Echo Flower Shawl

I actually finished this little shawlette a few weeks ago, but had a Japanese Embroidery student here from England for several weeks and didn't get around to posting the pictures until today. This shawl pattern is one of those amazing designs that looks exquisite regardless of the yarn or needles used. In addition, you can make it any size you like simply by adding repeats. No advanced arithmetic is necessary to compute border stitches.

I finished the shawl in less than a week, knitting a repeat here and there when I had a few minutes to spare. Yes, it has nupps on the border and those pesky 2-into-9 and 3-into-9 increases, but only every fourth row or so, and was surprisingly easy to knit. The shawl was made with my own AK-47 20/2 silk yarn in the Grapeful colorway on US size #4 needles. I added a few #8 orange beads to the border just because I haven't beaded anything in a while and felt like picking up small round thingies from the floor.

 I fully intend to knit it again with some handspun, and I don't believe I have ever before knitted a shawl pattern twice. It's that sweet a pattern.

This is a short post, so I thought I would take the time to remind everyone that I always reply to comments so long as there is a way to do so. If you don't have a Blogger account or otherwise leave me a way to contact you, all I can do is try to reply by telepathy. This usually doesn't work well because there are mentating animals in and around our house that cause interference.

I am off to SAFF tomorrow, so if you happen to see a short lady with a pink stripe in her hair, stop me and say hello, will you?

Three Lovely Shawls

None of which are actually on my needles, because I am literally knee-deep in The Queen Susan. Having finished the center, I can testify to the fact that it going to be huge. A rough-block of the center measures about 40x40 inches--almost large enough to be a shawl in it's own right without the border and edging.

When I get tired of plowing through the border rows, I have three shawls in my queue competing fiercely for Right of First Cast-On.

Luiza

Designed by Jane A. (Mawelucky on Ravelry), this masterpiece is the Harry wants to knit first, if only because of the magnificent colors (matches his belly button rings, I was told). The original, shown here, was knitted with fingering-weight yarn, but the pattern is open-ended and can be made with any weight yarn by increasing the number of repeats or doubling a finer-weight yarn. You can buy the pattern on Ravelry, or get it free with my very own kit in my Etsy store. The kit yarn is a Zephyr-weight called Firebird (2/20 60% merino, 20%  cashmere, 20% silk),--a lustrous, soft, luxurious yarn custom-spun for me. The default kit is Black Plum and Black, but any main color, for example, Lapis) may be ordered instead.

The Persian Princess

This exquisite shawl was designed by Bad Cat specifically for Love Potion #3. The design is intricate and made even lovelier by the addition of sparkly beads and a feathery border. The pattern is free if you purchase a skein of LP3; otherwise, you can buy the pattern directly from the Ravelry store.

Faroesertuch mit Blättern und Blüten 

(Photo by uta953)

The name means "Faroese shawl with Leaves and Buds," which doesn't do justice to this breathtaking beauty designed by Utlinde. The original was knit with sport-weight mohair on size 7 needles, so it should be a fairly quick piece to do. Alas, I do not stock any such yarn in my store, but I do have some stash that would work beautifully for this--a ball of Lisa Souza's mohair in the Mother of Pearl colorway flashes to the front of my brain. The pattern is, believe it or not, free from the Ravelry store.

 

Going Bats

A well-written pattern is akin to a gripping novel--tightly plotted and suspenseful, and a satisfying denouement with all the loose ends tidily wrapped up. A poorly written pattern, on the other hand, reminds me of a badly produced movie--terrible acting, disjointed, confusing plot, and loose ends galore at the end.

Occasionally, I will run across a pattern that makes me snicker. For example, any production with the line "Reserve at least 10 hours for sewing together" is, by definition, a genuine howler.

When I encountered this particular direction in the Queen Ring shawl, I giggled for at least ten minutes.

The original shawl is knitted from the borders inward. I don't like that construction for a number of reasons, not the least of which is the epic sewing-bits-together at the end. I wouldn't mind the sewing so much if it produced an attractive finished product. It doesn't. Sewn-together seams look ugly and I won't use them.

The second problem with the original pattern is that only half of the border is neatly mitered around the center's corners. The other two sides are stretched into shape during blocking. The stretching might work if the shawl is knitted with a nice, compliant wool yarn. It probably won't work with something like cashmere/silk yarn, which has the elasticity of a watermelon. The fact that the corners in the lovely photo are scrunched together and not viewable makes me uneasy. I want fully mitered corners that won't produce an unpleasant surprise after hundreds of hours of intense knitting.

