a cashmere yarn.  I'm hoping that it will bloom nicely on blocking.

FO Post: Flower Basket Shawl

The endless parade of FO's continues!  This Flower Basket shawlette only took me two weeks or so to knit, and I think it's a really good fit for the yarn.  I had bought this Handmaiden Seasilk a bit on a whim, and there was a minute there where I wasn't sure how the variegation would work with lace.



And whether or not it was successful, I like it.  It's mostly magenta and a very bright, citrusy orange, with a little bit of pistachio and paler orange in there too, and this pattern is just basic enough to let the colors shine while still being interesting enough to keep my attention.



I think it will be a good little scarflette to wear with a t-shirt and jeans.



I didn't really see it while I was knitting it, but the lace really does look like little flower baskets.  As usual, Evelyn Clark's little lace shawl patterns are well-written and addictive as hell, with a super cute product.



Yet another one to add to the shawl drawer!

Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl by Evelyn Clark, distributed by Fiber Trends
Yarn: Handmaiden Seasilk, colorway Turkish Delight, about 400 yards from a 437-yard skein
Needles: Size 5 US Addi Turbo Lace
Modifications: None!

WIP: Swallowtail Shawl #2

The other day I was in the mood to cast on for something new and fast, so I took a skein of seasilk I got a while back and started a second Swallowtail shawl.  The first one was really fun and only took about four days.  This one is taking a little longer, but that's okay.  Swallowtail is the potato chip of lace knitting: easily memorized chart, a couple nupps thrown in for fun, and done before you know it.

This is the second time I've worked with a seasilk yarn.  The first was Handmaiden Seasilk, which I loved working with but found a little bit sticky, especially on the brass Addi Turbo Lace needles.  This seasilk is from Etsy seller Lunayarns, who I posted about before here.  The colorway is a lovely combination of apple and minty greens.  I love how subtly variegated yarns add depth, particularly to lace.  I've also found that this yarn is softer and smoother than the Handmaiden.

As with most seasilks, there are little slubs of fiber in the yarn.  They're relatively easy to pick out.  When I was at work the other day I heard someone complaining about these slubs on a Handmaiden yarn, but to me it's just part of working with this fiber.  Just like stockinette is nice and flat, but curls like crazy, there are certain things you just have to accept about certain fibers.  Whether or not that's a dealbreaker is a really personal thing.  For example, alpaca is not one of my favorite fibers.  I love the softness, its warmth, and its particular sheen, but I don't like how limp and flat it can be, especially after it's been worn.  Because of that, I'm more careful when selecting alpaca yarns.  For some people, those positive attributes completely outweigh the negatives - it's just an issue of personal taste, and luckily for us, the yarn market is diverse enough to provide for all sorts of preferences.

The only thing that's ever a true dealbreaker is dye that isn't properly set even after washing.  I was listening to Doubleknit #54 the other day and they were talking about Jessica's Damson (rav link) that was indigo dyed and turned her hands blue as she knit.  The final verdict was that the dye was set improperly, and that it would never really stop bleeding.  Definitely not good to put that much work into something only to have it ruin your clothes!

This yarn has been bleeding on my fingers as I knit, but I'm hopeful that there's just a little dye that wasn't exhausted and a good washing will solve the problem.  I might also talk to my mom and see what I could use.  I've heard that Synthrapol kills the texture of silk, but I might try adding some vinegar to the bath if the regular hand-wash detergent I use doesn't work.

Hell Week: 1 of 2

Yesterday I got to my knitalong at Smith's, plopped down, complained about the 2 page (single-spaced) paper and exam I had to study for by 10 am this morning, and my knitting buddies promptly sent me home.  I finished my exam, but I still have a 6-8 page paper to finish and a presentation to do before tomorrow night at 8 pm.

It's been that kind of week.

As an antidote, I've been working on a little Akimbo (rav link, normal link) for another knitalong at Smith's.  It's Mountain Colors Crazyfoot, and I've been enjoying the hell out of knitting it.  It's a really gorgeous deep brown with shots of turquoise and magenta throughout - some of my favorite colors, but nicely mitigated by the brown.

Next week is similarly terrible, but I hope to start posting again regularly soon!  I had some new jeans come in the mail because my normal ones are shredded to pieces, and have been for going on six months.  Fingers crossed that they fit and I can share them in one of my next postings.

Also: I almost wrote a post solely about the subject last Saturday, but decided not to.  Last Friday morning I woke up to the news of the earthquake in northeastern Japan, and since then the whole East Asian Studies department has been sitting on the edge of its seat making sure all of the faculty and students in Japan right now are okay.  All of my friends are in the Kansai region, so there's no direct damage, but I've also heard from some of my Japanese friends who are fine but deeply worried.  I've heard conflicting reports on how worried we should be, since the US media is jumping on it as a doomsday-style catastrophe.  I've basically been experiencing gratitude that it wasn't worse, but also awe at the sheer force of nature, sadness for those who were lost, and good thoughts for the people who are displaced without food, water or electricity.  I hope everyone will continue to send whatever types of support they can to the people of Japan, be it good thoughts, prayers, or material goods.

Stay safe out there.