a southern gal knits in the north

FO: Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl

Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl
Designed by Sivia Harding
Started July 2 (?)
Completed knitting July 29th
Yarn – Rowan True 4 ply Botany Nettle

Well, its all done but for the blocking - and I am thrilled!  Was most worried about running out of yarn - and JUST made it (the yarn has been discontinued forever!)  Not that hard a knit mainly keeping track of which chart when – at one point I had three pages with markers on my “knitting stand” (a music stand) by the sofa (my knitting spot).  You have to knit many of the charts in reverse which took a bit to get used to – but was fine as I didn’t really want to rewrite those charts.

Once our humid weather goes away  – hopefully Wed – I can block and finish.

More photos of unblocked state

  

Tags: shetland+garden+shawl, sivia+harding

one more ...

waiting thing..

Janet’s newest Cable Book

Here they are in her office – so it should be on its way soon!

waiting...waiting...waiting

These days I seem to be doing a bit of waiting –

 

1. For Ravelry

• You signed up on July 8, 2007
• You are #10384 on the list.
• 3319 people are ahead of you in line.
• 10629 people are behind you in line.
• 33% of the list has been invited so far

sigh, i am so tired of reading about it on everyone’s blogs and not being a part of the party – i guess me and the other 20,000 people.  oh well.  it seems like it will be another THREE weeks as the current update is 1200 a week… so waiting goes on (but i am ohsonot a patient person).

2. For this kit   —->

yes in THAT color – yes its yummy and also in the package another skein of beautiful yarn.

3. a goodie package from Elann
– a couple of skeins of the new Lace Merino and a bunch of Addi Lace Turbo Needles ( CANT WAIT FOR THESE) and some color cards of some of my favourite Elann yarns.

 

 

So what to do while waiting?

well, knit of course – nearing the end of Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl – only TWO pattern rows left … fingers crossed that there is enough yarn to finish this.

Also picked CeCe up tonight – started it sometime ago this summer and suddenly have a yearn for a red sweater – this is being knit in a gorgeous red Classic Elite Provence yarn.  Have about 5–6 inches so far.

Also last night started work on the thistle lace shawl design – first design for thistle pattern is a NO GO.  Swatched it and its WAY to big for a lace pattern - but learned a lot – so back to the drawing board (or rather, Knitvisualizer), after a long sleep last night have a couple of ideas to try out. 

 

But first a date with this DVD –  “Ruth Madoc, Jean Marsh, Colin Buchanan and Michael Byrne star in this thriller based on novelist Agatha Christie's work. Writer Mark Easterbrook has a vested interest in solving the murder of a priest. That's because Mark himself is under suspicion. But to save his reputation and put the real killer behind bars, he'll have to go through a mysterious list of names that's suddenly turned up and may hold the key to the murderer's identity.”

 

Tags: ravelry, cece, pale+horse

adventures with shawls

below is the current state of the Shetland Garden Faroese Shawl (Sivia Harding) - well actually last night – tonight i made much more progress – am actually at row 160 (of what 180?)  see how the border is growing at the bottom along the needles

and here is a closeup of the center panel – sorry about the darkness, uhm it was night time.

      

so what is the big adventure with this shawl?  well see above – that is the yarn I have left.   Yes two skeins. 

Its Rowan True 4 ply Botany (why was it called TRUE?). The color is Nettle or 551H lot 16J6. And of course its discontinued.  The irony about this shawl is that I have had this yarn for – oh about 10 years probably – and have started about three different, or maybe more, projects with it – none of which suited it – so NOW when I have a project that is swimming along – really I started this shawl sometime during the first or second week of July – and now to face the tension filled hours as the rows get longer and longer and the skein winds down – will she make it… will there be enough… if you have ever been here you know the feeling.  

Google reports NONE, [that’s a pretty amazing search to see – not 12934864098097 hits but 0].  I even went to Rowan and found out that the 4 Ply Soft is the  replacement yarn - but the only greens don’t even look close – its hard to tell in those photos but its not as dark as those and not as light as the one on the left there.

oh well, exciting knitting - that’s what we all need right?