Thus, I regraphed the shawl to be knit from the center outward, which means the border is picked up around the center square and knitted around and around (and around and around and etc. etc., and so forth....).

This process has its own inherent problems. First, the border itself must be inverted, because it's being knitted from top to bottom instead of bottom to top. Anyone who has ever reversed a pattern knows that it's usually impossible to simply turn it upside-down. And then there is the tedium of having to purl every other round in pattern to maintain the garter stitch in circular knitting mode. I tried a number of different fake corners to avoid the purling, but didn't care for the results.

Unfortunately, at some point during this epic graphing production, I took a well-deserved break. When I returned to the computer, Harry had redesigned the shawl border to suit his bizarre awful regrettable erm, unique taste. He had lopped off the seed pods (a decision I applauded) and substituted the never-before-revealed Shetland motif: Flying Bats.



Harry announced that he just adores bats. I was a bit puzzled when he uttered that statement, because airborne insect-devouring predators just didn't strike me as arachnid-friendly. However, Harry pointed out that bats make exceptional targets and he enjoys plinking at them with his custom-built Barrett Model 82A1 .50 caliber sniper rifle (with BORS optics).

I also took issue with his introduction of non-traditional motifs into a mostly traditional Shetland shawl. I have this uneasy feeling that, after having worked his bats into the shawl border, I will open the door and find a mob of enraged Shetland Islanders bearing torches and brandishing pitchforks. But Harry pointed out that our designs often begin with a healthy respect for tradition and end up, well, different than the original pattern.

So, here's a bit of eye candy for you. It's one repeat of the center. The shawl is being worked in a 52/2 yarn composed of 60% wool, 20% cashmere, 20% silk that I purchased at Avril and dyed myself. Alas, there is no more of it, which is a real loss to the lace-knitting community. It's a lovely knit.

Irtfa Irt'fa Irt'faa Irt'fa Irtfa'a...Oh, heck, dark purple Faroese shawl

My mother, who could out-curse any five drunken sailors, was (incredibly) an English major at NYU. I was therefore subjected to considerable cruel and unusual punishment during my formative years. From age 7, I was tasked with solving the New York Times crossword puzzle every morning before I left for school. Worse, when I achieved the lofty status of a tenth-grader, I was required to work it out using a pen.

I finally rebelled when she dragged out the typewriter sometime during my senior year. I think she was desperately trying to train me up so I could beat the socks off my Uncle Stanley, who could actually work the London Times crossword with a typewriter, a feat even my mother couldn't match.

The result of all this brain-twisting was that a) I knew more obscure words than my teachers and b) I was a whiz at spelling. At least I was a whiz at spelling before I encountered this shawl.


An Ann Hanson Faroese-style design, the final product is indeed lovely and doesn't slide off the shoulders, thanks to the top shaping. The knitting, alas, got a bit tedious.



I designate patterns of this type as "Beer-Bottle Shawls." Wait--it's not what you're thinking! I am referring, of course, to the repeat accumulation. One repeat on the needles, two repeats on the needles, three repeats on the needles....100 bottles of beer on the wall etc. blah.

By the time I have worked five repeats, I start looking for tax forms to fill out in lieu of knitting another row of The Same Thing Over And Over. After 10 repeats, I avert my eyes when I walk by the WIP's little plastic bag. But, after a few weeks of avoidance behavior, I generally sit down, plug into some music, and finish it off.


It was a simple knit and I adored the feathery edging. The real joy of the shawl was the yarn: 2/16 Lamoramere Fine Lace Blend (50% Cormo Lambwool, 40% Angora, 10% Cashmere), from Running Wild Farms. It's soft, lofty, springy, has a very fine halo, and dyes beautifully. I bought a skein of white and hand-painted it in dark blues and purples.


I did modify the edging pattern by knitting all the stitches in both directions. Life is too short to do all the purling acrobatics required as written.

Iris

I have to admit that I started Susan Pandorf's Iris stole with more than a little trepidation. The skeins of Handmaiden Seasilk (Mermaid colorway) looked unpleasantly brown to me and I wondered if the final result would be at all similar to her sample. The answer is yes--and it's quite stunning in person. Alas, the photos can't convey the beauteous shimmering of the silk or the glitter of the lovely beads.


