Moving along....

I'm just finishing stuff left and right over here in very, very, very hot NJ. Yesterday, while some friends were over for a swim, I finished the crochet edging on the Rona Shawl. Once they and the relatives left, it went into the sink with some Eucalan, and then I spent from 9-10 p.m. up in my knitting classroom pinning it out. It looks so good, but gosh darn it! I don't own enough t-pins. Must go get more at the JoAnn's this week, just to have them in the house. Now, mind you, I do have 2 ends to weave in on this monstrosity, but I think untucked ends are just going to have to all wait for the right day around here. (Marc's Lang Jawoll socks still have ends hanging everywhere, but who wants wool socks when its 95 degrees and humid outstide)

Before:

After:

Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud, 100% Alpaca laceweight, in color Stream. Worked on Size 5 Options needles. Blocked to a bit bigger than 56 inches in diameter.

Today, I did the short row toe on one Moc Croc sock, and I may stay up late and do the second one now. Big problem with this is that I don't have anything else on the needles to work on while I pedal on the exercise bike tomorrow morning. Shall I start some new socks? No question I have plenty of sock yarn on hand. And the new More Sensational Sock book. Or perhaps another lace project? I'll see how I feel in the morning......

Good night all!

Clue 2 done!

The Mystery Stole is moving along very nicely. The clue this week was only 50 rows, they went pretty quickly. Finished it this evening (Sat.), and its now packed away waiting for next Friday.

Another photo, just so you can see the cute bag that came with the British Knitting magazine a few weeks ago.


I put the beads into a little acrylic box I found in my Grandmother's sewing box, it worked out very well. I could carry my beads around, they were secure, and it was relatively easy to stab one when I needed it. If this didn't work out, I would have gone to the drugstore and stood staring at the candy, trying to pick the one that came in the right sized tin. Believe me, the type of candy wouldn't have mattered at all.

The Rona shawl, all 1,152 sts of it, is now well on its way to being done. I'm about 2/3rds of the way around casting off the sts. As per the instructions, I'm using a crochet hook -- work 3 together, chain 7. (The instructions alternated ch 7's a few times, ch 5 twice, but it was all too complicated) It looks all ruffly, but when I block it, I'll get to pin out all those ch 7 spaces. Sounds like a lot of pins. Time will tell how it looks.


Its late - I'm going to go do a few more loops on the bindoff, then off to bed. Still no clue on my next project, but I'll have to decide soon. The MS3 just isn't enough this week, and I hate to be without a project.

Lots of stitches

A quick update: The Rona shawl is now up to 1,152 stitches per round. I have just knit 4 rounds at this stitch count, and yes, it takes a long time. The next row is the LAST!!!!!

Since there is a double decrease (SK2P) on the last round, the final stitch count will be 22 sts x 48 groups = 1,056 sts. Wow. Thats a lot to then work an edging on (its crocheted)

So, here is what 1,152 sts look like on a 47" needle.

Its hard to get a good picture. Especially when the lace is all bunched up. And we all know how crappy lace looks until its blocked. Perhaps my next post.

Still have not decided on my next project. The Curved Shawl is still a top contender, but maybe it'll be something from Alison's Wrapped in Comfort instead. (Got my signed bookplate for the front of the book in yesterday's mail. Yay! And she sent a second one, maybe I'll save it for her next book....)

And, for stash enhancement, I just placed yet another order with Knitpicks. I'm such a sucker for a book sale, and then I needed another size of dp's, in doubles of course, so I can make both socks simultaneously. And I have to try the new sock yarn, right? My family is going to have so many socks, they are starting to beg me NOT to knit them anymore. And this Sat. is the Silk City outlet day, I haven't been there in months. Not that I'm lacking laceweight yarn or have a project in mind for any.

Not much else. Waiting for the next MS3 clue and I'll clean up for our get-together on Friday morning.

Almost finished!

