It’s cold enough for clapotis. Each fall I wrap it around myself prematurely, only to take it off moments later because I am way too warm. But with temperatures still in the 30s at 9 am, and precipitation that just might be flurries of snowflakes, I’m declaring it cold enough. Time to bundle up and head to campus. TGIF, and thank goodness for handknits.
Good and good-for-us food was enjoyed, some reading was accomplished, and a cozy clapotis got some serious wear:
Back to it. What if Boh actually helped with the reading, instead of just lounging NEAR my books?
Hoping to get some in some knitting on that BSJ later on this afternoon. (No SuperBowl watching occurring here…) Happy Sunday, all.
First:
Whoa. I stood outside, mug of locally brewed honey wheat beer in hand, staring at all of this for at least an hour on Tuesday night. We’re getting quite a bit of rain this monsoon season, and watching the storm clouds build is starting to rival knitting as my favorite Base Camp activity.
In the land of knitting, I have much to share — things both finished and received.
I received an unexpected gift this week in the form of this stunning merino-silk lace knit scarf. One of the parents I’ve met through work has become a dear friend, and in honor of my departure, she wrapped this up and gave it to me — and she didn’t even know that I am a knitter! This is absolutely gorgeous (second picture is truer to the color, first shows the detail a bit better) and I am overwhelmed by all of the love and effort that went into this.
This picture doesn’t quite do this super-cute cabled headband justice, but I love taking pictures on this quilt at the home of dear friends here in town. I taught one of our staff members to cable and together we puzzled out this pattern — intending to replicate a knit gift she had received — and then she made me one! There are several folks around Base Camp with their dirty hair fashionably accessorized/tamed by one of these cabled headbands. I’ve been wearing mine almost daily.
On to my super big news:
Can’t believe it took me 8 months to finish this — lost steam in the middle, but I picked this up again last week and it moved super quickly, perhaps because while I was knitting, I was daydreaming of wrapping myself in this while buried in grad school reading.
Pattern: You know the one.
Yarn: Brooks Farm Riata (2 large skeins)
Mods: Only one — I was nervous about having enough yarn, and at halfway through my supply, I noted how far along I was and decided to do one less repeat (11 instead of the 12) of the straight section. This turned out to be a brilliant move — I completed the shawl with a few yards leftover.
Thoughts: I love this — and despite how long it took me to complete it, I really enjoyed the process. I also learned quite a bit about dropping stitches, and way back in November, this pattern taught me how to purl into the front and back of a stitch.
I’m sure I’ll have lots of photos of my clapotis (and other recent FOs) in action come fall. An FO also means a new project — what could it be?
This is the beginning of sassymetrical, by gaysknits. I queued it awhile ago, but when I saw The Plucky Knitter’s version, I knew it needed to be next on the list. This pattern seems to be the perfect use for 3 skeins of Malabrigo in the cinnabar colorway. I’m excited about this, and a bit nervous because this is the first pattern I’ve modified to accommodate a yarn choice in a different weight. The pattern recipe is written for a dk weight, using size 6 needles, and thanks to gaysknits’ instructions, I’ve calculated my gauge, the number of inches I want my finished cardigan to be, and then made some guesses about proportions, particularly with respect to the sleeve stitches. Here’s what I’ve got:
The original is 28 inches around, made to fit a 32 inch bust (this makes sense for the way the cardigan hangs). I want to make mine to fit a 39.5 inch bust, so I want my finished sweater to be 36 inches around. My gauge in the Malabrigo using size 8 needles is 4 st/in, so 4 st x 36 inches = 144 stitches. I am unsure about how to determine the number of sleeve st to cast on when making a larger size, but I am hoping that I can just see how it feels as I go because of the top down raglan construction. I decided to cast on 36 for each front (because of the overlap, each front is the size of the back), 36 for the back, and 18 for each sleeve. Wish me luck!
Whew — lots of pictures and projects to share. In case you’ve been wondering about my houseguests*, I’ll leave you with this shot of them resting peacefully during the daytime (they’re out exploring when I am sleeping in my cabin, so I only see them when I return to grab things during the day):
* Please don’t worry about this — these bats are not aggressive, and the space they’re inhabiting is an open air structure — minimal risk for bites or disease transmission (which tends to occur, also rarely, in contained spaces without good air circulation). Additionally, the friends I’m staying with would like you all to know that I’m wearing my cross, eating garlic, and throwing salt over my shoulder. More soon!
