It's WTF Friday!!!!!!!
Nice thing about Fridays? Most weeks, I get to leave a little early. Bad thing about Fridays? Many times, really friggin' bizarre things happen--LIKE TODAY.
Nice thing about Fridays? Most weeks, I get to leave a little early. Bad thing about Fridays? Many times, really friggin' bizarre things happen--LIKE TODAY.
I've been looking forward to
writing about this project since I cast on at the end of May. First of all,
it's a great pattern. After taking over a year to complete my first shawl
(Susan Lawrence's Forest Canopy Shawl), I was excited to see a shawl that involved
lace, but whose body could be worked up in a relatively short period of time.
The slipped rib pattern of the body is easy to memorize, and makes it simple to
see and correct any mistakes. As with my last shawl (and probably any pattern
from here on out involving a pattern repeat), I made a flip chart for the body,
which was enormously helpful. Once the body was done, the
border presented more of a challenge for me. I have never knit from a chart
before, and this time, I really had no choice. There were no written directions
for each row of the chart, and about 22 of 34 rows of the border are different.
So, I blew up the charts, and hammered my way through it. I knit thru about row
10 of the border before I realized that I had begun the border too soon--I had
started with two few stitches (damn you, glass of wine before bed!). So, I
ripped out, and began again. I was super excited that the ripping out
worked--it was a little tricky finding the right stitches to thread onto before
I frogged, but it worked out beautifully (thank you, Stitch N Bitch!). Once I got past row 22, the border pretty much flew, and it was
simple to see which stitches I needed to knit, and which to purl. I bound off on Saturday, July
4th, and it was done and blocked by Sunday. These pictures were taken this
morning, before I left for work. I was SO EXCITED to be able to wear something
like this to my job. Normally my work wardrobe consists of black suit, black
suit, black suit, AH, EXCITEMENT CITY, GREY!!!!!! suit....you get the idea.
While I suppose I could make more of an effort on the "fashion front"
to dress professionally AND colorfully, suits are pretty standard fare when it
comes to court attire, and, at the moment, a mix and match wardrobe makes the
most economical sense. I've had this shirt for some time, and it's a little big
in the bust, so this shawl was prefect to cover that up a bit, and I think the
colors match beautifully. I received so many compliments on it, which made it
even more fun. This shawl was knit out of
Malabrigo Sock Yarn, which is a superwash merino that is deliciously soft, and
the colors are so saturated and gorgeous. The Bluegrass color is Solis, and the
Mountain color (so reflective of my beloved Blue Ridge) is Cote d'Azure.
Wrapping this around me feels like wearing my heart on my sleeve, in a
wonderful way. I used #5 circulars, and had about (x oz) of the Solis leftover.
I think this will be enough to knit at least one square of the Barn
Raising Quilt from the book Knitalong that I plan to make (over the course of a
million years). And, as
promised, here's a sneak peak at my next shawl in progress: Truly Madly Deeply
Ulmus. I think I'll be using the red for the border. I plan to make the medium
size for this one, and yes, there is likely going to be another FO in the
smallest size on the near future, using what's leftover of the Cote d'Azure,
and some Auracania Ranco Multi. I. Just. Can't. Stop. Sock
yarn=bliss. Happy Wednesday.
It's a rainy day here at Chez Sherando, which means a lot of things:
A few weekends ago Salmaan and I headed on down to Puny Bueny (the rolling hills from which I hail) to check out some bluegrass and local organic cooking. The Punch Brothers were playing at Lime Kiln, and I purchased the tickets months ago. I'd never really heard anything from the Punch Brothers previously, but I had heard numerous live performances by Nickel Creek involving Chris Thile, and knew that if Punch was anything like NC, it would be a great show.
First, though, we headed to The Red Hen--a relatively new establishment that has found its home in an old law office in historic downtown Lexington. The location is pretty awesome--walking inside it's very small, and the kitchen is open to the restaurant. Given the nice weather, we opted for the patio, which was also unique--a roughly hand carved wooden fence separates the patio from the brick sidewalk, and we were told this was the only place in Lex where you can formally eat outdoors.
I have missed blogging. Especially because lately, there has been so much to blog ABOUT. However, the time away from my cyber journal has been well spent, and while there have been fun trips and delicious meals that I wish I had documented soon after the fact, I have a feeling they'll be popping up here and there throughout the next few months.
So, it's finally done! My first sweater. It took forever, and I learned a lot along the way. First off, this would have taken a lot less time if I had just concentrated on it consistently. After I finished the body and the collar, I put it aside for about three months. Now that I realize that, I definitely see more garments in my future. Since this is my very FIRST garment ever, you'll forgive me the exhaustive photo montage, won't you?
This is the Mid Weight Neck down Pullover for Women, a pattern by Knitting Pure and Simple. I highly recommend this pattern for any first-time knitter, especially as a first sweater project. Even though there isn't a lot of technical work in this pattern (and hence, can get a little boring), that also means there isn't a lot of room to screw up--crucial.
SO, last night I come into the bedroom around midnight, and see this:
First of all, all credit for this new term goes to Mandy, with whom we'll be chillin' in just a few short days!