Actually I had to rip an entire pattern row tonight due to the shenanigans and twists and turns in DAMAGES – the new Glenn Close tv show that premiered on FX.  Really interesting plot and characters – that Rose Byrne is an actress to watch and boy does Ted Danson look good – that silver hair makes him look younger!

Its garnered lots of rave reviews  i agree with this one: “a legal thriller with heft.” Tim Goodman, SF Chronicle. You can catch it again a few times this week – including tonight.  I highly recommend it.

To close our shawl adventures, here is the Mystery Stole 3 last night – but today sadly its all gone after I realized I didn’t have enough yarn – so now to shop the stash and see what I can find.

OLTL star headlines new crafts show

From the newly updated VOGUEKnitting.com website:

 
Knit & Crochet Today, a new show totally devoted to both needlearts, is coming to PBS this fall. The half-hour series is hosted by One Life to Live star Kassie DePaiva, who is a passionate crocheter and enthusiastic newbie knitter. Look out for guest appearances from the biggest names in the crafting industry such as Kaffe Fassett, Kristin Nicholas, K&CT producer Candi Jensen as well as VK’s own Adina Klein and Carla Scott. The show is expected to air on almost half of the nation’s PBS stations, including twelve of the top twenty markets.

Visit knitandcrochettoday.com for more information and to check your local PBS listings. If it’s not playing on your dial, you can link over to pbs.org to petition your local station to add the show to its schedule.

 

 

 

Also download 10 free patterns from the 25^th Anniversary Issue (Fall 2007) here

      

IK Fall

 

Preview here

waiting for ravelry

• You signed up on July 8, 2007
• You are #10384 on the list.
• 3950 people are ahead of you in line.
• 9121 people are behind you in line.
• 32% of the list has been invited so far

on July 15 there were 4666 ahead of me.

Tags: Ravelry

The Knitting Circle Shows Its Chic - New York Times

July 12, 2007
The Knitting Circle Shows Its Chic
By RUTH LA FERLA

TEVA DURHAM is an unlikely idol, a soberly outfitted, plain-talking mother with a passion for quirky yarns. But to her fans, who snap up her how-to-knit books by the tens of thousands, Ms. Durham is the undisputed mistress of stitchery.

Those admirers, often young and aesthetically inclined, follow her patterns — casting on, increasing, decreasing — with unwavering fidelity. As well they might. Ms. Durham’s artfully crafted stockings and skirts, open-work dresses and cardigans vie in style and intricacy with many of their counterparts on the fashion runways.

Just a few years ago, the assertion that hand-stitched garments could compete with designer wares would have raised derisive hoots from the fashion set, which viewed the needle crafts as the domain of ladies in buns and harlequin glasses. As Ms. Durham acknowledged mildly, “People still think of knitting as, you know, a homey hobby.”

Well, no. Formerly neglected domestic arts like knitting, quilting, sewing and embroidery are being eagerly embraced, especially by the young. Their passion kindled by the abundance of handcrafted looks on the runways, they are blowing the dust off these folksy skills and lending them the bright sheen of style.

“It wasn’t that long ago that people would cringe at the word ‘craft,’ ” said Melanie Falick, who developed a crafts imprint at Stewart, Tabori & Chang. “Ten or 20 years ago, there were far fewer crafters and knitters, certainly fewer who ‘outed’ themselves. Now it has become a badge of honor.”

more here  The Knitting Circle Shows Its Chic - New York Times.

Tags: knitting, new+york+times

Queen Anne's Lace

Queen Anne's Lace
Originally uploaded by BadCatDesigns

Isn't this GORGEOUS!!!?

Designed by a member of our monthly knitting group ... and a recent blogger herself.

Check out her other gorgeous creations - they are DIVINE!

Bad Cat Designs

Does he or doesn't he?

Go here if you REALLY want to know what happens to Harry Potter.

WARNING –  ALL is REVEALED!