race narrows

Posted on Posted in lace/shawls, projects, Uncategorized

don’t forget:
1) if you haven’t done so yet, go to my post from sunday and vote for la tricoteuse lanterne rouge (the last remaining knitter), and get into the moth race prize pool again! we’re taking bets til midnight friday, september 1st, so get over there now!

2) don’t forget that 10% of all knitspot pattern sales—not just moth shawl patterns—made on or before August 31, 2006 will be donated to knitters without borders. see catalog in the sidebar for information about what’s available and how to order.
(of course you can donate to this wonderful cause any time at the yarn harlot’s site!)

julia is OUT! go take a look at her shawl off the needles—it’s gorgeous; looks like cognac in candlelight to me!

beth and erin are neck and neck to be the next finishers as far as i can tell, but you never know! daphne is looking strong, but curiously has received very few bets—how should we interpret that? can’t really make predictions on carole or cheryl since they haven’t posted about their knitting (for very good reasons), so they could surprise us all. liz is just not talking about hers, so she could faking us out in grand style too.

at home, i finally decided the shawl MUST be dry after being stretched out on the floor for four whole days, but honestly, i can’t tell any more. i couldn’t stand waiting around to take pictures any longer (i’ve been checking the fabric osessively for two days—i was in danger of wearing a hole in it from petting the fabric).

it was hard to decide what kind of photo everyone might want to see, so i went for pure, up-close, unadulterated, knit porn:

the kind that make you want to dive right into the screen and roll around on the garment

it’s been horribly gray and rainy all week, but i love these pictures! it was even chillly enough today to wear the thing for a bit—just cuz! it has beautiful drape and a silky feel. the color is gorgeous—an ephemeral gray-blue—more blue in some light, and more gray in other light. i love that chameleon quality in it.

i still haven’t tackled anything complex yet this week—sorry!! i am trying to get into the swing of a new and challenging work project, while juggling the wonderful traffic that is coming to me through the blog (all good stuff and everything i have worked hard for—yay!). so that has meant long days at the computer instead of knitting and listening to books.
oh, there may be a bit of sock knitting late, late at night just before bed, but not much

this one is ready for toe shaping after languishing for what seemed like months (that just means i will start the second one and let THAT languish for months! hahaha!). after the first couple of inches, the colors in this sock decided to stubbornly take sides and pool up either on the right or the left.
now, i have really loved lorna’s laces yarn so far, but that worries me. it’s not a big problem on this pair so much (the blotchy patterning works ok in camouflage), but i don’t want that on socks where i expect stripes. it will be interesting to see how another colorway behaves over a different number of stitches (these are 72 sts, mine will be 60 or so).

today i had a doctor’s appointment, and for once i actually had to WAIT on him, so i got some sock knitting done there, too (it’s been a good week for these socks between a couple of phone meetings for work and this appointment . .).

ohio is not like NYC where you sometimes wait for the doctor for hours. usually they take you when you walk in and are very efficient with your time. i always bring a sock in case i have to wait, but i hardly ever get to actually knit on it. today though, i added on about 2 or 3 inches to the brownTreXX—it felt like a big bonus!

and i took the mermaid sox to classes yesterday and knitted a few inches on the them as well, so all three pairs got updated within the 24 hours since you saw them last.
(okay, i got nothin else . . . what’s a blogger to do?)

they really do appear to have a shimmery iridescence. this would be great yarn for pomotomous or whatever the heck that sock is called.

everyone who is anxious for the red skirt pattern can go look in on monica and see the progress of her test knit (melissa is also working hard but is sadly blogless—maybe she can send me a few pictures as she goes so i can keep you updated).

and that is about all i have today!! i took an unintentionally huge nap after work, instead of a short one, so at 11pm i still haven’t started knitting. i am, however, fresh, so i may go ahead and stay up til dawn, working on the spade pattern shawl. i’m seriously leaning toward calling it casino; the spades, the endless night color, the late-night knitting—yeah, i’m thinking casino . . .

15 thoughts on “race narrows

  1. I love your shawl especially when you knit the border with different color. I can’t wait to see it [and all lace pattern] stretch out; always amazing and breathtaking.

  2. Hey, I just caught up on your posts for July/Aug, and all I have to say is, “Whewh!” You sure have been busy. Love the 2 skirts (and all the accompanying butt shots) — and you certainly WERE right about them. 😉 You can add me to the list of people eagerly anticipating the Sangria pattern.

    Also, that Moth shawl is truly gorgeous and I’m glad the pattern has been so successful. I saw all those pictures of printed charts and I’m wondering — what application do you use to chart out your patterns?

    Oh, and after reading all those posts since early July I have this one thing to say — Finish up those brown Trekking socks already! 😉 [Not that I should talk, with all of my languishing projects.]

  3. I’m jealous of your new, challenging work project. I have a new, challenging and I don’t think in a good way, boss. Like in tears challenging. So that explains the beers and the tipsy commenting over here. I’m so new around here that I have no idea what your job entails or what your classes entail!

  4. OMG, talk about knit porn: your moth shawl makes one want to roll around the fabric at the very least.

    By serendipity, we will be in Schenectady for 2 games of Kee’s on Reinbeck (sic?) weekend. I hope to sneak away and indulge in fiber ecstasy!

  5. I love those mermaid socks; all wavy and shimmery. There’s something about your blog that makes me want to shut myself away, ignore the family and knit!

  6. I find it amazing that the addition of two simple little stripes can completely alter the character of a piece. I love them both — without, it looks so delicate and airy, and with, very “walking on the moors”!

  7. My next Moth should be in wool, like yours, I think. Mohair gives it airiness, and the texture is more “moth-like”, but I love how the stitches are so beautifully defined in wool. Your double-leaves really pop!

    Can we see a modeled shot of your Moth? Pretty please? 🙂

    Did you see Grumperina’s perfect pair of LL socks? I don’t know how she did it, but she got the most consistent stripes I have ever seen! I despair of ever being able to pull that off. That girl has magic needles.

  8. I don’t have time to talk about it. I’m too damn busy knitting this monstrosity. It’s gorgeous but good Lord is it big. I’m 5’1″ and when I look at how Julia’s fits her, I start thinking blankie rather than shawl!

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