This is not a project for the impatient. There are LOTS of beads in this stole. Worse, the Seasilk is quite heavy and the #8 beads quite tiny. Most of the crochet hooks I tried could not pull the entire yarn through the bead hole.

The first few hooks I tried grabbed only a few plies of the yarn, producing a sort of shredded furry carpet of Seasilk (not quite the effect I was looking for). I finally dug out my mother's Really Old Boye #12, and that hook worked perfectly, although considerable force is required to yank the yarn through the little bead holes).

I compared my set of hooks to my mother's and discovered that hers have a much deeper hook than my newer Boyes. I immediately took myself off to eBay and found an identical backup hook in case the first one broke.


I have several other projects of Susan Pandorf's in the queue, most of which use the same yarn/bead combination. For the next one though, I ordered Delica beads, which have larger holes than the seed beads I used for Iris. The Delicas slide easily onto the Seasilk without a pitched battle.

I am about 3/4's finished with the first half, so this stole won't be completed for a while. Once you get past the intriguing triangular area shown below, the pattern becomes repetitive (and not terribly interesting to knit).


I figure it will be finished around the time it becomes too hot to wear it.

A Trenna Tragedy

There I was, motoring along peacefully, enjoying the pleasant pattern and lovely colors, when suddenly, the gas gauge light flickered on. I tapped the gauge (can't hurt), but after about ten minutes of silly, superstitious behavior, I finally conceded that I was going to run out of yarn before I finished my Hanabi normality shawl.

I zoomed onto the Information Highway and carefully inspected Little Knits' Trenna offerings, but there was no burgundy mixture to be had. I emailed Sue, who regretfully informed me that burgundy was completely sold out.

Looking down at Hanabi, I started to panic and headed straight for...


The medical team sprang into action immediately, administering emergency life support.


They stabilized Hanabi and put her on oxygen.


But, they informed me, she wasn't going to make it unless she received a yarn transfusion fairly soon.

Fortunately, Sue had a solution: Send a sample to Dr. Schaefer, who would try synthesizing a compatible color in her research lab.

In the meantime, Hanabi remains in a coma, kept alive, thanks to the heart-lung machine we found in the garage.


And Dr. Roy rigged up an emergency generator in case of power failure. We are all hoping Dr Schaefer is successful and can create matching donor yarn before Lester here, gets tired.

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!

Introducing Normality

Those of you who know me well (or even casually, I guess) would probably never put "fleegle" and "normality" in the same sentence unless there's a negative conjunction lurking somewhere between the two words.

Rest assured--I haven't misplaced my eccentricity, I am just talking about a different normality than, um, normal, that is, the geometric one:

normal. normals are lines that run perpendicular to a plane.

Wait! Don't go away! Normality is really a inspiring concept when applied to knitted objects. After fooling around with geometric normality for a day or two, I invented a seamless sideways sweater and a completely new shawl construction that begins in the center and works outward to the two ends.

The shawl begins with a provisional Turkish cast on. Each side is knitted by beginning in the center--the widest point--and decreasing at one edge until there are no stitches remaining. I illustrate the construction of the first and second half below. The top picture shows the first half being worked to the left. The shawl is then turned around, and the waiting provisional stitches are just knitted in the same way.



This construction has many intriguing and convenient aspects.

• The border is knitted at the same time as the shawl body, so there is never a need to pick up any stitches and knit on an interminable border.
  
  
• The shape is easily altered by changing the decrease rate. A faster rate of decrease produced a narrower shawl; a slower rate a wider one.
  
  
• The size is easily changed by adjusting the number of pattern repeats.
  
  
• If you have a knitting book with 300 patterns, it now contains 600 patterns, because normality shawls show patterns sideways. And trust me, you will be amazed at how lovely and unusual many patterns appear when you view them from a 90-degree angle.
  
  
• You start at the widest point and your progression leads to fewer and fewer stitches on the needle. As you become sicker and tireder of the pattern, you will whiz through the rows faster and faster.
  
  
• The construction allows for interesting top borders, a part of shawl anatomy that is usually neglected.
  
  
• It's simple to make a little swatch with two or three repeats and see how the pattern looks. The micro-shawl is cute and can be used to wrap a chilly teddy bear.

