Another Shawl, Wouldn't You Know It?

So, I've kind of had it on the socks.  They weren't as evil and challenging as I assumed, once I got the pattern down, so I'm starting to find them too easy.  As a result, what did I do?  I decided to move on and do something else with my time, at least for a little while.  The sock is kind of something I just pick up every day to struggle through it, even though I'm really kind of ready to stop working on it all together.

Just a couple of days ago I cast on another project.  This one is a shawl.  I got the yarn and the pattern a while back from a swap partner.  It was beautiful, and there was enough there to make a shawl for both my daughter and I.  Actually, I think there's enough there that I could probably make several shawls with it if I knit them to the size of the original shawlette.  The pattern is the Percy Shawl.  While I love it, it's got it's own evil measure.

See, as much as I've knit lace before, I've never really knit lace with lace weight yarn.  The Knit Picks kits I've gotten to this point are all worked with two strands of yarn held together, which makes it pretty much the same as sock yarn.  It's not on nearly such fine needles either.  That means it's going to be all around easier to work with.  I know some people have problems using two bits of yarn at once, and I have to admit, it did take me some time to get used to, but the truth is, it's really not all that bad.  Working with this super fine yarn, though, that's it's own challenge all together.  Not only are the needles tiny, which means each row is very tiny and fine, but I'm working with incredibly fine yarn.  I have a feeling this shawl is going to take a lot more hours of work than the other two.  I was hoping to get my daughter's done by Christmas, but now I'm not sure that's even realistic.  I'm just at the beginning and I feel like the rows are starting to take forever.

I can honestly say this is really my first big lace project.  I've never had a lace project quite like this before.  Though my internet is pretty unreliable, I'm going to try and get some pictures up of the progress and all of that. If there's one thing I can say about lace knitting, it's that the time it takes means there's plenty of opportunities for photos.  I think this is really going to be it for me, the point at which I either love or hate lace knitting.

The Evil Vilai Socks

It was February, just after the birth of my youngest, when I started knitting the Vilai socks by Cookie A.  I'd just received Cookie A's Sock Innovations for Christmas that year, and having heard so much about this book on various podcasts, I decided it was time.  I love sock knitting and the patterns didn't look that complex.  I know a lot of people had problems with the socks and found them too challenging, but I'm one of those knitters who thinks nothing is too challenging.  All of the other things I'd knit so far seemed easy.  I'd decided to use some Serenity Sock Yarn, which was pretty much the only yarn I'd had on hand.  I pulled out my needles, and off I went, knitting like a mad woman.

The first problem I came across was the darkness of the yarn in comparison to the darkness of my house.  Dark yarn, dark house, and complex knitting project can make for difficult pattern reading.  I was having a hard time actually seeing what I was doing half the time, which made it a challenging knit.  Every time I made a mistake I had a bear of a time with the yarn I'd undone.  The yarn just wasn't ideal for the project, yet I struggled through.

Then it was the pattern that made me want to rip my hair out.  If I wasn't knitting on the socks at every free moment, I got lost every time I put the pattern down.  I started to cry one day saying that these socks just didn't want to be made.  I called Cookie A evil and swore I'd never knit any of her socks again.  It was just too hard and it was so unfair.  Keep in mind, this was February.  I'd had my baby in the end of December.  I was an emotional train wreck!  I'm sure that and the distractions of a new baby weren't helping.  It wasn't exactly a good time for me.

About two months later I decided I was going to dedicate all my time to finishing the first sock.  I had finished one whole pattern repeat and was halfway through the next.  Unfortunately, the sock was not meant to be.  I took one look at the stretched out cuff and realized there was no way it would ever fit legs as thick as mine, and my legs aren't all that thick!  These socks were never going to fit, so I gave up.  The book was put away and I'd pretty much forgotten about it for a year and a half.

Lately I've been getting back into knitting.  I've finished the seasons shawl I knit, which was such a challenge that I feel I can take on everything.  I followed that up with another shawl that took near no time at all to knit. Then I threw in a couple small projects.  I've still got ends to weave in and blocking to do, but I feel pretty good about myself as a knitter lately.  Things have been moving off my needles with a quickness.

About a week or so ago I bought myself a new skein of sock yarn.  It was a Heritage Handpaints in beautiful pink and purple.  The color is called Azalea Blooms.  I'd found it at the LYS when I was conveniently looking for sock yarn.  I wasn't able to pick it up that day.  I just don't have the yarn budget to be a knitter (well, maybe if I used knitting as a substitute for enough store bought stuff!) so I don't have a huge amount to spend.  If I'm going to spend over $20 on a pair of socks, it had better be the best yarn in the world, at least in my perspective at the time.  By the time I'm done knitting my socks I know I'll have something beautiful, but it's just never seemed worth it unless I'm completely in love with the socks.  In this case I was so in love with the yarn that I actually asked the yarn store owner to hold on to it until I could get the money to her.

