Edie's Shoulder Wrap from The Knit Shop - Done...sort of

Feather and Fan and Frustration...

I’m guessing you knew how that was going to end up.

Restored--no, I won't let you't see the botched version

Yep, turned out I had to rip all the feather and fan out and start over. 

Good thing I wasn’t alone. My friend (and April 2012 Author Who Knits feature) Camy Tang was there at the writers conference where I was.  Not only is Camy a talented writer, but she is also ninja-level knitter and a master of the feather and fan.  If anyone could save this shawl, it’s Camy.  Conversely, if anyone knew it was beyond saving, it was Camy.  

The verdict was pronounced, and Camy and I began to rip.  And rip.  And rip.

We were sitting in the hotel lobby, and you could divide those who walked by into two distinct groups:  non knitters who wondered what the heck we were doing with all that tangled yarn, and knitters who stood in sad solidarity as we pulled irredeemable tangled mohair from its place.

To add to the pain, I didn’t have anywhere near the right number of stitches I should have had to start the feather and fan portion.  Again, Camy to the rescue!  That dear friend sat there and recalculated/rewrote the pattern for me so I could move ahead with the stitches I had.  Because that’s what a knitter does for a knitter in need.  When a fellow knitter comes to you heartbroken, moaning “fix this!,” you dig in your heels (and your needles) and lend a hand.

It’s not done.  It’s close, but I can’t bear to make you watch further.  Just trust that I made it out of the pit alive and am clawing my way toward the finish line.  

For everyone’s mental health, we’ve moving along to Austin for our next episode.  Don’t worry Edie, I promise I’ll stick it out until the end and post a photo one of these days!

Edie's Shoulder Wrap from The Knit Shop - Day 6

Doubt and faith...

I’ve installed a lovely system of black stitch markers for the pattern repeats and colored ones for the “corners” between panels.

Only I’m not so sure it’s working.

I'm just a bit worried I've made some kind of colossal error.  I have knit feather and fan before; I know what it is supposed to look like.  I'm pretty sure the yarn overs should be stacked on top of each other, and right now they seem to be leaning to one side like a drunken sailor.  Considering that I went to all this trouble to mark the repeats, it should be hard for me to mess up.  Should.  You've all had a front row seat to my ability to mess up things that should be easy.

Here's the grace in all this.  I could actually have messed it up, and I still might like the results.  This is lace--you can never really call it finished until its blocked.  The garments essential shape is there, it's jus the lace pattern that seems to be off kilter.  And, it bears saying that I don't really know it's off kilter--it just looks like it right now.  Here is one of those places where I set my fiber faith in the saying "Everything will be all right in the end. And if it is not all right, well, then it is not the end."

Worst case scenario (and I am not at all saying we've achieved this), if I don't care for the finished product, I can always find someone who loves it, and loves that it has been handmade.  Knitting is like hope:  it is never wasted.

Even if I end up ripping the whole lace pattern out (and no, I won’t make you watch—you get one more episode on this and then I let you move on to my fabulous trip to Austin TX), I still have a nice shawlette that just needs the last part to be redone a third time.  

And third time’s always the charm, yes?

Edie's Shoulder Wrap from The Knit Shop - Day 5

History is bound to frog itself...

Well, phooey. 

“Onward” didn’t happen.

Well, it did, only it was swiftly followed by “backward.” As in rip it out, you fool, this won’t work.

For whatever reason, my knitting lesson in life this year seems to be “some things you just can’t fudge.”

I thought I could just plow forward through the feather and fan portion of this project even though my accent stripes were a bit off.  Turns out I could do that, but I ended up with wider green stripes—two rows of garter stitch gives you a single ridge, but two rows of stockinette give you two full rows, which look thicker.

The fixed version--after much gnashing of teeth

At first, I told myself I liked it that way.  You know those little kitting lies you tell yourself to try and convince yourself you won’t have to rip out three days worth of work?  You can get away with it for about twenty minutes, and then the truth hunts you like a hound.  Some errors you can live with, others you know will bother you for the life of the garment.

So what did I spend yesterday doing?  Ripping out three days worth of stitching to start the feather and fan section all over again.  

Lucky for me, I have a bunch of air travel ahead of me this week.  I’m going to need all that time to catch up.

Edie's Shoulder Wrap from The Knit Shop - Day 4

The feather-and-fan finish line...

One head cold, one migraine, one wedding, one baby shower (and associated hat and bootie knitting), one car trip, two minor crises, and a writing deadline later….I finally make it to the end of the garter stitch portion of this shawl.  Heavens, but that took a long time!  By now you all have become achingly familiar with my impatience for high-volume stitch top-down shawls.  You know what they say…you are doomed to repeat the lesson you haven’t yet learned.

