In which I impersonate an anal knitter

I spent much of last week cruising along on Aestlight, enjoying every minute of it.

The yarn is fun to work with - a little bit grabby but nice and soft. I'm loving the way the colors are going. It looks like a sunset. And oh! the garter stitch cushiness! Gudrun's pattern is beautifully written and presented, and the hold up I had at the end of the lace section of the border was due solely to operator error (otherwise known as I-am-a-dumbass-and-can't-follow-simple-directions syndrome).

Bird's eye lace, how do I love thee? Let me count the purl stitches...

But here's where the OCD kicks in. I finished with the border section in Maine, and had to stop. Because I didn't want to have the edging change colors suddenly in the middle. And I didn't want the colors to be asymmetrical. Harumph. The last few rows of the border were the same blue-green of the center triangle, and there was quite a bit of that left in the yarn cake. But the outside of the yarn cake was that gorgeous pinky-orange hue.

Of course, I was positive that I didn't have enough of the pink section to do the entire edging, particularly since I'm knitting the large size shawl. Erf. So I broke down in a heap, put down the garter stitch, and realized that I needed my niddy-noddy before I went any farther.

Now that we're back at the ranch (and Ironman and the girls have gone blackberry hunting again), I busted out the ball winder and my scale to get things set up for the final stage. First up, the yarn left:

You can see that the part I've balled is bluer then the rest of it. Deciding where to divide between the blue/green/yellow and the orange pink was tough, but finally I bit the bullet and broke it. The remaining pink/orange stuff got wound on the niddy noddy and I counted the number of wraps (19.75).

I set up the ball winder next to the niddy and wound off half of the yarn available. Then I broke the yarn and wound up another ball of pink/orange. The first ball got rewound so that the end that was in the middle of the pink/orange section ended up being the end that I'll start with. That way if I run out before the halfway point in the edging, I'll be able to seamlessly blend in the blue/green/yellow ball (also rewound). Hopefully I'll use up enough of that ball to be able to blend into the second ball of pink/orange without too much contrast.

Yes, there is an orange ball and a pink ball. I'm hoping it won't make that much difference in the final product.

Pink/orange yarn, 18 gr.

(My dubious math skills are up to this one) Blue/green/yellow yarn, also 18 gr. Given that I started with 121 gr total, I have no idea if I'll make it through with just the pink/orange. I suspect I will be weighing what's left after a few edging repeats to see if I'm going to make it.

Gosh, I feel like Grumperina!

FO: Ethereal Rivulet

When I posted the picture of this yarn on the Hello Yarn group Fiber Club thread a couple of weeks ago, and mentioned what I planned to knit, one of the responses used the word ethereal to described the predicted results.

She was right.

Pattern: Rivulet by Heather Asbeck
Yarn: my handspun, detailed here, approximately 400 yds/4 oz.
Needles: US size 2/2.75 mm straights
Gauge: hunh? It's lace, the one time where gauge doesn't matter (much).
Comments/mods: a lovely pattern, well written and easy to follow, that came out so well with this yarn that I think I will wear it for the rest of my days. It's a lovely soft, drapey yarn that feels absolutely yummy knitted up.

The color progression worked out better then I could have hoped, from purple to blues to teal to grey to green. I was expecting the green to be more overwhelming, since it seemed like I had way more green fiber then the other colors, but I don't think it looks too unbalanced.

There were some spots in the yarn where some stray colors got mixed in, making odd stripes every so often.

This bothered me while I was knitting, but isn't noticeable in the finished project. Win-win all around.

WIPs and a 2 hr FO

I seem to be on a bit of a straight needle kick recently. Usually I prefer circulars for everything that aren't socks (DPNs all the way for those), but my two active WIPs are both on straights. What's up with that?

Haiku, in Wiltons dyed Lion Brand Fishermans Wool, for Boo

Rivulet, in some handspun yarn that will show up in the blog on Friday

Last night apparently, I was in need of instant gratification. One skein of superwash BFL handspun, bulky weight, some size 10 circulars and DPNs, and one viewing of Pan's Labyrinth later, I had a new hat.

Technically I suppose, it's not quite a finished object, since it still needs a button, but how can you miss with a hat that takes one movie to finish?

Pattern: Robin's Egg Blue Hat by Rachel Iufer
Yarn: one skein (of two) of Superwash BFL handspun (blogged about here), less then 120 yds. The skein was 122 yds, and I've got a good bit left.
Needles: US size 10/6 mm circulars/DPNs
Comments/mods: a lovely, quick pattern that is perfect for handspun. I had a bit of a neuronal misfiring (aka brain cramp) with part of the directions, but in the end decided to trust the designer and follow the directions (sometimes I over think more then a little bit!). It turned out beautifully, and the yarn is so soft that I suspect I will wear this every day I can over the winter.

Now I need to find a good button. Think there are any button stores in London?

FF/FO: Devil's new blanket/shawl

Offspring the first has been raking in the handknits around here recently. First a sweater, now a blanket, and coming up, a skirt? Sheesh! Boo is going to feel left out*.

A handspun, handknit shawl blanket from her Mama for Devil. A totally made up pattern, US 6 needles (4.0 mm), 4.5 sts/inch, one ball of the two we had after our dyeing/spinning experiment, and one happy little girl. What fun.

I cast on ten stitches, worked three rows in garter stitch, and then started the increases. First increases were k3, yo, k4, yo, k3, then on the wrong side, k3, p1, k4, p1, k3. After that I increased 4 stitches every right side row by yo after the first 3 stitches, before the middle 4 stitches, after the middle 4 stitches and before the last 3 stitches. Those stiches were worked in garter stitch throughout, and the new stitches were worked in stockinette.

The final dimensions were approximately 37 inches wide and 15 inches deep. Just the right size to wrap around her shoulders, although mostly she's been doing this:

Be still my heart.

* Thankfully Boo is, per usual, busy with her own thing and completely unaware that she is missing out. I'll make it up to you baby.