When I got the yarn home I refused to knit it.  I've never been one to stash yarn, not really.  My yarn stash is tinier than most yarn stashes are.  I like to get my yarn balled up right away so I don't have to go back to the yarn store to do it.  It also means I'm more likely to use the yarn right away.  I don't like having yarn sit around, neglected, unused.  It seems kind of pointless to have then, except in those days when we've really got no money for yarn, which is sadly frequent these days.  So with the yarn all balled up and ready to go, I had to find a pattern to knit.  I didn't just want to find a good pattern.  It had to be the perfect pattern.  I pulled out New Pathways for Sock Knitters, only to be disappointed.  My next choice was Cookie A.

Opening the book I told myself I could pick a simpler pattern this time.  I didn't have to go all out with something crazy.  I didn't have to go for the hardest pattern I could find.  Some of them seemed really pretty and simple, but I needed something that would work with this beautiful yarn.  It took some time before I could really find something that screamed out to me, the same pattern that screamed to me from the first time I picked the book up, the Vilai socks.  The beautiful combination of cables and lace screamed out to me.  The complexity of it all seemed the perfect challenge.  I'd managed the crazy lace of the season's shawl, and after that, anything seemed possible.  The pattern didn't look that hard to follow and I was pretty confident in my ability to read my own knitting so I wouldn't lose my place in the pattern.  These socks screamed that they needed to be knit with this beautiful new yarn.  It was a match made in heaven, and I was ready for it.

This time everything just seemed to work out.  It was as thought the yarn and the needles both knew exactly what I expected them and they all decided to get along.  The yarn looks so beautiful as I knit up each row.  It's a little more striped than I had hoped, but somehow it just works.  I'd decided I needed happy socks, and happy socks are what I'm getting.  These socks make me smile.  After all the hard work that will go into them, I know these will take a place in my favorite socks.  How could they not?  This is the most challenging pattern I've ever done.  (That being said, I've only made two pairs of socks for myself prior to this, one of which got felted, so it's not going to be hard to make that list right now.)  I can't wait to see them finished.  If nothing else, it'll be nice to tackle something I wasn't able to get through previously.  Maybe it's just one of those things where I needed the right yarn before I was able to make it work.  Here's hoping.

Thankfully, I've gotten further than I did last time.  Last time I wasn't able to complete the second pattern repeat.  This time I've managed to make it almost to the heel turn.  Yeah, there's been a lot of challenging problems, mostly due to me not paying attention while I'm knitting.  Isn't that what I get for knitting a challenging pattern while watching television?  Will I learn that lesson?  Probably not.  I just can't wait to see these the first sock finished!  Thankfully, it's complex and interesting enough that I think I'll be pretty eager to cast on the second sock almost as soon as I'm done with the first.  With a little luck I'll be done with the pair in no time!  Of course, this does make me wonder when exactly I became a one project at a time kind of knitter...

My First Piggy Warmers

When my littlest was just born he sounded like a little pig when he was upset.  He would grunt and snort like a little pig instead of cry.  Somehow that gave me a brilliant idea of something to knit for little babies.  I would call them "Piggy Warmers".  Why?  I'd already created a set of warmers I'd named after my older son, so now, since we've been calling my littlest Piggy, I decided Piggy Warmers were just to perfect.  I would be warming my little Piggy's piggies!

The idea for my older son's set were matching arm warmers and leg warmers.  Most patterns just include arm warmers or leg warmers, but my son liked wearing both at the same time.  Well, to keep in the same vein, Piggy Warmers were going to have to cover both hands and feet.  They would be little fingerless gloves and yoga socks, effectively.

I'd figured I'd start this project about the time Piggy started walking.  The little open heel and toe would be perfect for a new walker as it would allow him to really feel the floor under him.  Since are floors are made up of cheap linoleum tile in all rooms but the bedrooms, I figured this would also help him not go falling all over the place, but still be enough to keep him a bit on the warmer side when the weather turned cool.  They can also be pulled over socks for a little extra warmth when we go out, or his little leather shoes.  They would be the perfect addition to my littlest's wardrobe.

Not really knowing where to begin, I searched for a pattern.  Having no luck on finding baby yoga socks, I decided to get adventurous. I pulled out Cat Bordhi's New Pathways for Sock Knitters and got to work.  That book always inspires me.  I decided to base my idea very loosely on a combination of the Sky Sock pattern and the Sucky Thumb Mitts I'd knit not long before.  I used the same yarn as the mitts, doubled up so I could keep the same look and gauge.

