Summer's Shadow Shawl from Hemstitched Heirlooms - Day 4

Life is like a row of lacework...

The nice thing about short rows of lacework is that you don’t really have to worry about getting lost.  This panel, as it flows along the lower edge of all that garter stitch, is definitely knitter-friendly.  Sets of P2s separate the three designs, giving you little milestones in each row.  Hit the P2s when you’re supposed to?  Good—you haven’t dropped a stitch, missed a yarn-over, or messed up some other way.  It’s as if each row has several built-in pats on the back to let you know you’re doing okay.  Not enough of life works like that, in my opinion.

I still can’t decide if the vibrancy of the color is going to overwhelm the clarity of the lacework.  Sometimes, you can have too much going on in a piece.  A textured yarn, for example, will often overpower cables or lacework. Long or subtle variegations generally work okay, but a crowd of color changes rarely allows for the negative space needed to let lacework shine.  Sure, the design will display if I hold this up to the light, or maybe if I wear it against a white blouse, but I usually want my lacework to be really visible.  I want all that hard work to be seen and admired.

That’s not to say it won’t happen with this piece.  You simply can’t tell until it’s blocked—it’s too bunched up right now to show its true character.  I always say it: lacework is like a lot of things in life—parenting, writing, gardening, baking—you never really know what you’ve got until you’re all the way to the finish line.

Forest Gumpian philosophy aside, I am enjoying the progress of this lace as I work my way across the shawl.

Wavelength Shawl from Holley's Yarn Shoppe - Day 2

Right-sizing....

One of the things I’m most looking forward to in this project is the size.  I’m not a small woman, so shawlettes don’t have a lot of versatility for me.  A full shawl, however, can be worn as a shawl, a cowl, or a scarf.  So I’m delighted to be working on a full shawl, even in a summer weight like this.  It always feels that much better to be wearing a full shawl.

Speaking of feeling, everyone keeps asking to touch it. It’s the linen quality, I think—they want to know if it's soft.  It’s not yet, I explain, but it will be.  It will hold its shape well, but still be light enough for summer wear.  There’s a reason linen has always been the go-to summer fabric.

I admit to a bit of hesitation about the lacework panel.  Given the soft color, the design doesn’t stand out very much yet.  There’s a few photos of the shawl in a more vibrant color on Ravelry, and I really like them.  In the beige tones, however, it doesn’t seem to pop.  Yet. You can’t judge lace before it is blocked.  I absolutely must reserve judgement until the end on this one.

The good news is that I’m early in the project and I already know I have mastered all the necessary stitch patterns.  Knitting is a place where “more of the same” is a comforting thing.  My job now?  Keep going and don’t mess it up.

Wavelength Shawl from Holley's Yarn Shoppe - Day 1

Just the right Wavelength...

This is a perfect summer project.  The fiber, Classic Elite Bella Lino linen/viscose/cotton blend is light and airy.  I have a good, cozy neutral beige winter shawl, but I need one for warmer weather.  The gentle undulation of warm colors—browns, tans, grays, and creams—gives texture and just a bit of interest to the knitting.  For now, working with only one 50 gram ball, my project is highly portable even with its long circular needle.

The yarn is a bit stiff—it is, after all, 58% linen—but I know that will soften once this baby gets its first bath.  The ball is like a squirmy toddler; it wants to unwind.  I find I need to keep it under close control so that it doesn’t unravel and tangle.

Yes, this is another top-down shawl.  I know, I just know it’ll be grueling at the end.  I’ll be slogging through the long final rows, whining to you about how many stitches there are.  To help in that challenge, the designer places panels of mercifully quick-and-easy garter stitch on either side of the lacework center.  I’m hoping this will keep me from pulling my hair out in my inevitable final dash to the bind-off.

The lacework pattern—with its expanding repeat in rows 21-34, takes a few readings to grasp. Read the note and the pattern a couple of times until it becomes clear. Essentially, each set of row repeats adds 14 stitches to the section; enough to host an additional stitch repeat. So you don’t repeat the first “repeat”—you just execute it.  It’s complicated, but once you catch the idea, it’s whack-your-forehead simple.  Stitch markers, which get shifted at the end of each set of 14 rows, will help ensure you’re exactly where you need to be.

Uliuli Wai Shawl from Needlecraft Cottage - Done!

It's beautiful!  

Worth the wait and effort?  Absolutely!  See for yourself.  Light and lacy, with just enough loft to make it seasonless. And oh, the color...there just aren't words.

I want to run out and buy a dress to show it off (the awards ceremony gown doesn't match at all, sadly).  

People always ask me "How is it that your shawl always matches your outfit so perfectly?"  The answer is that my outfit always matches my shawl.  I need the perfect outfit to match this stunner for sure.

The camera can't do the color justice, but here are a few more shots to show it off anyway.

A memorable project to be sure.  Thanks, Needlecraft Cottage!  Stay tuned--next up I tackle the Celtic Princess cable scarf from Yarn and Thread Expressions.

