A Knitting Miscellany

A camel ride wasn't my only anniversary gift. I also received this magnificent hand-turned yarn bowl out of which balls (or pink flamingos) cannot leap...


...and a magnificent hand-turning ball winder from Nancy's KnitKnacks. I cannot overstate how fabulously quick and neat this unit turns skeins into shapely yarn cakes.



One of the disadvantages of skeins is that you can't actually do much with them besides admiring and squishing. So I filled a large bag from my stash and turn it over to Roy, who has been graciously exercising his winding arm. It was a rare treat to sit down for an entire afternoon and make little test swatches.

One of the swatches was so entrancing that it has since morphed into a new project I have named the Water Lily shawl. I think the pattern works beautifully with the soft variegation of Cheryl Schaefer's Andrea in the Minnie Pearl colorway.


In the meantime, I finished the center of the International shawl and worked my way up through most of the first border, an Estonian design (a modified #113 from Pitsilised Koekirjad). I was feeling like an especially hot-needle babe, until LaceFreak pointed out that my corners were not where they were supposed to be. I won't show you a picture of the poor shawl, which is currently underwater in the Frog Pond.

And finally, Harry handed me these pictures of his Bling shawl as he pranced out the door for his Swing Dancing class. Bling, Swing, AnnoyING.

The Bling Shawl

Hello to all of my faithful, adoring fans! Harry is back!

floogle has been ignoring me for the past few months, probably because I've been sulking and giving her a richly deserved silent treatment. There are abundant reasons for my aloof snit, believe me. For example, flargle absolutely refused to allow my extended family to take up residence in the guest bathroom. She further objected to the immense, artistic web my devoted friends and I carefully wove around the barbecue. And she demanded that I return half the Niebling patterns. freegle clearly lacks Family Values, a Sense of Humor, and she certainly doesn't have a clue about Sharing.

In return for the shabby treatment here at Chez freeble, I commandeered her boring, traditional version of The Spring Shawl and reinterpreted it to make it more tasteful, elegant, and appealing. I am calling it The Bling Shawl.


As you can see from the sample below, my version is quite an improvement over the original.


While the motifs are actually identical to Sharon Miller's, I abandoned the yawnworthy names like "bead and diamond" for more exciting designations, such as "Hello Kitty." I have finished the first chart, which mostly consisted of a ground of Boiled Sticky Rice, and am currently working my way up the Chortling Fish.

The center triangle still has some Sticky Rice clinging to the edges, but as I progress upwards, you'll get to view my magnificent Daruma Dolls, Maneki Neko (Beckoning Cats), Mice Seated On Upside-Down Samurai Hats, and finally, a row of Hello Kitties.

I do appreciate flarble's loan of her precious Holz & Stein ebony needles. They are truly worthy of my knitting. She doesn't deserve them.

And now, my devoted readers, It's time for my pedicure (a time-consuming process, alas), so I will have to bid you Sayonara. Until I can get florgle off the laptop and out of my leg fur again, I remain

Your Truly Giant Knitting Spider,

Harry

The Flighty Waffle

It's dangerous for me to rootle in my stash closet. I was cleaning out some Stash of Shame the other day, and a cone of Colourmart 3/45 Japanese Maple (courtesy of LaceFreak) fell on my head. I'll get to the waffle in a minute.

I picked it up, admired it, and before you could say Waffle, I had cast on another sample for the Spring shawl.


I love the lavender, but the red shows the pattern so much better.

I'm waffling.

A Bit of Lace

For the past few weeks, I've been working on a shawl for the Little Knits Trenna contest. The challenge was to create a shawl that would flaunt Trenna's exuberant colorways, but be both visually interesting and simple enough for beginners.

A little bit of it is shown here.



The pattern is a feather-and-fan variation, the original of which creates horizontal patterning. Because I am knitting this as a normality shawl, the stripes become vertical and the lower edge scallops naturally.

After I had knit a fair amount, I decided it looked nice, but rather blah--it needed something for visual impact.I don't really care for beading, so I plan to weave a ribbon rose garland into the yarnovers, either at the top, lower edge, or in the central spine. The beads and the fuzzy ball of mohair are destined for the knitted rose closure.

After a week of feathering and fanning, though, my psyche demanded something a bit more challenging. I flipped through my pattern books and decided to try my hand at Heirloom Knitting's Spring shawl. Ten samples later, I opted for Colourmart's cashmere-silk in Dark Lavender. Oooo, it;s such nice stuff! I originally bought it to do Princess, but LaceFreak is knitting hers in this color, so I put the yarn aside for something else.

I haven't gotten very far, but a little peek doesn't hurt.


The little Japanese bag is perfect as a cone holder, too.

And to give everyone a giggle after this bland, dry post, I include a link to one of the funniest newscasts I've ever watched. I sure hope it's a spoof!