Although I love the red, I know that I would be bored to tears knitting miles of it, and this shawl is BIG. And it seemed to me that Something Wicked needed Something Black...the most wicked of colors. I begin a thought process.......
......Time passes. Aliens come and go in the back yard. Harry assassinates karaoke from Albania to Zanzibar. The RIAA sends Al Jolsen a copyright infringement notice. The FDA issues a recall notice on water (too much water will cause people to explode and that's not acceptable). Blue Cross/Blue Shield announces that having been born is a now considered a pre-existing condition and will no longer cover any illness or injury for any claimant who has undergone this process........
.......I think about knitting the edging in black. Nah. Too abrupt. Then I think about dip-dying it. Nah. Too chancy. Then I think about spinning the yarn and new possibilities present themselves. I finally emailed Anna at Corgi Hill Farm, sent her a picture of the shawl, and explained what I was looking to do. She's brilliant, folks. She carefully dyed a graduated series of silk/merino batts for me that will, after I spin it all up, give me a nice flow from Wicked Red to Wicked Black.
I have about 7 ounces of batt, and need about 2200 yards of two-ply, which works out to 314x2=628 yards per ounce. And that, after consulting various tables, is about 80 WPI. Doable, but it's going to take some time.
So the only Wickedness you're going to see around here for a while is Harry. Apparently, he had a nice gig at the Two Tables Restaurant in Zanzibar City. Unfortunately, a two-table audience was way too small for his ego, so he's taken some time off to kayak the Zambesi river. The guides discovered on his first day that Harry's rendition of Moon River caused crocodiles, algae, and hippos to flee from the river at Mach 2. The tour company is trying to sign him to a long-term contract. I personally wrote him a stellar letter of recommendation.
Ha..... I finally got to be the first one to comment.
ReplyDeleteWay cool to be shawl... Harry my Hero...... Glad to hear from you again. Please keep Fleegle in line. I know sometime she thinks she is the boss, but we know better.
PS. Blue Cross / Blue Shield did deny my broken finger today because I was born with that finger and it therefore was a preexisting condition.
I have had many complaints about your blog.
ReplyDeleteIt has been said that you are a thoughtful, knowledgeable, imaginative, amusing and creative writer.
I have to agree with these observations. Beware - I am watching you.
The Knitting Police
You are going to have a LOT of fun with that. Can't wait to see the yarn and the shawl!
ReplyDeleteGasp @ 628 yards per ounce. Sounds like a job for Super Fleegle!!
ReplyDeleteIt will be stupendous. Eventually. :-)
That is going to be one fabulous shawl! Can't wait to see the spinning and the knitting.
ReplyDeleteOf course with as much spinning as that is going to take, I shouldn't hold my breath.. :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletethat shawl will be drop dead gorgeus!
ReplyDeleteI really can't wait too see it:)
As I scrolled down and saw all those batts, I actually sucked in air. Your shawl is going to be GORGEOUS!
ReplyDeleteThat shawl will be spectacular with the changes in color! The Corgi Hill batts are perfect. It may take a long time but it will be well worth it!
ReplyDeleteIt's going to look beautiful... as you know red not my thing but those batts were the red and black are blended are beautiful...
ReplyDeleteI promise i will have a couple of thngs to show soon, I've not been idle
Those batts are gorgeous, and I can so see the gradation in that shawl - it will be lovely.
ReplyDeleteYour posts always make me laugh.
ReplyDeleteAnd laughs and humor are what I need now.
Thank you.
Wow! Those are gorgeous. You better watch out to be sure Harry doesn't come visiting and spot them!
ReplyDeleteIt will be fabulous when done; I'll look forward to it :-). Have you decided to spindle-spin or use your Charkha?
Oh drat....The Green Woman was peeking over my shoulder when I read your post, and now she's asking why we can't pretty please do something similar. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteSeriously, it's going to be gorgeous, and it may be a long-term project, but I can't wait to see how it turns out!
Oh...it's going to be a wicked shawl. Great idea.
ReplyDeleteYour math had me scratching my head for a while. At first I thought the odd numbers you got had something to do with that weird measuring system people use around here. Funny how different people face the same problem - first thing I did was multiply the yardage by the number of plies :P
Will be WICKED!!!
ReplyDeleteOooh, the red-to-black transition is pure genius! I saw the batts arranged in a row and immediately thought, "Oooh yeah, that's going to be awesome!"
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to see how it turns out. And am hoping the aliens don't make off with your fiber.
I have a feeling that shawl is going to be beautiful.
ReplyDeletethe spun yarn is going to be amazing! Kudos to Anna for doing such a great job! and kudos to you for taking on such a big project. My attention span is, alas, more like Harry's.
ReplyDeleteI love that pattern! It's going to be totally amazing using those batts. Wow!
ReplyDeletethe colors are so stunning-- "wickedly gorgeous"! I will be watching your progress and sighing with envy :)
ReplyDeleteIt's actually a good thing that this project will take long time, as it will give me, as a reader of this blog, the pleasure of enjoying your adventures with this wickedness for a very loooooooong time:) and that time will be well spent:)
ReplyDeleteI've been thinking a lot about what to do with the kid silk yarn that I won. In the end it felt like I had 3 to chose between: dianna (an entrelac project), a scarf with crocheted squares in different colours that are croched together, and a revised version of the forest path stole. I did start knitting the forest path stole a few years ago, but in the end the very thought of entrelac and lace seemed so intimidating that it everntually turned into an UFO, that has been resting in my knitting bag a few years by now. Knitting it in kid silk and in several colours seems less intimidating for some reasons:)
AnnaMarie is a Fiber Goddess. That shawl is going to be stunning!
ReplyDeleteThe spinning will be a long, but interesting project...
dying it is really a good idea!
ReplyDeletecurrently I'm experimenting dying on another yarn that I bought. When I bought it, it had a terrible brick red colour, now I've been trying different dyes on small amounts of the yarn, but so far I'm not happy with the result. It will most likely end up as either a darkpeach or a very soft orange. But I must say that it is really interesting how colours change depending on how one mix the basic colours in the dye:)
Or maybe I just copy your idea and dye it in a subsequent colourscheme:)
Lovely colors! I bet you will get it spun up in no time.
ReplyDeleteDear Fleegle, how you make me laugh! I've quoted your comment about Blue Cross/Blue Shield out with a link to you so that others can smile. (And visit the store perhaps?)
ReplyDeleteDo keep providing all of us a place to be jealous of your skill. You are an inspiration!
Let us know if you offer this GORGEOUS colorway of red - black on etsy! (running off to pitch a tent in the front of the line)
ReplyDeleteOh yes. This shawl is gonna be stunning! You do the most lovely things.
ReplyDeleteAnd as for Harry's possible new job? I may want to get in on the action. my cat certainly seemed to think I was in distress every time I tried to sing.
Oh that is going to be gorgeous. I have that pattern, and I just got some fiber from Anna, but only in one color, called True Blood. I'm glad you posted this. If I ever get it spun up properly, it would make a terrific shawl.
ReplyDelete