all night casino

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last night i practically RAN away from the computer at the end of my work day. my brain felt like it had a fist squeezing it, for sure. i just wanted to get my hands on my knittting and finish my spades shawl. i had gotten quite far along on it this week

this is where i was at the end of wednesday, and i sorely wished i could get through the shawl tip by the end of thursday. i’d then still have the top edging to take care of, which could amount to a couple of nights work, especially since i have not completely decided on what that finish ought to be . . .

i’ve been listening to the night watch read by juanita mcmahon, who has a deeply throaty, slow way of reading that i find perfectly dreamy. i’d love to hear her read W.G. Sebald . . .
the book is intrigueingly (sp?) worked backwards, so the time-space continuum is suspended and i rely on the characters more than the history to get the story.

listening to it is a drastic change-up from my work environment this week, and the perfect companion for getting into a knitting trance. by 9 pm, i was ensconced in my chair and working away. i thought i could finish the shawl, but i didn’t.
so you get soft, juicy, knit porn instead of FO. (oh, boo-hoo, i know yer cryin’ about that one)

i know i’ve been waxing on and on about this project and how delightful the yarn is and how much i love working on it. and when i went to take progress pictures early this morning, while the light was still a bit grey, i found i couldn’t stop—i was treating the shawl as if it were a live model!
here is it sprawled out in all its glory on the fur rug

and here is where i caught myself just stroking the surface with my eyes, looking for yet another angle to show off the softness that redefines softness

i worked all the way through til about 3:30 am, but i had to stop because i kept falling asleep! i was trying to resolve the point, and realized i could not think straight any more, so i left it for tonight

i’m thinking i might rip it back just a few rows to the end of that last spade shape—i can’t decide if i like that lacy tracery at the tip, or if i want a solid ending to contrast with the edging.
hmm—oh! you need a closer look—well i happen to have one right here!

see what i mean? and then, how to end the edging? it shouldn’t be hard to figure out how to have two nice oak leafs like siamese twins, mirroring each other there. whether i can get them to lay right is another matter of course. as we know, the devil is in the details . . .

and about that top edge. i can’t decide if i should use the same oak-leaf edging along the top, or something tiny and dainty like this one:

should the top edge match the rest, or not??

i’ve been doing some other knitting this week too, though NOT on the starlight evening wrap.
instead, i got halfway down the foot of the second camoSock the other night in class

now, for those who might be keeping track, i have been keeping up my intention of restocking the sock stash in my closet. the shelf where i keep the finished, but not yet gifted socks was empty in february. and now, it looks like this

when these are done, i will have just one pair of socks on the needles! so i wound some yarn off to get ready for casting on a couple of new pairs. some briar rose sock yarn (the wine)

and some of the new fearless fibers merino sock (the gray). smoke and wine—i love it.

the tweed awaits my swatching endeavor. sigh. i just want all knitting, all the time
is that so much to ask?

17 thoughts on “all night casino

  1. That shawl is so beautiful. Are you going to publish the pattern? I’d buy a copy, for sure! Looking forward to seeing it finished and blocked…

  2. Okay, the slobber-worthy porn for me is your stinkin’ pile of ungifted socks!!!!!! ENVY ENVY ENVY!!!!! And that shawl is something to behold. You’re killing me Anne…. I vote for a different border along the top; something not so predictable as the oak-leaf edge….something not so ‘matchy-matchy’…… Your ability to crank out patterns is truly incredible. Is it time to ditch your day job yet????

  3. Wonderful, beautiful post; shawl, socks, shawl, yarn, shawl…..love it. I like the oak-leaf edge. So you listen to audio-cd’s whilst you’re knitting, what a great idea. My two great loves at once, knitting and reading. Have a great week-end, I’m looking forward to the tweed swatching.

  4. I so enjoyed all the yarn P*orn! And the shelf of socks makes me envious! I do hope you will publish the pattern for the spades shawl. It’s beautiful now, unblocked. It’ll be amazing after.

  5. I’m listening to Night Watch too – a great reader of a great story. Goes v well with the knitting, I agree.
    Enjoying your blog very much (only found it a week or two ago, can’t remember where from), and most impressed by your speed!I too want to be knitting all the time, and sort of am, in the back of my mind. Doesn’t help at work or with the essay….

  6. I vote for knitting all the time as well. I find if I’m not knitting I’m thinking about it in some form or another. Damn those paychecks! One of these days you will find me under a bridge somewhere with my stash and my needles…. Beautiful shawl as always, I agree with Karen K about the desire for the pattern too 🙂

  7. On the shawl, I vote for a more solid corner at the finish to show off the edge. I like the smaller edge along the neck.

    I, too, love the books on CD when knitting. I went the other route and did a murder mystery “Break no bones”. I find I can drive farther, knit longer and excersize longer when I listen to books than music. Listening to a book keeps me from “hypnotising” myself.
    I usually get my books on CD from the library, but our local one has started this service where you can take a book out “digitally”, ie download a book to your IPOD. A pair of socks and and Ipod in a small bag, I have never been happier to be left in a wating room.

  8. All knitting all the time = heaven. I like the oak leaf edging. I haven’t seen this used before and it really works well with the main body pattern. I, too, hope you publish this one.

  9. Love the shawl and the color (kind of dark and mysterious). I would vote for a smaller edging on the top of the shawl, but not too dainty though. The rest of the lace on the shawl doesn’t seem dainty (I mean this in a good way). Can’t wait to see it blocked.

  10. love the shawl – cant wait to see the edging solution.

    scored some more yarn for my WOM and was able to finish the twinleaf section with the current dye lot so the edging section will be in the newly acquired lot but thats ok.

    cant wait for the new pattern!

  11. Oooooohhhh, Anne … what to say? To see my yarn take life in your hands is just absolutely amazing! The shawl is just gorgeous. You are the lace goddess!

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