knitting

>Just a year ago I wrote about an eclipse here, so having another one this week made me realize I’ve been at this for a little over a year. Naturally, I expected to do a lot more with this blog than I have! The photos alone are a big learning curve for me, and I haven’t got the faintest idea how some of the bloggers I most admire do such interesting things with photos!
(Empire State Building with Lunar Eclipse)

It’s snowing hard here, and the birds are singing so it’s quite a contrast. I will have no photos because my camera is on a holiday in Colorado with my husband and older son, the homebrew master. Trust me, it’s beautiful outside!

I have finished the body of the Swallowtail shawl and am partway through the first larger border. The next border is only 10 rows, and then I’ll switch yarn to the violet for the final border. I really, really want this done by March 1, so I can give it away to my friend before she has her reconstructive surgery. I can’t believe I’m not sick of looking at this yarn yet since I’ve been fussing with it in various patterns since August! (from Knitting Daily photo gallery)

Earlier this week I learned that Elizabeth Lovick will be leading a KAL (knit along) on one of the yahoo groups, EZ as Pi. Liz is the woman who sent me the wonderful Ronaldsay which I spun and knit into Chris’s gansey which should show up on the slide show to the right. I’m going to join this one, and have been looking at the Jamieson and Smith site lusting after all the colors and weights of Shetland. The KAL starts next week, so I should just go through my stash, especially since I do have some wonderful lace yarns…..they’re just not real shetland…..sigh…

>
Almost finished frogging the Muir before I realized that I should at least take a photo. This yarn is Alfabeto from Art Fibers in San Francisco. It is 76% silk, 19% mohair, and 5% wool. It doesn’t rip out easily, and I sure hope I remember that little edge picots should be avoided in future unless I’m working with very smooth yarn! On the other hand, this yarn simply will not break no matter how much tugging I do! Two out every four rows begins in a picot which I have to tease apart with a blunt tapestry needle. I console myself that it is somewhat faster than the actual knitting!

If I need to supplement yarn to re-make this as a Swallowtail Shawl I will buy some coordinating Sylph.

Okay, I’m heading downstairs to start threading the clerical stole warp!

>I’ve gotten some great ideas from fellow knitters and friends on how to make lemonade with this Muir shawl! I feel nurtured by your sympathy and by the interesting ideas for how to save this project! For now, I’m just going to move on. I don’t give up easily on things, and sometimes I need a slap in the face to make me walk away from a project! I’m going to look at this hiatus as the gift of freedom to move on to other knitting and weaving!

But… if/when I come back to this project here is the idea that most appeals to me now: block the partial piece to a square, knit the lace edging, and have a little shawlette! Voila! Thank you, Lea Ann! (This idea is from my oldest friend who is not even a knitter!)

I am getting back on track with my little-man-in-the-boat-historical-piece (from one of the Devonshire Hunt tapestries). I’ve also warped and woven the hem and first border for my new tapestry. It’s not much to look at yet.

An update on my son’s friend Sarah who suffered the terrible accident back in the fall. She has mostly adjusted back to her regular life and does not have any noticeable brain impairment. Truly a miracle! She is staying in Rochester even though she is not in classes this semester. What an amazing recovery!

This morning there is heavy fog, and it is lovely! We are having some confused weather! It was as warm as April and just as sunny over the weekend, snow yesterday, and fog today. I’m thinking about the ground hog and Shrove Tuesday, and crocus, snow drops, and taking a moment to cut some forsythia!
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!!

>Bad news in my inbox today. I cannot get any more yarn to finish my Muir shawl. Drat, drat, drat! I’m about halfway through the shawl, using a beautiful silk yarn from ArtFibers called Alfabeto in a somewhat strange space dyed colorway. The color has gradually grown on me. I don’t know why I thought I had enough of this yarn….
perhaps it was that the yarn had no ball band so over time I only imagined it was enough for a whole shawl? This shawl was to be for a friend. I need to think if there is any way to salvage what I have and somehow complete it.

This situation does NOT improve my mood. I’ve just spent some time looking at blogs of two people whose work inspires me. I was looking for a bit of cheering up and inspiration, and I got both….until that email arrived about the yarn.

I need to find a way to make lemonade out of this, but my mind is a blank….. knitting has not gone well for me lately!