In the end the pattern turned out to be more tricky than I imagined.  It's not easy to pick up stitches when knitting in the round.  All of the cast on methods I've seen seem to want to go the other way, except for long-tail, which I always cast on in the direction I knit.  Then there was the act of knowing how many increases would be enough, and at what rate.  Thankfully, on the first try it all came together, and I was able to repeat it all for a second sock.  I think I'm going to have to rethink the whole idea before I knit another pair, but that shouldn't be a problem.  I've got plenty of time!

As for the mitts and the socks, they match up perfectly.  I couldn't have asked for a better combination.  I can't wait to wrap them all up and stick them under the tree for Christmas.  Just seeing the way my littlest fought me on taking them off when I was done trying them on him, I know they're going to be a hit.  Maybe I'll be starting a trend.  Who knows?  Maybe babies everywhere will want to share in his stunning sense of style.  If not, at least I know his little piggies will be nice and toasty all winter long.  What more can a mama ask?

Sucky Thumb Mitts for Christmas

Yes, that's right.  I'm starting my Christmas knitting early for once.  It all started with a little pair of mitts for my littlest one, the one that still sucks his thumb when he's tired.

When I saw this pattern, I immediately thought of my littlest.  The mitts were designed with the idea of little kids who suck their thumb in mind, but they're also fingerless gloves for very small children.  I'd been planning on making a set for him when he was still pretty little, just in time for him to start walking.  I was going to match them with a pair of socks.  This pattern, of course, made things so much easier.  Apparently I'm not the only one with the brilliant idea of making gloves like this for my little guy!

The pattern is fantastic and they went up in no time!  I just can't wait to make more.  I just wish  I had more yarn to work with so I could make him a whole bunch of them.  Unfortunately, I don't use a lot of DK or sport weight yarn.  I doubled mine up with sock yarn from my Cheshire cat socks I made a few months back. I accidentally made them with what I thought were size three needles, but apparently were size twos.  Even so, the gauge was perfect and the mitts fit perfectly!  The only problem was getting them off his hands so I could put them away for Christmas!

Cruising through Another Shawl

I'm starting to wonder if perhaps this should have been my first full sized shawl.  This one is so much easier.  The pattern is easy to memorize, so row after row I'm able to cruise through without too many corrections or looking back for more information.  It's quick and easy.

I'm already loving this shawl.  Soft alpaca circles the neck and shoulder area at the top, so the section that would contact the skin in a tank top or camisole will be nice and soft.  Then from there it blends into the tonal, which...I'll be honest, I'm not in love with.  I'm not much of one for variegated yarns, so the color changes really don't suit me well.  It creates this strange striping image to it and I'm not much of a fan of the way it looks.  Of course, everyone else likes it, so I suppose I shouldn't complain too much.

If I keep up at this rate this shawl is going to be done in no time.  I guess that's a good thing where my Christmas knitting is concerned.  I've got a lot of work to do between now and then, and that's assuming I'm just knitting for the immediate family!

This shawl has really gotten me thinking about how much I love shawl knitting.  I'm trying to come up with excuses on why I need a new shawl.  I need something in a different color.  I need it in a different weight.  There's a million reasons why I need another shawl.  I mean, I could have one to go with every outfit and every occasion, right?  Now if only I had the resources to make that many shawls!

Here We Go Again...The Chinook Shawl...

One could imagine after the last shawl I did I would want to go a good long while before picking up another shawl.  Shawls are big, long, time consuming projects and those last few repeats are pretty much penance.  The cast off at the end seems to take an eternity.  One would think I'd be on to smaller, more manageable projects, like mittens for winter, socks, or hats.  Heaven knows I could always use a few more berets!  I'm addicted to those things.  It would only seem logical to take a break from long and tedious.

Yet here I am, once again diving into the shores of a shawl.  Right now I'm in the early stages, that new romance.  It's those brief, fast and furious knitting, those rows that fly off the needles with reckless abandon and the insatiable desire for nothing but that project.  Isn't that the way all new projects go, all romances for that matter? In the beginning it's all craziness and passion.  Then, over time the passion, shiny, and new fades, and then you're left with the long, hard slog for the duration of the relationship.  When everything is over you look back upon what you've done, and more often than not you're looking back in joy at the beauty of it all, and then take it with you into whatever you do next.

Well, here I am, fresh off the high from finishing the previous shawl and casting another one on.  It's like the success of having the first one come off the needles helped me forget about all the craziness that comes with the long wait and I'm just left with the shiny and new.

No, relationships aren't it at all.  It's pregnancy.  When you first find out you're pregnant, most women are overjoyed.  They're excited for their new life, and for the next few weeks they can do nothing but focus on that little creature inside of them.  Then as time goes on, the pregnancy starts to wear on you.  You're starting to feel uncomfortable and tired all the time.  Man, babies take forever to be born!  Then as you reach those last final days you're begging every moment for it to end.  Just come out already!  Meet the world!  Stop torturing your mama!  Then labor starts.  It's that long, hard slog, but the finish line is in sight.  Then the baby is there, and before long you're looking at your significant other thinking that was so worth it, and now you want to have another one.  You forget about how long and hard the pregnancy was, and how painful childbirth is.  All you see is that there's this precious baby and you want another one.