Not that this is any kind of punishment.  It’s pleasant knitting—just time-consuming.  And given the crazy (and cranky) nature of my week, it’s been just the type of knitting I needed.  Even on the car trip requiring lots of navigation participation from me, I was able to knit while keeping an eye on travel directions.  The fiber is soft and fluffy, comfortable and comforting between my fingers.  Yes, this requires a very long circular needle—and those tend to go all loopy on me at times—but it wasn’t unwieldy.

The biggest challenge with this pattern so far?  The counting.  349 stitches and 57 ridges is a lot of counting.  The 57 ridges aren’t so bad, especially with the stripes every twelve rows, but it takes a fair amount of focus to count 349 stitches.  I found myself wishing I’d placed stitch markers every 50 stitches.

No worries there, because I’ll be whipping out plenty of stitch markers to note repeats as we move into the feather and fan lace section of this shawl.  Onward!

Edie’s Shoulder Wrap from The Knit Shop - Day 2

Adding in the accent…

Now, a few rows into the pattern, the shape begins to really show itself.  It’s fun to watch—rather like when you turn a sock heel, and the straight line of knitting begins to take on a new dimension.  

There is a definite switch in texture from sock weight wool to lace weight mohair.  I’ve always found Kidsilk Haze to be a bit on the tricky side thanks to the “fuzz factor” and the non-elastic nature of the fiber.  At first I was worried that the accent would be too subtle, but I found I rather like the way these colors interact.  The light green adds a bit of interest without the full-scale sparkle Edie showed me in her sample.  

And isn’t that the sort of “I think I’d like it better this way” customization that gives knitting its endless appeal?  Provided you’ve got the skill (or can learn it) and the fiber suits the pattern, you can have anything exactly how you want it.

At the moment, this project is marvelously portable, fitting in the smallest of my knitting bags stashed in a corner of my handbag.  I’m not sure it will stay that way, but right now it’s perfect.  A small project with an easy stitch that still brings beautiful results.

Edie’s Shoulder Wrap from The Knit Shop - Day 1

Simply squared...

I’ve made a lot of shawls in my day.  And of late, they’ve usually come in triangle or arc shapes.  This one takes a unique squared shape that Edie tells me will stay on my shoulders better, despite its light and airy fiber.  Sounds like a theory worth testing!

The main hue for this shawl is a color-way called “Sorgasso” from Juniper Moon Farm Findley Dappled marino-silk blend.  The mix of multiple greens feels lush and botanical without being too bold.  That’s not to say the piece is without “pop” however—the accent of a stripe of Kidsilk Haze silk-mohair blend in a vibrant bright green does that.

I’m at the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in St. Louis this week, which means I’m doing a lot of sitting in workshops (when I’m not hiding in my hotel room watching “Outlander” on Starz since we don’t have it at home…).  the basic to portion of this shawl is the perfect project for “I need to pay a fair amount of attention” situations like these.  As long as you mark the two yarn-over sections with a pair stitch markers, you don’t even have to count.  Since you keep up the basic pattern until the row is over three hundred stitches long, you can be sure things aren’t going to get complicated anytime soon.  Just the ticket for days of workshops.

I’ll have to pay a smidge more attention in a row or two when I start adding the green accent stripe every twelve rows (which means I need to do a least a bit of counting), but I think I’m up to it. 

CLEVELAND, OH SUBURBS - Day 2: Aurora

Cars and yarn...

My favorite words when my husband is considering traveling to a car show?  “There’s a yarn shop nearby.” Imagine my delight when we were making plans to attend the Midwest Z Heritage Fest—a regional car show for Nissan/Datsun Z-car enthusiasts like my husband— in Aurora, Ohio and I discovered a yarn shop right in town!  DestiKNITions powers, engage!

Longtime DestiKNITters know I’m a fan of going out for breakfast, especially to a good bakery.  I was pleased to find an excellent spot in Aurora:

Pumpkin Seed, Sweets and Treats

238 East Garfield Road

Aurora, OH 44202

216-215-3949

twcakes.com

I’m a pushover for a good lemon bar, and this one was scrumptious.  This spot is more than just a bakery, it’s also a coffee bar as well as an event venue—you can host a shower or a small wedding reception right here.  Baked goods, some exquisitely frosted cookies, and a selection of chocolates are all here to tempt your tastebuds (you know I’m a fan of dessert for breakfast).  T’Cakes, the other half of the business, handles custom occasion cakes.

Next head to our yarn fix for the day:

The Knit Shop

226 Chillicothe Road

Aurora, OH  44202

330-562-7226

ediesknitshop.com

The no-nonsense name reflects owner Edie Tait’s straightforward approach to knitting—offer quality products and spot-on technical advice.  After all, she’s been in the business for over 20 years, so she’s learned what works.  

