Percy Shawl

I received a huge pile of lovely batts for my birthday, custom-blended by the incomparable Ever Improving Me. I admit to having been lazy--I didn't photograph them. But I've spent a lot of time spinning them, and one of the batts just seemed perfect for Percy. The pattern is, unbelievably, free, and a fantastic knit--interesting, non-repetitive, and adapts easily to any length.


I wanted the top of the shawl to be a bit darker in tone than the rest, so I snitched some orange fiber from another one of EIP's birthday batts and spun it up first. The yarn, a two-ply spun on Tibetan spindles, is merino with lots of lovely, sparkly angelina and firestar, which makes the shawl twinkle happily.


No matter how it's wrinkled and folded, it looks lovely:


The top portion of the shawl is a little cat's paw design. You can repeat this motif as long as you like.

The pattern then segues into Frost Flowers, which some people don't like to work because it's patterned on both knit and purl rows. I confess I enjoyed knitting these--they look so lacy and delicate.




Alas, I didn't have enough yarn to work the border nupps, so I ordered some 6mm faceted round, glittery Czech glass beads and used them in place of the nupps...


Note to Self: When calculating the required number of beads on one-half of a symmetrical shawl, don't forget to multiply by two, or you will have to sit around for another ten days waiting for the rest of the beads to arrive.

The yarn was one continuous strand--I didn't have to break the yarn to make the colors work. I just kept knitting the Frost Flowers pattern until I was into the greens and then proceeded on to the border. I did stop the Frost Flowers pattern in the middle of a repeat and just decreased away the extra stitches.

I fully intend to knit this pattern again, making it a bit smaller next time for a little scarf that will tuck gracefully into a winter coat.

Tischdecke Afghan Complete!

My first instinct, after I had finished the final stitch of this lovely piece, was to frog it so I could have the pleasure of knitting it again. The engaging design and the exquisite yarn melded into an incomparable knitting experience.


The design, which is on page 12 of Andrea #801 (you can buy it here), is lyrical, lacking a single boring or tedious stitch. Lisa Souza's inspired Mother of Pearl colorway added a subtle twinkle to the already soft and lustrous yarn--Petal--a 50% wool, 50% silk blend. I believe that Petal is actually Carrera aka Silk and Ivory from Henry's Attic--I have some of that and they seem to be the same thing.



This is the only design that I ever seriously considering knitting a second time, perhaps with cashmere silk.



The final size--74" in diameter--makes for a cozy and luxurious afghan. Roy was using it before I even blocked it. This version required about 2800 yards and was knit on a #5 needle.


It's difficult to see the exquisite coloration, but if you click on the picture below, you will be able to discern the pastel loveliness that Lisa gave this yarn.

Lazy January

I haven't felt much like posting lately, but I have been knitting. I am up to row 105 on the International shawl and a bit more than halfway finished with the doily afghan. Afghan doily? Doifghan? Afly?


Harry has been mostly sleeping off a bad hangover for the past week, so I have nothing to report on his eggs.

Our gunsmith has been too ill to do anything with the needles I gave him several months ago. We decided to give knitting needle surgery a whirl, so we ordered a variety of tiny drills and a miniature drill press outfit. So far, we have read the manual, admired the teensy drill bits, and set up the drill press. We haven't quite gotten up the courage to turn the sucker on yet, but I figure in a week or so we'll be drilling and filling like pros. Or I will have a truly remarkable set of mutilated needles. I'll keep you posted.