That's what shawl knitting is, but unlike having babies, with a shawl you can jump right back into one.  Very few people consider that they've already got two shawls in their closet.  Two are enough.  Unlike kids, you could have so many shawls that they're coming out your ears and they're not too much of a problem.  Well...maybe storing them...  Unlike kids you don't have to feed them or raise them.  They don't require much care.  This makes them perfectly ideal.  And, unlike kids, if you find you have to many, or absolutely want one that you can't justify having, you can always give it away!  Also, unlike with kids, you don't have to wonder what they're going to turn out like.  Most times you have a pattern and you just have to follow along.  The pattern comes with a picture of the end result, so you've got everything to know, with some minor possibilities for change here and there, exactly what the outcome should be.

So, here I am, sitting with my little basket of yarn, my previous shawl in my hand as I'm about to toss it on top of the basket.  It looked so pretty, that yarn.  It was so tempting.  How could I resist casting on?  It all just looked so irresistable there, so beautiful.  I couldn't help but touch it.  Once I had it in my hands I couldn't help but want to work with it.  It is, after all, a logical conclusion.  The soft yarn in my hands, I tell you, it was truly an impossibility to resist!

Into the basket went the shawl.  Out of the basket came the yarn.  I pulled out the correct needles and away I went.  The cast on was quick as ever and I was into the rows, listening to podcasts as I went.  It seemed easy enough.  I put it down for the night, determined that first thing the next morning I would pick it up and continue where I left off.  This shawl would be done in no time if I had my way!

That's when the trouble started.  I realized that my count was off.  All the other sections had five stitches.  Why did this one have four?  It took me a while to figure out exactly where the mistake had been made, but I did it!  Several rows back I forgot to yarn over and that's where all the trouble started!  At first I tried to pick up the stitch and work it through to the current working row.  I wanted to preserve my beautiful shawl!  Unfortunately, that just turned into even more of a mess of things.  Next I went at it, tinking back to try and keep the shawl together.  I realized it was going to take forever.  I had to tink back almost ten rows!

Defeated, I gave up.  I decided to rip it all out and start over again.  It was depressing, but I knew with all the yarn overs and all of that I wasn't a talented enough knitter to rip back and salvage it without a life-line, something I've never had the brains to use.

Thankfully, a miracle happened!  The yarn somehow naturally preserved the cast on and the row after it!  I was able to save a little bit of time after all!  There was one less step to catch back up.

I picked up the stitches and ran with it, this time slower and more carefully.  I counted everything as though I somehow thought the count was going to escape me.  It was all carefully, slowly, and methodically done.  As if I'm not a slow enough knitter in the first place, now I've got to deal with even slower knitting formed of paranoia that I'm going to screw it up again.

So, here I was, in love with my shawl again, enamored with my shawl again.  Again the stitches began to fly off my needles, at their turtle-slow pace, that is.  I'm well on my way.  The only question that remains is how long it's going to take me to finish this one.  I'm just glad it's on size 8 needles this time...and those are going to be quicker to knit with, and break much less easily.

The Shawl Is Done! Well...Mostly....

So, the incredible journey of my shawl is complete.  No longer do I need to struggle with the long burdensome rows that took on average an hour to complete.  No longer must I look at it and think, "When, oh when will you be done!"  Now all I have to do is look at it and wonder how I'm going to manage to block it...and when I'm going to feel motivated to weave in all the ends.  At least that part's easy.  And if I could ever get use of the bed, I could block it out on there pretty quick.  Unfortunately, the bed is being taken up...which I'm not happy about...but I digress...

Anyhow, after this whole incredible journey the shawl is finally done!  I'm finally able to say that I'll be able to wear it!  It's not going to take long for the shawl to be blocked out with all the ends taken care of.  It's not going to take long before I can wrap it around my shoulders and show off it's beauty.  Unfortunately, it just might be a while before the weather calls for it.

I definitely understand the thinking I had.  If I knit the shawl going into fall, it should be done by winter.  It seems like a fantastic idea.  Unfortunately, I overestimated my knitting skills.  I didn't think about exactly how long it would take to knit that shawl, and exactly how many hours I could dedicate to it.  I didn't think about the needles breaking.  I didn't think about most of what got in the way.

I've learned my lesson.  From now on I should only knit shawls I'll need by winter in the summer and spring.  That way I have a prayer of having it done by fall!  Then I should have a couple months before I need to start thinking about wearing it for winter, and if disaster strikes?  Well, I've got some wiggle room.