silent sunday

i got sooo much done today. it was one of those really quiet days, when i thought i had other plans, which did not happen, which left me free to sit in front of the computer and design charts for my new project.

it’s true i had to trash most of it once i sat down to put it in practice, but at least i got a start, and finally understand the structure of this lace. it’s not a regular lace that is flexible and useful in a variety of settings. it does not shape itself easily into a triangle, the way some do. it’s kicking my butt, that’s what! but i am insistent that it WILL succumb to my wishes. after all, i AM green lantern—strong willpower and a good imagination (and hot-tempered).

the problem is, i am in love. i may have mentioned that i am finally giving myself permission to use this yarn (go here to get your own),

because i have been SO good about getting all the birthday gifts out on time this month and have also finished my skirt AND written the shawl pattern.

so i allowed myself to swatch it the other night, finally. and now, only the absolutely perfect thing will do justice to it! i’ve had a stitch picked out for a while that i thought would be pretty
(and oh! it is).
it would be a piece of cake to make a rectangular shawl in this stitch with this yarn.
and at first, i was totally willing to go that way, if need be, knowing that the stitch does not lend itself to triangle shaping or mitering.

but as soon as i started swatching, i knew to the depths of me that it had to be a triangle.

of course.
with an edging. and not just any edging. one that complements it perfectly, in size, scale and shape. heh.

so i’ve been trying to work out how to do it. i tried for two evenings to work it out on the needles, but to no avail. it just wouldn’t materialize. i knew i had to do it graphically on the computer, but haven’t had a day that wasn’t fraught with incoming work, email, phone, and other distractions
(i can’t do this type of thing with all that going on).

and then today, it was blessedly quiet. silent, in fact. for hours and hours.
and i worked . . . and worked and worked. in fact, i did several charts today.

when i thought i had it to a good place, i took a nap and then went cycling with david (now, that was awesome!!).

when we got back i sat down to try it out, and it was crap-o-la after the first 10 rows. but i could see the problem and now i just redid it, quite quckly. it’s amazing how, once i get inside this kind of thing, and get to know it, changes and problems aren’t really obstacles—just interesting challenges to sort out. it’s finding the place to begin that is the real mind-boggler.

so now i have a new chart and will head upstairs momentarily to try it out. or maybe i will leave it til tomorrow, and work on my skirt.

cuz that’s at an exciting point too!. i really love this second skirt. thank you to everyone who sent some input on the little side seam issue i was having. you’re all right—it was silly and nothing to worry about.

lately, i get more obssessive over parts of my knitting than i used to because i make patterns from so many pieces. where, in the past, something could have been perfectly acceptable, i now sometimes agonize over whether i should refine it. not to the point where it isn’t fun, but sometimes to the point where it stops my work. thanks for helping me with that!

anyway, i’m about to start the next lace pattern for the bottom half of this skirt. something about twice the scale and a little more open, and more round or floral, rather than diagonal. mmm!

and i finally finished plying my silk and wool. i thought that would never end! i had no idea there was that much silk singles. i ended up with almost 1500 yards of 2-ply lightweight fingering yarn—plenty for a nice big shawl.

i washed it last night. i had to let it soak a bit to bring back the active twist in the singles, which got lost in all the humidity we’ve had. unfortunately, a lot of the color bled out of the silk, so the rich vivid colors became more muted.

i hung it up with some weight to keep it straight and drapey.
i love how the silk looks like it is drops of water all along the strands of yarn