Apologies for my silence over here — some sickness meant that I hit the road last week to spend a few days with one of our expeditions while their leader rested/recovered.
Don’t feel bad for me; it was a wonderful escape. My camera has begun acting up a bit — it doesn’t always turn on when I want it to, though once on, it seems to work fine. I’m glad to have been able to capture these images to share.
Though I’ve finished my Fad Classic (I actually finished it while in canyon country), this is the only image I have to share — once my camera agrees to turn on, I’ll take some pictures of the completed vest, which I am very happy with. I really like the way the variegation of the Araucania Nature Wool looks in this stitch pattern. Instead of casting on a new project, I’ve returned to my clapotis, and I am making good progress. Again, when the camera agrees, I’ll share more pictures!
That has absolutely nothing to do with any of the knitting I am going to share with you, even though my clapotis looks more like a blob and less like a glamorous french scarf. Worked on (the also ubiquitous) clapotis yesterday while watching Helvetica (which is far more fun and dramatic in a German accent), and one of the font designers may have said this when asked about Helvetica’s popularity. Love it. T-shirts may be necessary. I’m told that preliminary research into whether or not this could be printed in Helvetica has begun.
Anyway, lots of pictures today. I left the house early yesterday in order to do laundry before work — no time for blogging. First off, I roasted some fennel for dinner on Tuesday night. Yum!
Next up? This morning’s sunrise:
Oooh. Pretty.
Now, onward to the knitting progress.
I am moments from the halfway point of my clapotis (which I am making in Brooks Farm Riata, for those keeping score). I’m not sure if I’m going to have enough yarn to knit the pattern as written — If I can get through the 6th repeat of the straight section before switching to the next skein, I’m golden. If I only get through five, I’ll shorten the straight section by a repeat or two. Now that I am dropping stitches in each repeat, the knitting is moving along more quickly — and it is good TV/conversation knitting, except for the SSK and YO in one of the rows — I may have fudged this a few times so as to not rip back, as Riata is fairly sticky and I don’t think the errors are noticeable in the least.
Boh is a bit concerned about dropping stitches, as is evident from this photo:
I’m not sure that there is anything Boh isn’t worried about…
Yes, that’s right. I’m still only about a third of the way through the first cup of coffee on this fine Monday morning, and I’m trying to make sentences out of my current WIP names. I was hoping for natural light, but it is overcast and I am impatient. Bear with the gloomy photographs.
As my incredibly creative sentence indicates, I have, indeed, cast on for Clapotis. You know where to find it.
I cast on for this (multiple times) a bit more than a week ago, but couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to do a pfb. Knittinghelp.com to the rescue! I wanted to keep this one quiet until I was sure I was ready for the pattern, but I am past the set up rows and into the increase section.
Also, you know I’ve been working on my second My So Called Scarf from Sheep in the City (Ravelry link – coffee hasn’t kicked in yet.) This is sort of hard to photograph because it is so dark. Also, I chose a less variegated Malabrigo, and I am really liking this. Originally, I thought I would keep this for me, but now I am not so sure. I am only about halfway through the first skein, and I have thought about making a shorter “tucker” scarf. Do we think this colorway/pattern is appropriate for/would be willingly worn by boys? Discuss.
Lastly, another WIP I am super excited about — also in Malabrigo: Foliage! (Ravelry link) I bought this yarn at Loop when I was in Philadelphia in September, intending to cast on immediately. I tried to — really, I did. I just couldn’t join 8 stitches in the round without twisting them or getting confused about which side of the needle was next because it was such a small loop. I must have worked and reworked the first two rows, trying to get them right, for an hour one evening. Broken, I set it aside for another day. Picked this up yesterday and cast on without a problem. I’ll take it! I’ve completed the first 19 rows for Version 2, and am ready to begin the pattern.
I am in love with Malabrigo. Sigh.
Time to go face Monday. What did you work on this weekend?
barefoot rooster 