Down Time

Wow, now that the shawl's done, I feel like there's a weight lifted. I finished my level 1 resubmit swatch for the Master Knitter program and got it mailed off today. I pulled out the cuff of my Inside Out sock for the Rockin Socks club and started reknitting on size 2s. I printed out the instructions for the first few swatches in TKGA's level 2 course. This one's not going to be as quick to finish as the first one was. Lots of seaming and finishing stuff!

That didn't take long

I made my decision. No border on this baby. I reconsidered the tremendous size and determined that any addition would be a bad idea. It's seriously huge. Wingspan is about 8.5 feet, and it goes from the base of my neck to mid calf when I don't fold any of the top edge down. Huge.

Here it is in the process of blocking.



And here it is draped over my cedar chest:


The edge pattern detail:


And the field detail:


Finally, proof that it fits through a ring. Not a wedding ring exactly, but a class ring at least :)

Decisions

I've come to the end of the main part of the Three cornered shawl in clover pattern from Victorian Lace Today. Whew that took a while.

Here it is, nearly 8 feet across in its unblocked glory:



From the pictures I thought it was smooth sailing once I got to the last chart. Oh my, I was wrong. There are miles and miles of those little clover eyelets:



Now I have to consider the Willow Border that should go along the top. I'm not convinced I need a border, given the size. I also am nearing the end of my yarn. I probably have 10 grams left, which is a fair amount at this weight, but probably not enough for around 520 rows at 12 stitches per row. hm. I could always get more, but I really don't know if I want to do a border. Will have to think on it.

Movin right along

Due to untold hours in airports, on planes, and in hotel rooms, I've made it through the first repeat of chart F. 7 more repeats of that left. The rows are down to about 250 stitches, so that makes things go a bit faster. After that, I'll have to do the edging along the top. I anticipate that taking a while--especially picking up all those stitches.

I'm almost done with ball 2 of my yarn. I think I'll be able to finish it with the third ball. I wasn't quite sure how the yardage would work out for my substitution, so that makes me pretty happy.

So anyway, here it is. Could double as a tablecloth I think!

Squeal

I got my level 1 Master Knitter submission packet back! I have one swatch to re-do and one question. That's it! Not much at all :) Maybe I'll do it this weekend.

Still working along on the clover shawl. Almost done with the clover leaf pattern repeats. I think I'll finish that this weekend and get on to the eyelet section. I love this yarn.

A lesson learned

I bound off on the first STR sock today. Though I had tried it on a few rows into the leg pattern, I didn't realize how the fit would be affected by finishing the rest of the leg. I can hardly get it on. The cables on the leg have reduced the stretch to almost nothing.

I also have a lovely example of how gauge affects patterning of hand-painted yarns:

The foot is done on size 0 needles, and a little ways up the leg, I switched to size 1. Very clearly, the 0's pool, and the 1's stripe. I prefer the stripes, but the pooly parts are going to be in my shoes anyway, and the fit is nice and snug, so I wouldn't want to go up a needle size there.

I've set the poor sock aside for now, but when I'm feeling fortified, I'll rip it back to the start of the leg and rework it on size 2's so I can actually get them on and off. No idea what the yarn will do on size 2's yet :)

Off to work on the Clover Shawl for a bit instead.

In progress

I've been working along on the "Three Cornered Shawl in a Clover Leaf Pattern" from Victorian Lace Today. Here's my progress so far, at the end of the first repeat of chart C. I'm hoping I'll have enough yarn. Too soon to tell as I'm not finished with the first ball yet.



And here's my progress on the STR Monsoon colorway sock from the Rockin Sock club. Well, I think we all know what it looks like.

Rockin Sock Club

I happened to get my bonus at work this year just in time to use some of it to subscribe to the Blue Moon Fiber Arts Rockin Socks club. I get a skein of yarn and a sock pattern every 2 months. I got my first one a couple days ago, and just started the sock last night. I have a toe done.

The color is called "Monsoon" and is a nice blend of greens, browns, and blue-grays. I like the feel of the yarn a lot too.

I've also been stalking the messageboards for the sock club. Oh Lordy, people there are insane! They're going nuts when they get their packages, etc. I was excited to get mine, but not to the point of stalking the postman. Sheesh. I'm beginning to think this is a crazy cult.

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