Furthermore, normality can be applied to rectangular shawls as well by decreasing at both edges like this (only the first half is shown):


I have knitted a prototype mini-sweater and started two normality shawls--one simple, and one-complex. I promise to bore you to tears with the designs in a later post. For now, you can study how I constructed a normality Shetland.

Current Knitting

Harry demanded the front row seat of this post, so here is a stupid photograph of his current knitting.


I have no idea what he his doing, and persistent questioning from me only verified the fact that he does have a wicked right-right-right-right hook.

Thanks to the bitterly cold weather, I was finally impelled to begin a project that has been in the back of my mind since last summer. The original pattern is presented as a tablecloth, but by knitting it in Lisa Souza's luscious Petal yarn (50% silk, 50% merino,Mother of Pearl colorway), I have successfully turned the tablecloth into an afghan.


The pattern, brilliantly named Tablecloth (Tischdecke), has appeared in many German knitting magazines, almost always partnered with a smaller version. I am working with the one on page 12 of Andrea #801.

Those of you who have been here before have heard me mumble about the International Shawl, but I never gave much of an explanation. The project developed during the pre-Christmas lull, when several of us were casting about (little pun there) for something new and different to fling on our needles.

Someone, I think it was Laritza, but it might have been me, suggested a mutant shawl composed of patterns from several countries. After much consultation, LaceFreak, MissAliceFaye, Laritza, and myself agreed that the center of this shawl would be the delectable item shown on page 64 of Naoko Ichida's Knitted Lace Designs Book 2--a compilation of Niebling treasures. The center is either Japanese or German--we haven't exactly worked out the provenance yet.

Following the center will be an inner border of Laurel Leaf pattern from Victorian Lace Today. LaceFreak and I are tossing about ideas for what should follow. You can see her progress here. We are actually neck and neck, progress-wise, but she is clearly more talented at taking pictures.

As with all circular shawls, this one is difficult to photograph. By snitching the largest of Harry's eggs, I was able to capture a decent photo of the center, even though it sort of resembles a blue cabbage. The blue is actually darker than shown, but you get the idea. As of this morning, I am on row 91--well into the twisty little flower area.



And of course, there's a bit of sock knitting going on too. The munchkin-sized fleegle sock is being knitted with Mystical Creations merino in the Mother Earth colorway.


Just as a little aside, I was thumbing through some knitted mag the other day and saw an ad for Little Knits. She has 700 different yarns in her shop. I want to go live there. See the link in my sidebar for her Web page, but don't blame me if your credit card leaps out of your wallet and gloms onto your monitor.

Paton's Shawl Eye Candy

Not only was the pattern weird, it blocked weirdly too--sort of a pie-shape. It doesn't matter--it's pretty and feels lovely.



The shawl was knitted with Shakun silk/cashmere on #5 needles. Details of this shawl, and the pattern links, are available here . Some of the pattern was made up, because the original had so many errors. Adaptations are described here. I should add that the shawl took about 1000 yards--half of what was required for the original. As my border was actually larger, I shall just add this discrepancy to the long list of goofs in this pattern.

On to the International Shawl--LaceFreak and I are neck and neck on row 78-ish. I also started a tablecloth afghan...details next time!

Important Notice About Questions
Just to remind everyone...if you want a response from me, you really need to give me a clue about reaching you. I have had several queries in the past few weeks, but no email address or blog link was provided. Although I am a competent mind reader, I do need something to focus on. My email address is listed in my blog profile (Google for "fleegle user profile" if you don't have a Blogger profile yourself), so anyone can get in touch with me via that address. I am also on Ravelry and Knitter's Review under the name of fleegle. Thanks!

Knitting With Political Principles

The Paton's shawl is finished! I need to block it, so the pictures will have to wait for next time. It was a pleasant knit for the most part, although I didn't enjoy the frequent pattern bloopers sprinkled throughout the design. Shakun's silk/cashmere yarn, though, was so exquisite that I would have been equally happy knitting a feed sack. Just touching it made up for the, erm, pattern mis-speaks.

I didn't care for the original edging, so I mostly used the one from Marianne Kinzel's Rose of England teacloth, which you can find in her Second Book of Modern Lace Knitting.

The fit wasn't exact; to make it work, I used the George W. Bush Principle of Government--If the World View doesn't fit the actual facts, Just Make Stuff Up. This method was more successful for me than for George, probably because the fudging I applied did not involve information from the CIA, vice-presidents, or assorted bad guys wanting a get-out-of-jail-free card.

