The More Photogenic Front
August is turning into a surprisingly hectic and busy month around here. I’ve got 4 new designs on the needles (some of which you’ve seen before, some of which you haven’t). 2 designs waiting in the wings to be re-knit out of commercial yarn, and 2 other designs waiting to be cast on for the first time. I’ve also got a back log of pattern to write up, and publish. And as always there are shows and school, complete with solid deadlines, to work on.
Moving to what’s on the needles, why don’t we start with the “new” stuff.
While this is technically a re-knit, the original was a Christmas gift for a friend’s mother so I don’t have it anymore. This scarf is primarily a simple lace design flanked by two cables on either side, and decreases to a point at either end. In order to make the points to be symmetrical, a provisional cast on is used and then the scarf is worked from the center out. Currently being called A Goosey Gaggle, I’d love alternative name suggestions. Due to the heat and humidity I’ve kind of put this project on hold until the humidity drops (or I can take over one of the two rooms with air conditioning), because the yarn currently feels sticky and prickly while I’m working with it, and this is entirely due to the heat and humidity.
I finished the get well shawl for my relative, and I’m hoping to get it blocked some time this week, Thursday evening, maybe Friday. This is a re-working of that slap dash design, into something with cleaner lines, smoother yarn, smaller needles (not by much), and two sizes. Named Bloody Waves, and being knit out of 100% rayon-bamboo, I’m having some issues with the second ball of yarn. It almost looks and feels like the yarn has been damaged by the sun, but that is based on what I’ve seen of sun damaged books and other cellulose based fabrics.
My SiG baby blankie is in the home stretch, I’m knitting frantically on the border, racing neck and neck with my test knitters. I’m hoping to put in a big push this weekend, and maybe even finish by Monday. This project has really shown me how bad a test knitter I would be. I can barely follow my own pattern without changing something!
I’m still looking for a better name than SiG Blankie, and while I could go with A Study in Blues and Browns, that feels a lot like an artsy fartsy cop out name. While the blanket sort of feels like it wants something whimsical and child-like.
This picture could probably simply be copy and pasted into knitting updates about Icy Fields for at least the next month, if not the next two months. While I’m less than 50 rows away from being done, each of those rows has about 1,100 stitches in it. Sigh. The problem with the shawl right now is that it takes about the same type and amount of effort and concentration to work on as the blankie, but the blankie has a deadline. So Icy Fields gets put on the back burner. I’m thinking that once the blankie is done I’ll put a conscious effort into working on this project, rather than simply picking it up and doing a handful of repeats every few days or so.
I’ve decided to split this update into two parts, because of how long it has become. Part two, covering the pattern writing and an update to my modified 10kH will be published tomorrow, maybe the next day.
A Crazy Number of WIPs
It’s been awhile since I’ve updated, but despite that there has been lots of knitting going on. The sky is overcast this afternoon, so some of the pictures might not be the best, but either way, here we go.
Beginning with two finished objects.
Both Leaves and Snakeskin, as well as the second Birdy Shawl are off the needles. Leaves and Snakeskin is knit out of STR lightweight in Gail’s Autumn Joy, and the second Birdy Shaw is knit out of STR mediumweight in Dragon Dance. Both of these projects simply fell off the needles over the past month. Looking back I got the yarn about a month and a half ago, and both of these were finished a week or so ago. I still need to write up and format these patterns, but both these patterns are towards the top of, a rather long list, of patterns to get ready for release.
Next up, two recently cast on items.
I’m a few rows past the ribbing on what will end up being a tam. In this tam I’m playing with the idea of combining color work with lace. This idea was inspired by the amazing Susan at A Few Stitches Short of a Full Row, and her combination of color work and cables, in the Tom Bombadil tam. The final tam will have a band of sitting birds (back birds on a blue background), and then a crown of soaring birds done in a lace pattern. I’ve never knit a tam before, so don’t be too surprised if you end up seeing this get ripped back a few times.
This project is something that I cast on yesterday, and has taken top priority at the very tippy top of the pile. It’s a shawlette that will be sent to my aunt who has recently gone through some very serious medical stuff. She is now out of the hospital and back home, but still not herself.
When I was designing this I wanted a very simple, very easy to memorize pattern, that would knitting up quickly. Knit on size 10s and in a thick and thin handspun, I wanted a pattern that would let the yarn dominate, but still have enough interest to keep my attention. This should be done within the next few days, and then some sort of project rotating regularity will be re-introduced.
This is the blanket that I talked about in the last post. I’m about 3/4 done with the main body, and then I have the border to knit up. My goal is to release this blanket pattern (tentatively being called A Study in Blues and Browns), a long with the pattern for A Study in Grey sometime in the last week of August, but we’ll see what happens.
Both Que Sera and Icy Fields have seen some action but not huge amounts.
I’ve started the right front for on Que Sera, but haven’t really worked on it in awhile. Though that might change soon, because I have the yarn and pattern for Liesl lined up to be my next “not original design” project.
I’m two or three rows away from being done with the Waves and Shields portion of Icy Fields shawl, and will probably spend at least part of this evening finalizing the charts for the next section.
For the next few weeks I’m going to try regularly updating every Sunday, in hopes of not going almost a month with no updates again.
After looking over this post again, I’m just realizing that I have a crazy number of projects on the needles.
Holly
We Interrupt Your Regularly Scheduled Programing
to bring you, math and a two-day-last-minute-scarf.
I have spent the past few days completely immersed in math, and ribbing.
One of my potential test knitters for A Study in Grey, wouldn’t have been able to finish the shawl by the deadline I had set, and suggested a baby blanket instead. Now, rather than being hated by new mothers everywhere for simply squaring the stole, and ending up with a blanket that is 100% alpaca (and therefore non machine washable), laceweight, and knit on size 2s. I’ve redesigned the stole into a blanket pattern (currently named SiG Blankie, but I’m working on a better name), that calls for Knit Picks Stroll (formerly known as Knit Picks Essential), and is knit on size 5s. The blanket will come in two sizes baby and adult, while the stole only comes in one. Both patterns will be made available separately, as well as together at a steep discount.
I’m in the process of gathering test knitters for the blanket pattern. I’ll be knitting along with them, because the idea of releasing a pattern that I haven’t knit, kind of weirds me out. I’m at the very beginnings of my baby blanket, just starting the 3rd repeat. I’ll have pictures once I’m a little further in. I am working stripes because I have a whole bunch of blue and brown Knit Picks Essential, and nothing else to do with.
While writing up the blanket pattern, I simply didn’t want to knit lace, and since all my projects currently on the needles are lace (of varying levels of difficulty) I cast on something new. Obviously.
Cast on 20 stitches. Knit 1×1 ribbing until you run out of yarn. Bind off.
I used two skeins of Schoeller+Stahl Big Print in colorway 7942, and US size 10 (6mm) needles. Due to the fact that I like symmetry I knit the first ball starting from the end on the outside of the skein, and the second ball with the end on the inside of the skein. This means that when the scarf is hanging around the wearer’s neck the colors should (approximately) line up. Since I don’t have an immediate recipient this scarf will go into the gift stash until I need a last minute gift.
I know I keep promising an actual knitting update, but I keep getting side tracked. Soon (I hope).
Holly
