finished scarf

Three years ago, I knit my mother a shawlette for her birthday. I made it from Rowan Summer Tweed and while I was knitting it, I noticed it had an odd smell. Silk sometimes does. I figured that it would go away when I washed and blocked it. It never really did. Mom liked the color and the shawlette but finally admitted that it was hard to wear because the smell was unpleasant.

Last week, I decided to replace that shawl with one knit from some silk yarn that my friend Kate was destashing that I took. I’m not sure what the yarn is but it’s a fairly heavy (aran to bulky) loosely plied silk…with no smell! I chose the scroll lace scarf pattern from Ysolda Teague’s Whimsical Little Knits 2. I didn’t think I’d have it done in a week but, with a little help from the hair dryer, it was washed and blocked this morning and ready for her birthday!

She said she loved it and sent me a modeled shot.

It’s pretty warm, considering how small it is. I hope it keeps her shoulders warm when she needs just that.

Happy Birthday, Mom!

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blocked ishbel

I blocked my Ishbel shawl (Ravlery project link) yesterday. It is lovely, as I expected. Even Stefan said he liked it.

I'm unlikely to wear it all spread out like that first picture, but I wanted a picture of the blocked lace pattern.

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a weekend away and lots of wips

I have been neglectful of my blog but no one wants to read blog posts about how few blog posts there are, right? Right. So let's just pretend I'm not neglectful, deal? Thanks.

I went away this weekend with some of the BobaKnitters. We went to South Lake Tahoe and spent the weekend knitting, eating and watching movies. Oh, and drinking margaritas and/or wine. It was fun. There were some beautiful views to be seen, of course.

A bit of wildlife.

stellar’s jays

And lots of knitting and hanging out. All of my people photos were taken on my phone and are not so great. Sorry, guys.

To update you on what projects I've been doing since March, here's a run down of my current WIPs.

Pucker needs the ends woven in and to be washed before I decide if it's long enough or if it needs an edging at the hem. I didn't want to do the hem in the pattern so I'm at a loss.

pucker needs ends woven in

By the way, after searching high and low and finding someone on Ravelry with a ball of yarn it turns out I had one more! It had fallen behind the sofa. So now I have an extra. I'm pretending this is amusing and not really irritating.

Next up is Bellambie, which also needs the ends woven in and to be washed. I want to split the plies and weave them into the stitches on both of these projects which makes end weaving even more tedious than it usually is. I'm a masochist.

bellambie needs ends woven in

Next is Ishbel, which I finished (according to the pattern) and then realized I was going to have way too much yarn left so I pulled out the bind off ripped back to add more lace repeats. I don't have much yarn left this time, I think it was a good choice. It clearly needs to be blocked.

ishbel needs ends woven in and blocking

Finally, the only WIP that I'm actually currently working on: Rill. It's a Norah Gaughan pattern from her Vol. 6 booklet. I bought enough Berrocco Seduce to make this or another sweater from WEBS at Stitches (thanks for the gift card, BobaKnitters!) and then my friend Pamela said she was going to knit it so I decided to knit it along with her. It's a big wide rectangle and it is s l o w going. I think it will be worth it in the end, though.

rill in progress

I love the colors in the yarn. The only problem right now is the edges. I'm not sure what is going on with them. I might wash and block this piece to see if they get settled in that process because otherwise, I might have to rip back (and cry).

the edges are weird

As you might have noticed form the above picture, I am using my new (again) Signature circulars for this project. They sent me a replacement pair after the first broke. So far so good! Cross your fingers for me.

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a few finished items, stitches

I am back to my non-regular posting schedule with pictures of finished stuff like once a month. Here we go.

First of all, bike helmet ear warmers for Niels

bike helmet ear warmers for Niels

No action shot because he doesn't like them. They're too tight under his helmet or something. Live and learn.

Next up, things knit with Blue Sky Alpaca Dyed Cotton that I got from the BobaKnit yarnswap. I was seized with the desire to knit it all up immediately.

Blanket for Pete and Surgirtha's baby (born a few days ago, I better send it off).

star blanket

star blanket

Baby Bolero from One Skein for Diana's baby, also born a few days go, also not yet delivered.

one skein baby bolero

Single Cable Scarf, also from One Skein, for my mom.

green cabled scarf

green cabled scarf

The two babies are also getting bunny buddies, of course.

more bunnies

I have no idea what this yarn is. My aunt gave it to me from my grandmother's stash, I believe. It's some kind of cotton plied with a thread so it's bumpy. It makes a nice bunny.

My Anhinga is also finished but it is blocking right now. I'm trying to see if the pleat stays in just from blocking or if I'll to sew a tuck it. We'll see soon, I hope.

Last weekend was Stitches West. I took a class on sweater finishing that was mostly about swatching, including washing your swatches so you understand your fiber and then about seaming. I do think I learned some new techniques that will help me improve my seaming but I could have lived without the instructor trying to convince me that I am allergic to dyes and not wool. Trust me lady, I am sure I'm allergic to wool, just ask my nebulizer.

As I mentioned, my lovely Boba friends gave me a gift card for WEBS. I used it to buy a sweater's worth of Seduce.

I also got the books I mentioned previously (Berroco booklet #294 and Norah Gaughan Vol. 6) from WEBS and Whimsical Little Knits by Ysolda Teague from Verb For Keeping Warm. I want to make Ishbel out of the Handmaiden Sea Silk that I bought at Stitches two years ago… I think? (I looked it up, yes, it was two years ago!)

pattern books

Last but not least, I got a few tools and notions.

tools

Three bone "wandas" by Lacis from Carolina Homespun, they're a crochet hook on one end and a knitting needle on the other. One of my friends described it perfectly: it's an "oh crap!" tool. Perfect for fixing things; the Sinature circulars were too hard to resist once I learned that the point rotates on the cable! If you knit on circular needles you'll probably understand right away why I think that's a wonderful idea; last up: highlighter tape, red from the wooden sock blocker people and yellow from The Mannings. The highlighter tape has already enabled me to go back to my tapestry cowl, a double knitting colorwork project with no repeats in the pattern. NO REPEATS. I might get it finished by the time it's cold again, which would be a Good Thing.

Just because they're so awesome, here are the points of my Signature Needles.

pointy points

I find Stitches to be inspiring and exhausting at the same time. It inspired me to finish my Anhinga and then to pick up two UFOs that had been hanging around but by Sunday night I was so tired, and I didn't even spend time in the marketplace except on Thursday evening and Sunday after my class. I'm not sure what it is: the crowds, the wool fumes, the sensory overload. I'm going with all three.

I'm glad Stitches is over and now I need to focus on finishing the projects I have planned with this year's yarn AND last year's! That sweater still hasn't been knit either. Oops.

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