repeating

Posted on Posted in Bare Naked Wools, book reviews/events, designing, projects

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there are definitely some things in life that i have no desire to repeat—seventh grade and all of high school, for instance. but as a knitter, i get a lot of pleasure and relaxation from the repetition—from stitch to stitch and row to row, i like the rhythm of patterns that are easily executed with one basic group of sts, in slightly different arrangements.

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often, it’s so comforting that knitting one isn’t enough and i end up working through two or three of the same design before i’m satisfied (and even then i may come back to this project later to repeat again for gifting).

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the last six weeks have been such an exciting and nerve-wracking time, first with the process of pulling our ensemble collection into presentable shape—we were all on pins and needles waiting and wondering how you’d like it—then with aftermath of catch-up tasks and travel this week (when it rains it pours, haha).

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that said, even during the most busy and stressful times—why, even when working late, late nights and not sleeping—this knitter must have a project waiting with open arms when she does take a break; something to sink into and bask in the repetition of simple stitches. aaaahhhh.

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and it’s especially great if it’s a gratifyingly quick knit—maybe not simple, but interesting; something to make all the other stuff go away.

for me lately, it’s been the physalis shawl. i really REALLY enjoyed knitting that first one in fine cabécou lace. well, that first one was not nearly enough to satisfy my curiosity and interest in making those spectacular leaf shapes—i couldn’t stop wondering what they’d be like in chebris lace and maybe a few other yarns i love. so, with ten days to go before the collection was scheduled to go live, i cast on this second sample in truffe.

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it did not disappoint. busy as i was most of those days, i relished the prospect of sneaking in an hour in the morning with my coffee and another before bed. there they were, those leaves that seem to appear out of nowhere on the needles—yes the cast on is long, but once you set up the pattern, they seem to knit themselves (i’m serious; i have no idea how they get done so fast). it helps that the stitch count is constantly decreasing—by the time the hem is done, i think we are down to half the stitches (motivating in and of itself, yes?)

and then the short row shaping—always addictive, am i right? at least for me . . . then there is the big finish at the top, where you just can’t wait to see what happens next. anyway. it all conspires to kind to keep me glued to the project in any free moment and before i knew it, it was done. this time, in less than four days—kind of disappointing, haha.

just kidding; i was actually really glad that there’d be plenty of time to include photos in the look book.

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 we’ve discussed before how homely this particular piece of knitting is when it’s on the needles—just a regular dog’s dinner. but the first glimmer of what it can become is already showing through after a good soak—once it relaxes a little, you can see some interesting openwork start to show up.

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the concentration of decreases vs increases is so imbalanced that the solid areas seem to float, once the shawl is subjected to some rigorous stretching (pull harder than you think—really).

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personally, what i love about this lace is its ragged, papery appearance, as if it’s disintegrating before my eyes. so in this case, i’m even in favor of stretching the edges SO much that the pins create uneven points along their borders. to me, it contributes to the look i was going for.

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remember the pods that are my inspiration for this lace?

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by using needles much larger than you’d think for lace knitting (5.0 mm in this case!) those lacy inserts become nearly skeletal, appearing to provide only the most fragile supporting structure to the solid parts. love that . . .

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and oh my, crisp as it looks all pinned out flat, how soft and fluid it is when the pins come out.

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you know what i’m talking about . . . these things are irresistibly gossamer when they are finished; we can’t keep our hands off of them.

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sigh; i  love this photo.

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and another one already on the needles . . .

i’m in utah with our friend kim3 for a few days; i’ve finally caught up a bit and have lots of edited photos to show you, so i’ll be back with another installment tomorrow. right now, we are getting ready to go snowshoeing!

8 thoughts on “repeating

  1. This is the first pattern I will be making from the Ensemble collection! I absolutely love the transformation!

  2. So delicate and strong at the sametime! And I know just what you mean about repeating…I did a preliminary version of See the Sea while waiting for the club yarn and now I’m over halfway through the club version with images of different yarn versions in the wings, so to speak.

    So glad to hear you and Kim are having a visit…have a great time!

  3. Oh Anne, what an exquisite pattern! Have a fabulous visit with Kim – much love to you both.

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