Alexandra Scarf from Gauge Knits - Done!

Brilliant!

Before blocking: brilliant but bumpy

You would think, after so many years as a knitter, that the effects of blocking would cease to be so wondrous for me.  Not so.  Just like the thrill of opening a brand new box of my latest book never gets old, so does that moment when I pull a project off the blocking wires to hold it in my hand.

On the wires

Some projects don’t change dramatically with blocking, but lacework—even simple lacework like this—comes alive when you block it.  The ripples disappear and you hold a light, airy piece of fabric in your hands.  Fabric you made out of sticks and string.  That’s art in itself, but the fact that you can now wear it?  All the more marvelous!

A finished beauty!

On a dreary Chicago day when it feels like winter has lasted forever, this is just the colorful promise of spring I needed.  Thanks, Gauge Knits, for a project that taught me a lot about what I love and learn from knitting!

Delightful details

Next up?  DestiKNITions spends the day in the charming state capitol of Frankfort, KY.

Knit-Along: Elemental Changes Scarf from Aylin’s Woolgatherer - Day 3

Ah, imperfection...

Section B was delightfully uneventful. Well, except for the part where I think I did a row twice and flipped the work over, but since this is essentially symmetrical and reversible, no real harm was done.

Which brings me to an essential truth of knitting: lives are not at stake here.

Perfection isn’t necessarily what we’re after. I’m a big proponent of the Zimmerman saying, “if a man running for his life wouldn’t notice it, it’s not a mistake.”

That’s not to say that I don’t go back and correct things when I find them. I do. But I’m not likely to pull out 15 rows to fix a non-catastrophic error. If it’s really going to mess things up, I’ll fix it. But if it isn’t likely to cause great harm, I’ll embrace the imperfection that is my life and keep on with it.

This, I understand, is what made Julia Child the culinary sensation that she was (although I’ve yet to catch the movie Julie and Julia but it is on my “go see” list). Julia didn’t expect perfection, just enjoyment. That’s how I approach my knitting. With two teenagers in my life, perfection left the building a couple of months ago. Enjoyment is a worthy goal. And yes, enjoyment does include getting it right, just not at the expense of my sanity. And my sanity needs to make progress on its knitting.

It’s the pesky double daisy motif that’s doing me in, and I have three more chances to perfect my technique (more if I plan to lengthen the scarf, which I’m seriously considering doing because I’ve got the yarn and at six feet tall, I’ve got the altitude). The Fat Lady ain’t sung a single note yet, kiddos.

The other life lesson here--one especially true of both teenagers and lacework--is that something isn’t finished until it’s finished. What it looks like now isn’t a true indicator of what it will look like washed and blocked. “Raw” lacework often resembles a fuzzy jellyfish, all puckered and inelegant. Once it’s blocked and stretched, it’s a whole new animal--delicate and elegant and all those things we want when we knit lacework. Teenagers are the same way. What they look like now is only the “raw” form of the adult. They, too, have to stretch and soak to find their elegance. I’d do well--as a mother and a knitter--to extend a little grace and patience on all fronts.

On to Section C...

Knit-Along: Elemental Changes Scarf from Aylin’s Woolgatherer - Day 1

You don’t tug on Superman’s cape.

You don’t spit into the wind.

You don’t pull the hat off the ol’ Long Ranger...

If you’re old enough to recognize these lyrics, you’ll know I’m about to discuss a mistake. Or, more precisely, a poor choice of actions. One of those things that should have a disclaimer running on the bottom of the screen. Like the Jeep ad that had the famously rugged car running vertically up the side of a house. As if a Jeep could actually do that. But just in case you entertain the notion, the bottom of the screen read those now famous cautionary words: “Do not attempt.”

I’d like to think that the human race has evolved far enough not to have to be told that driving a car up the side of a house wouldn’t meet with success. I guess I’d be wrong.

But then again, I can’t really call the kettle black on this one.

Don’t worry, I’m getting to my point.

My very favorite caution of late comes from the world of personal electronics. I have a Blackberry Storm. I love my Blackberry Storm. It’s the fourth Blackberry I’ve owned and I’ve loved every single one of the priceless pricey gadgets. I go into cardiac arrest if I can’t find it. My son calls it “Mom’s little black brain.”

But even I don’t have to be told....

wait for it....

“Do not lick your Blackberry to clean it.”

Exactly how has someone earned enough money to purchase a Blackberry if they don’t know enough NOT to lick it? Ever? Even in the name of cleaning it? C’mon people, why don’t you just lick the hotel television remote (reportedly a germ fest) or the handle of a public telephone? Driving a BMW up your new vinyl siding makes more sense!

Nice rant, Allie, but what’s this got to do with yarn?

I, at my advanced knitting years, should not have to be told...

“Do not start a lacework project at 9:30pm.”

Enough said. We’ll never speak of this again.

Until next installment, when I tell you how nicely the first section of my Elemental Changes scarf worked out.

The second time I did it.