spring planting

This is really the only knitting that I have to show for the spring. An Elm Row scarf in Plucky Knitter Classics Silk Merino Fingering, Container Garden colorway, for a belated birthday gift for my grandma. I knew as soon as this yarn arrived in my mailbox that it was meant for my grandma, and I'm hopeful that she'll like the scarf enough to make up for its belatedness.

I never managed to memorize the lace repeat, so I had to carry the directions around with me, but each row was relatively logical so I could spot mistakes quickly. The only real problem that I had was that there are two rows (of the ten row repeat) that result in fewer stitches than the rest of the rows. Since I assumed that all rows would maintain the number of stitches that the pattern started with, I frustratedly frogged those rows many, many times before I bothered to do the math and figure out that I was supposed to have fewer stitches. After that, it was smooth sailing.

Not having much time to knit recently (as I have whined about a number of times), I had to be a little creative to squeeze this project in. I wish I had a picture of my knitting while sitting on a cardboard box, saving an empty parking space outside of KZ's old apartment while her father went to get the van before we loaded it up and moved her out. I almost got two repeats in.

Here's a picture of it while blocking:
I knit it on US 6s, and only knit three lace panels instead of four as the pattern was written. No other mods than that. Rav deets here.

third time's the charm

Am currently speed knitting a shawl for a friend who's getting married at the end of the month. Because I just found yarn I liked on Thursday, I didn't get off to the start I'd hoped to. But I did have the opportunity to start the shawl with two other yarns, each of which I thought was the best yarn I'd find. Luckily, it turns out I was wrong. Unluckily, I now have 14 days to finish a shawl. Wish me luck.

Rejected option #1

Rejected Option #2

spring chick cowl

Well, at least when I started this, it was supposed to be for spring. But finals, graduation, moving, etc., etc., got in the way, so it's just now off the needles and blocked.
It's the Chickadee Cowl from Through the Loops! and is a simple, beautiful pattern. I'll definitely reknit it in the intended gauge when it gets chillier again. I'm sure that it would be a quick and fun knit. As it was, I had some Handmaiden Sea Silk that I was itching to use for a present for my grandma, so I modified the pattern for the much-thinner yarn (cast on 135 stitches on size 9s, and knit for about 20 inches to account for the highly drapey fabric). I started out using 6s, but that produced a much denser fabric than I wanted. It probably would have been pretty, and perhaps a little more functional, but I was hoping for it to feel a little lacy. Even though cowls aren't really season-appropriate, I think that my grandma will still be able to wear this one in frigid air conditioning, and in the early fall.
EW suggested, probably quite rightly, that I should stop knitting after about 12 inches. I ignored this advice, because I really, really wanted the finished cowl to be able to do this.

This yarn is pretty hard to photograph, but I think this close-up best shows the range. The color is called Dandelion, but it reminds me more of daffodils.

Here's the Ravelry project link, for those of you who'd like it.
Currently on the needles, I've got some more gorgeous Plucky yarn and am trying to design a tank top to show it off. I should be knitting other things, but the combination of small size and minimalistic design have made this a really good project for lulls in the BarBri lectures. I'm going into full study mode this month, so who knows when this one will be done.... I'd love to see what you all are working on in the summer heat!

hooked on lace

I'd never been that interested in knitting lace shawls until I saw this one (check out the picture at the bottom of the post). And, then, I pretty much had to have that shawl. I've grown quite fond of constantly wearing a huge scarf and I thought that I'd

like it even more if I made that huge scarf myself. And what is a shawl but a huge scarf? But I'm not crazy. I knew there was no way that I would finish that shawl and still graduate from law school. And, in my current state of sleep deprivation, anything that required me to look at a knitting chart regularly was just going to be painful rather than enjoyable. But then the same designer published this pattern, which looked to be easy to remember and soothing to knit. And then I fell hard in love with this yarn (top picture), which was all sold out, but I found a raveler who had bought it and wanted to resell it (crazy, as far as I'm concerned, but I wasn't going to question it) and I wanted that yarn enough to sign up for a paypal account and contract with someone who is clearly very fond of cats.

Preview

Beyond the compulsion to knit it, I don't really have much more to say about this project. The pattern was easy to remember and soothing to knit. I learned that I enjoy knitting lace shawls, to the point where I've committed to knit two wedding shawls this summer. I really adored the yarn and am so glad that I have quite a bit leftover to do something else with. (Even though it's really hard to capture the actual color of this yarn in photos; it's much more blue than it appears in these pictures.) The end product is so soft and shiny that I will feel guilty knitting those wedding shawls in any other yarn. I've added blocking wires to my graduation wish-list, since I couldn't block a straight lace edge with just pins to save my life. I will definitely reblock this once I do have blocking wires, but, for now, I don't mind the scalloped edge so much. (For those of you who don't want to follow all the links, this is the Gale Stole pattern by Anne Hanson, knit in The Plucky Knitter's Merino Silk Lace in the Bingley Wallpaper colorway.)

There are lots of different ways to wear this, depending on how elegant I'm feeling. Can you all guess which way I'm more likely to wear it?

Knitting for Myself after Christmas

Since Christmas, I've been knitting for myself. I've finished two sweaters and my first pair of socks.


I started the socks rights after Christmas and quickly finished one, and then took a break while I knit a sweater. That was probably a mistake because the second sock is much tighter knit so they don't fit the same. I have a book about using two long flexible double pointed needles instead of a set of five double pointed needles so that you knit both socks at the same time to prevent this problem. Maybe I'll try that next time. I usually wear thinner socks, so I'm not sure about handknit socks in any case, but it was fun to try, and they work well with clogs. It was self striping yarn, so the stripes aren't as impressive to knit as they look.


Next, I hurried to knit a winter sweater before the weather got too warm to wear it, but I needn't have worried! I had plenty of opportunities. This was a very expensive yarn and I had some worries that the lace pattern I picked didn't really maximize it's potential, but I am pretty happy with the finished product. The yarn had two strands, one mohair and the other a loopy synthetic strand that was a little shiny. Very dramatic!

Finally I knit a sweater to wear for Easter. The yarn is 55% cotton/45% silk - very soft. I actually knit the sample guage square twice to make sure the size would be right since fit seemed important. I was glad I did and I'm very happy with this sweater.

I've knit so much I have a pain in my right elbow. I may have to take a break! I have more projects lined up but haven't decided what to tackle next.