Should anyone ask me exactly how I managed melding the new border to the old shawl, I am afraid I will have to fall back on the Bill Clinton/Ronald Reagan Principle of Government: I Don't Recall. This particular principle didn't originate with those two, of course. I suspect that it was originally coined by Eve when questioned about her fruit-eating habits. But it's a fabulous principle to knit by, especially as we get older.

As I was inching my way across the interminable crocheted bind-off, I starting musing about other immortal political sayings that could be worked into knitting. And of course, I thought I would share them with you, in lieu of eye candy.

Just Say No.
--Nancy Reagan

A principle I apply to dishcloths, argyle socks, seaming, and hideous, droopy knitted bags.

My fellow Americans, I am pleased to tell you I just signed legislation which outlaws Russia forever. The bombing begins in five minutes.
--Ronald Reagan

Yes, he actually said this on August 11, 1984, during a sound check. He didn't realize the mike was live. Whoops. I would love to have been a fly on the Kremlin wall when that sound bite came wafting over the airwaves. I doubt Gorbachev noticed the grammatical error contained within this, um, bombshell. In any case, I use this principle frequently by substituting the project name in question for "Russia" and "frogging" for bombing.

What a waste it is to lose one's mind. Or not to have a mind is being very wasteful. How true that is.
-- Dan Quayle, thankfully former U.S. Vice President

This quote comes to mind often when working through complex lace patterns replete with convoluted directions and numerous errors.

About the time we think we can make ends meet, somebody moves the ends.
--Herbert Hoover

Useful principle to remember when knitting circularly. Also handy when trying to assemble a sweater.

I have opinions of my own --strong opinions-- but I don't always agree with them.
- George H. Bush

I invoke this principle when lusting after a sweater that absolutely must be knitted in pieces and then seamed together.

There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it.
--Andrew Jackson

Applies to UFOs, languishing WIPs, bulging pattern files, and an over-abundant stash.

Join the fun! Melding politics and knitting makes politics more useful and knitting more relevant, so feel free to contribute additional principles! We could all use a good laugh.

Current Knitting

Most of my favorite bloggers have been generating an alarming quantity of knitted goods this week. I am almost embarrassed to show you what I've been doing, but figured the overproducers can snicker as they soak their aching hands in warm grits. Or whatever passes for warm grits wherever you live.

I started another pair of formal socks for Roy, but as I was finished the toe increases, he decided what he really needed was a pair of mittens. No problem--a few more increases, no heel, and a thumb--and the foot covers morphed in hand covers. Or, in the case of Larry here, arm covers.


I have been quite diligent about the Patons shawl. The yarn is fabulous, the colors fabulous, and the pattern is pretty fabulous too.


I am also working on a strange little project that has been loosely named the International Shawl by the four participating collaborators. The concept is that each section of the shawl (center, inner border, outer border, and edging) is supposed to derive from a different country.

The chosen center is the one on page 64 of Naoko Ichida's Knitted Lace Designs Book 2--a compilation of Niebling treasures. I am at row 60 or so, but because everything is squished onto a circular needle, it photographed poorly. When I have more to show you, I'll try to work it off onto a larger needle and take an eye-candy photo. I can't figure out if the center design counts as Japanese or German...

All of us here at chez fleegle intend to have a lovely holiday and hope that all of you do too! I am sure I will have some goodies to flaunt in the next post (there are some suspiciously squashy packages in the pile...Cool!

Lovely, Lacy Shawl

After all that dying, drying, and winding, the actual knitting seems like an anticlimax. Here's a little bit of the shawl for you to admire:



And a close-up:


The pattern is called either Lovely, Lacy Shawl or Paton's Heirloom Shawl, depending on which list you are reading, I mostly like the original design, which required only a few, minor changes--the yarn, the color, the border, and the edging. The upper part of the shawl is indeed lovely, but the finished edge, as written, doesn't do justice to the rest of the design.

Amazingly, this pattern is a freebie--you can find it here. The Web version is written out and is fraught with errors. The errata page is available here, but is depressingly incomplete. I would urge anyone who wants to actually knit this to search out the pattern book, Patons Wrap It Up (500942), which, unlike the Web version, has charts (that also sport numerous errors). There are lots of sources for this pattern book on the Web--just google Wrap It Up 500942 and pick your supplier.