The shop is a small, multi-roomed house with two fireplaces and packed to the gills with fibers and sample projects.  Every object you see in the store is knit by Edie herself—she’ll also “knit for hire” if you need to outsource your latest unfinished project, by the way.  

A renowned fair-isle master with a strong eye for color and a vast knowledge of fibers, Edie has a diverse selection stocked to suit her customers.  “I fill the store with an eye for quality and a good knitting experience,” Edie says, so you know you’ll come away with something that works, not just the newest fad yarn.  While she does design, Edie’s preference is to adapt patterns to suit her tastes.  “I don’t think I’ve ever worked a pattern exactly how it's written.”  That means she’s eager to put her vast technical skill to use for you, giving lots of help to customers whenever they need it.  

That doesn’t mean there isn’t fun and whimsy here—ask to see the baby booties and the golf club covers—they’re amazing!  And if you’re a needlepoint person, this is THE place to score hard-to-find Paternayan yarn.

Some projects you should consider:

Blue and Green Cardigan and Boxy Tee

Both a design of Edie’s, this sweater takes any tape or ribbon yarn like Katia’s Rumba and works it into a season-less, eye-catching sweater set.  Ask Edie’s advice for color combinations, or stick with a solid for a more subtle effect.  Either way, the texture’s the star for these pieces.

The Wedding Top

Made by Edie for a special occasion, this gorgeous top is a special occasion all in itself.  Look at the splendid stitch work and the graceful, fluttering trim!  Stick with a light colored fingering weight silk fiber to get the best effect and drape.  This one strikes me as a family heirloom in the making.

Glam Scarf

This fringed wonder works up in 250 yards of any fiber, but Edie offers a kit if you want to ensure great results.  The versatile pattern could be light and draped or warm and lush, depending on the fiber you choose.

Neckwarmer

In my hometown of Chicago, we take our neck warmers very seriously.  Who wouldn’t want the luxury of this angora wool blend around their neck on a brutal January morning?  Again, you’ll want to pick two skeins of a light color to show off the cable work.

Ulta Alpaca Afghan

This sample uses sixteen different colors of Jameson Simply Shetland, but you don’t have to go to such extremes if you don’t want to.  In true Edie adaptation fashion, she reworked an existing Sonoma Mountain Wrap pattern to become this stunning linen stitch afghan.  Wouldn’t that make a great gift (for someone you love enough to stitch up an entire afghan)?

Shoulder Wrap

Sometimes the design makes all the difference.  Edie designed this wrap to be more square than most, allowing it to sit nicely on the shoulders.  Another highly adaptable piece, you can make this heavyweight for warmth or lightweight to fend off summer air conditioning.  This will be our knit-along from The Knit Shop, so I’ll be working it up in 600 yards of Juniper Moon Findley Dappled merino/silk blend with a touch of Kidsilk Haze for the accent stripes (I didn’t go for the “sparkly” accent stripes of the sample).

Stocked your knitting bag?  You won’t have to go far to get a little more shopping—as a matter of fact, you don’t even have to move your car if it's a nice day like I had.

Abbagail’s

178 S. Chillicothe Road

Aurora, OH  55202

330-995-0320

www.facebook.com/abigailsaccessories

Head to the big red barn just down the street for an amazing accessories store.  You’ll find familiar names like Trollbeads and Vera Bradley, but also some new finds.  They had some of the most amazing, inventive umbrellas I had ever seen, and a collection of very artful handbags.

The Secret Garden

196 S. Chillicothe Road

Aurora OH  44202

330-562-7198

pinterest.com/secretgarden196

Sometimes you walk into a store and you just know you’ll want to explore every nook.  This “antiques and uniques” store is an inviting combination of old and crafted items from fifteen different co-op members. I was particularly drawn to the vintage items, the wood carvings, and the delightful Bijon dog who serves as the store’s mascot.

Ready for lunch?  I recommend you end your Aurora adventure at:

Mad Jack’s Grill & Pub

204 S. Chilicothe Road

Aurora, OH  44202

330-348-0058

madjackspub.com

Given the name—and the reputation for great burgers—I was expecting something a bit more “tavern-ish” than the casually elegant restaurant inside.  The phrase on the website says it all:  “comfort food with a twist.”  You know I set great stock on how a restaurant handles a solo diner, and the service here was top notch.  Not a big burger fan, I opted for the Pan Seared Salmon Salad and was rewarded with an excellent meal.  

There you have it—a charming, fiber-filled, delicious half-day in Aurora Ohio.  Who knew it held such treasures?  Well, now you do!