I just had to post my progress on The Wedding Ring Shawl even though I still have two and 2/3 pattern repeats to do to finish the center panel. After such a long dry spell, I'm delirious that I'm making headway. I'm also glad that I pined it out because I found a DROPPED STITCH! I actually picked it up and was able to tie it off to fix it. You can find it if you look for it along with the "Homer Simpson" fixes, but on the whole it still is looking pretty good. For anyone doing one of these, I highly advise you check it out from time to time for this type of thing. Better to find it now than when I go to soak and block it. Because I have been asked a few questions about the yarn I'm using for The Wedding Ring Shawl, I'm posting a picture showing the "old" and the current cobweb weight yarns that I bought from Lacis in Berkeley. I'm using the circa 1980's Cobweb weight Shetland Lace yarn from Lacis (the balls of yarn on the right side) for my shawl. The skein of yarn pictured on the left hand side, is the Cobweb weight yarn that Lacis sells now. It's labeled "Pashmina" on it so I'm not sure where it is manufactured. Perhaps not as nice and consistently spun as the vintage yarn I'm using, but it's still good enough considering the other yarn is no longer available.
I'm still working on my other shawls, knocking off a row or two for each one in turn as relief knitting for the Wedding Ring Shawl. I am beginning to detest knitting the Fir Cone Shawl however. It's not at all interesting visually. Not the fault of the shawl. My fault for knitting it in a solid rather than variegated yarn. I may actually rip it or "frog" it as the modern phrase for deconstruction goes. I hate to rip all that work but I also hate to work on things that don't move me. Maybe if I work on it really hard I can get it done and out of my site? We shall see. I have to finish at least one more shawl before I can start a new project. I have several in line to be made but every time I think of knitting a swatch my hands itch to be knitting The Wedding Ring Shawl instead so no swatches. One must strike while the iron is hot so I will continue on my quest to finish this shawl this year. My reward will be to buy The Princess Shawl pattern that I hope is to be re-released this year.
Now this brings up the idea of "Pattern Stash" which a different issue than "Yarn Stash". Patterns we collect in hopes of eventually knitting them don't take up as much space as the fiber and yarn do, but how many of them will we ever get around to making? I know I have more than I will ever be able to finish knitting in my lifetime but I know I can't promise I won't get more patterns, just like I can't promise not to buy more yarn or fiber when Stitches West comes to town. What can I say. I have a knitting monkey on my back!
9 comments:
There's no such thing as pattern stash. Patterns and books are "reference." So even if you never actually knit them, they remain reference. I mean, who actually has read an entire dictionary, right?
The WRS is totally breathtaking! I know what you mean about itching, too. I sneak in a row of the Black Widow Spider shawl now and then. I would rather be knitting that!
Are you thinking of doing the Princess shawl in white?
And yes, that Furry Yarn is pinker than I expected and I am just not a pink person. I think I hate it, actually.
Oh yes, I have a stuffed file folder and magazine holder with patterns....
Dear fleegle,
Reference. Yeah, I like it! Actually, my sister and I have taught various people to knit including our sisters-in-laws and we actually DO end up as the "reference" resource not only for patterns but for late-night-emeregency telephone calls from friends and family asking, "What the heck does this instruction MEAN and how do I actually DO it?" I think that all the people knitting are actually walking, talking reference librarys of information anyway. Thank you for absolving me of "Pattern Glut Guilt".
As for the WRS, I have to say that I can't keep my hands off of it now that I don't have to do those left and right decreases! I've learned to "snug" up the lace holes to semi-compensate for not doing the directional decreases and I really hope that missalicefaye is finding time to work on hers because you and I know both know the pain of not being able to work on something we long to do because of other commitments to our time. I can't wait to see your beautiful Spider Queen. I'm think I'm going to do it in blue, not black. I swatched that a few months ago and it looked good to me. As for the Princess Shawl, I am thinking of white because I need two shawls in white for my neices. They aren't old enough to appreciate them yet, but some day they will I think!
Dear Carol,
I know what you mean about those file folders and magazine holders. I try to keep Xerox copies of patterns from magazines along with single purchase patterns in a three-ring binder so I can actually remember I have them, but that is not always sucessful :-)
wow, you have made so much progress! it's absolutely beautiful too. but i'm especially jealous of your japanese knitting book . . . i gotta get me some of those . .
oooh--it looks fabulous! Bravo for catching that pesky dropped stitch, too--just thinking about dropping stitches in the WRS makes me shiver a bit.
Poor missalicefaye has not been able to work on the Wedding Ring shawl for two weeks, due to various ridiculous things. very very sad....
I'm so buying the Princess Shawl the day it's re-released!
Dear anne,
If you want this particular book, you can go to fleegle's blog and she has a link to a bookstore that sells Japanese books :-) Good Luck!
Dear missalicefaye,
My heart indeed bleeds for you! I know it's agony not to be able to find the time to knit when you are on a roll and enjoying yourself. I have to admit I was not enjoying myself until I changed the decreases but now I really am. Even the dropped stitch did not bother me. I just caught up the loose stitches and corrected the error as best I could. It didn't even run because I no longer have a death-grip on this knitting. Maybe I can catch-up with you by the time you are free to resume and we can finish close to each other although you really do knit faster than me! Here's wishing you more time to knit! Thank you for your encouragement. It's always appreciated!
Hello!
I received a message from a knitter who ran out of the Lacis yarn that I was using for this project asking if I had any they could have. I did not get a return e-mail so I have no way to respond but on the blog. Please let me know if you still need the yarn and I will go look. I am on Ravelry as lacefreak as well if you want to contact me there!
Post a Comment