Yay! The Rona shawl has been moving along well! It just needed me to love it again.... I'm getting at least a few rounds in every day (takes about 30-45 minutes per round, so this is significant time) Thank goodness for the plain knit every stitch rounds, I can monitor the kids in the pool and still get somewhere on the shawl. I'm in the middle of round 144, the pattern ends at round 153, then you do a crochet edging around.

Want to see a picture? Nah - it doesn't look like anything at all. Just a mess of blue. But wait till its blocked!

So, its getting to that time again. What will the next project be? Besides the MS3 stole, of course. Maybe the Curved Shawl from VLT, in the Mountain Colours Wool Crepe. Got to try a swatch of that, see if the bouncy boucle yarn works in the pattern.....

Oh, and I did get a few rounds in on the Moc Croc's this weekend at some friends' house. They may actually be up to the toe shaping.

Mystery Stole 3

The knitting has begun!!!!

The clue was released Friday morning, and I was there! Got it at 7:35 am, and started knitting immediately.

This is not a pattern you can work on at night. I keep finding myself dozing off with my knitting in my lap, and no idea what row I am on. But even with all the interruptions of life (why do the kids need to be fed?), I finished it this morning.


The edges look horrible, as you can see in the picture. They keep flipping under. I know that blocking will correct this and open the lace as well. But what really scares me is the size. It measures only 16" across in the picture, and the desired size is closer to 20". I kept looking at it and regretting the size 4 (3.5mm) Options needles I used, but the size 5 tips are in the Rona shawl, which is still at least 10 hours from being done.

So, what to do? Simple. Take off the needle tips, put on some end caps, and block the thing! So, here it it, its pinned at 20" wide, 10" deep, and I think it needs to be blocked out even larger to really get the lace to open up. I can live with that! Aren't the Knitpicks Options great?

I'm such a nerd - I had to block this out into a right triangle, instead of just pulling it. See how it follows the diagonal of the blocking lines? And I've also screwed up with the beads. Instead of putting them on the stitch and then knitting it, I knit the stitch first, then put on the bead. Its not a big deal, I'll do it correctly from now on. Its not like its all that visible anyway, certainly no one else would ever see it.

I am so glad this stole has all the beautiful scroll curlicues and the wonderful braiding up the side. I didn't get to participate in MS2, and I loved all those great patterns in it, so its just wonderful that this stole has the same fancy work!

I'm going to go back to working on the Rona now, maybe the Moc Croc socks also. I'm also going to try to organize a get-together for other MS3'ers in the area for this Friday, when the next clue is released.

Additional photos

Okay, here are some other pictures. I'm notoriously horrible about taking pictures of my finished objects.

First, the Rona Lace Shawl. This is a KnitPicks pattern, made in Jaggerspun Zephyr. It blocks out so beautifully. This picture is after the fact, so please pardon the uneven pinning - I've been wearing this shawl a lot! TexAnne, I hope you like it! Finish yours already!


Next, a project from Artic Lace by Donna Druchanas. Its not really her project - just her pattern. I modified it to make a hooded scarf. Its made in Morehouse Merino 2-ply that had been aging gracefully in my stash. I started at the top of the head with a provisional cast-on, then shaped it as I knit down. I finished this just before New Year's, and spent New Year's Day 2007 watching the Honeymooner's marathon and pinning this out so all the pattern matched.


This is a beaded knit little pin that I designed to go with a faroese shawl I knit that has heart details on it. I'll have to post a picture of the shawl some day, but in the meantime, its a cute little thing. I did gift the pattern to the Knitlist (but it has errors over there) - look for the Beaded Knit Puffy Heart Pin!


Finally, here is my tallis (a Jewish Prayer Shawl). Its my own design. The lighter green is a lovely hand-dyed tencel I bought on a vacation, and the darker green is a doubled cobweb-weight merino yarn. I've since added the necessary reinforcements and tzitzit on the four corners and also knit a collar with the last two hebrew words of the blessing done in intarsia. I wear this every Shabbat.