Good news for intermediate lace knitters--the original was worked with fingering yarn, making the shawl an excellent, non-squinting project. The pattern is somewhat complex, but not impossible, and so far, is not the least bit tedious (unlike the Princess border). My joy in knitting this one is compounded by the luxurious yarn...I stop frequently just to pet the knitting.

Be warned that the errors are fairly serious ones, requiring you to, um, make it work. They aren't simply typos, so if you decide to tackle the piece, be prepared to wing it where the stitch counts are just plain wrong.

LLS is similar to the infamous Triinu shawl, the pattern for which is overpriced and under-explanatory. A beautiful version can be seen here. An,erm, interesting WIP (Warning! Sunglasses Alert!) can be viewed here.

Personally, I like the Paton design better, although I kinda like Triinu's border, which is similar to the Mediterrean Shawl border in Gathering of Lace. I also have my eye on the border for Marianne Kinzel's Rose of England tea cloth for the final touch on the LLS.

By the time I finish, the shawl will probably bear the same resemblance to the original as The Black Window Spider King does to The Spider Queen, but hey, that's half the fun for all of us--especially me!

The Princess Arrives!

If you have been waiting for the re-release of Heirloom Knitting's famous Princess shawl, you'll be happy to know that it's out and you can buy it here. Although the first release was a limited edition of 250, I could find no such restriction placed on Princess 2.0, so you can probably request it for a Christmas present. At $40, it's a bit expensive, but worth every penny.

Until the pattern actually arrives here and I can knit an actual sample repeat, I have to be content fooling around with yarn and needle combinations. And of course, there was plenty of fooling this weekend.

The Swatch Party gave me a chance to try out my brand-new KnitPicks Harmony needles. Whoops...one of them broke during swatching. I couldn't believe it--I mean, it's not like yarn this fine can put a strain on the wood. The tip just snapped clean off at the metal collar. In addition, they were so ugly--my goodness! Green, yellow, magenta--hideous with bright red yarn, loathsome with pink, and revolting with blue.

I did things a bit differently this time. I put all the Major Contenders--yarn and needles--on the table and knit the samples sequentially without stopping. This process gave me a better idea of which yarn really handled the best, and which needles were the most appropriate.

The results were a bit of a surprise to me, and might be to you, as well. Below are four of the worked samples, presented in grayscale only to eliminate color preferences. For two of these swatches, I ran out of sample yarn before I could finish the garter-stitch rows at the top of the pattern, so two of the samples are a bit shorter than the other two.



Here's the quiz. The samples range from 11,000 to 7,000 yards/pound, that is, the finest is a 48/2, the heaviest is a 45/3. Can you tell which is the finest and which is the heaviest?

And which one do you prefer visually?

Flat Daphne

Alas, bubbly Daphne was so much more interesting than flat Daphne.



This was, however, one of the most delightful knits I've ever finished. The patterns never lasted long enough to get boring and the ArtYarns silk/mohair, combined with ebony needles, made for continual tactile delight.

Next up is either Triinu's shawl or one of the Engeln shawls. I haven't made up my mind yet.

Actually, the next thing I think I will attempt is some destashing. Most of the yarn falls into the What Was I Thinking? category, They are all beautiful, but I know I will never use them for assorted reasons.

Ravelry's new server software is shlurping up almost 1000 people a day now--only 3000+ people ahead of me, so it looks like I can join the fun by next week. Cool!

Lyra & Luna

My Japanese embroidery class was wildly successful (meaning that nobody dropped out and the projector didn't die in the middle of a lecture). I can now relax for a week here in beautiful Bath before boarding yet another plane for home.

In the meantime, here's a bit of Neibling's brilliant Lyra (scroll down Jane's page to see the finished piece). This is a complicated knit, but wonderful fun--each pattern row is different and there's a resting knit row between them. I first swatched with Zephyr, but decided the yarn was too indelicate, so I switched over to Gentle in the Dark Ruby color.

I am sorry I had to leave it back in the US, but I have too much to do here in England and this piece requires concentration.


I did, however, bring the Wings of the Moth, which is being worked in pale green Art Yarns mohair/silk. The pattern requires no concentration whatsoever and the silky, fuzzy yarn is especially pleasant to handle in the lovely cool weather we are having here. The pale green is very slightly variegated and the exact color of a Luna moth.



This was the yarn reserved for the Bee shawl, so now I have to go yarn shopping again. Darn!