where did the last two days go? yikes.
i seem to be in a daze the last week or so . . . incredibly sleepy all afternoon every day.
i’m getting tasks done but i can’t remember afterwards what they were. it might just be the side effects of over committing (to which i am dangerously prone).
anyway, here it is, thursday the 10th of JULY already . . eek! summer is just running away in the wrong direction. however it is beautiful out there . . . it will be a great night for a bike ride. now that we finally have some decent riding weather we are trying to get out as often as possible.
of course, that does not help me finish up knitting projects, but there’s only so much summer, you know? and since it is a very busy time at our jobs, we opt to take the 2 hours off to do something fun together whenever we can.
i thought for sure i’d get at least one of my new scarves completed by last night but no. i have so few rows to go on each one. but i wasn’t able to squeak in a finish at class on rivolo before it was time to pack up and head home; there are still about 12 or 16 rows to go.
and the guava scarf is about 20 rows from the finish . . . i thought i had it in the bag as a sure thing while watching the tour last night, but i fell asleep; i didn’t even finish watching the race (but i will tonight so don’t tell me what happened!).
i do have a name for it though. it was tough . . . anne sent in a good arabic name, riyaan, that i liked, and josiane contributed a persian name that i LOVE—darvazeh-shiraz—which means “gate to shiraz”. it’s a little longer and more exotic than i was imagining for the scarf, but i was all set to use that one.
then, rachel suggested that the motif looks an awful lot like the hamsa talisman, and i could totally see it. i like this simpler name for the scarf, and the fact that it is often used in jewelry worn at the neck (scarves are jewelry, right?).
i’ll save the darvazeh name for a fabulous stole piece . . i think its drama and size would be better suited to a bigger piece.
as planned, i’ve also been working out a new shawl design with catherine’s merino laceweight yarn. i do admit that i get totally lost in this work . . i can spend hours on end swatching and putting things together. it’s really no mystery why i’m not productive in other ways this week. but i’m making progress.
i know—it looks like a big pile of knitting crap. i really don’t want to show too much til i have the swatches blocked. i have one done and i want to do another. i do want to share the pretty body stitch
it has such a nice undulating look . . . i can just feel the breezes blowing across fields of grass and flowers when i look at it. there is an insect too, but again, i’m waiting to show that because i’m not completely happy with the first sample of it (ha! it’s gigantic for one thing).
hopefully by tomorrow i’ll have blocking shots of the swatches. i’m trying to decide what shape to do . . triangle? faroese? rectangle? personally i think it reads best as a shaped piece, but i know we haven’t had a rectangle piece is a while, so maybe both . . .
ok, then, it’s time for me to get on with that task and maybe finish up a scarf.
25 thoughts on “summer daze”
i vote rectangle! it’s such a pretty summery color and I always think it’s easier to accessorize with a stole than a shawl in the summer.
I love how your knitting projects match the flowers and foliage in your garden!
Rectangle please!!
I still love the color of Guava. You know yellow is my favorite… yummy new shawl! I think rectangular would be beautiful 🙂
May I put a bid in for faroese? I’ve always wanted to knit a faroese shawl… 😉 I know what you mean about the daze; I was going to spin this afternoon, but I’m thinking that a nap might be the thing instead. Where has this summer gone?!
I’ve been sleepy every afternoon this week too Anne! Maybe it’s something in the air here in Ohio . . .
the garden is looking so alive and full of colour, enjoy it! The knitting is lovely as ever, you have enticed me with this new shawl I am looking forward to seeing it. I love the colour.
I vote faroese! I’m almost done with Irtfa’a and I have loved the shaping; it adds so much more interest to the piece.
Today’s the first day I haven’t ‘cheated” and read all the updates on the current Tour stage to find out who won so I’ll actually be in suspense when I watch it tonight.
I vote for whatever shape you think works best with the design. We all know that sometimes the pattern decides what it want to be rather than the other way around.
Your garden is amazing! How many varieties of lily do you have??
The scarves are lovely…and the new shawl design is going to be outstanding!
Happy summer!
I love the name and symbolism in Hamsa, especially the fact that the same word and image are used in both Islamic and Jewish culture.
The new motif is very intriguing… can’t wait to see the rest of your concept.
Oh man, I can tell already I’m going to love that one! I say rectangle, cuz I like knitting those the best. 😉
May I beg for a faroese pattern? Please?
Okay, the flowers got me today! I read the whole blog post but you said nothing about the flowers! lol I know the first pix is a lily but what is that stunning second plant?
where *is* the summer going? i can’t believe it’s july 10 already! however much you feel like you’re not making knitting progress, you’re doing way better than me – i keep getting distracted by other (unfun) projects (not even work…we’re in a temporary slow period while we wait for clients to get their acts together…nope, i decided a room painting project – involving wallpaper stripping first – was necessary…) it also doesn’t help that i keep flitting from project to project and having major gauge issues.
i love all those name suggestions, i can see why you’d have a tough time. the guava yarn is gorgeous too – i’m not sure if i even know what the pattern is (should i admit that?), i’m too busy oggling the yarn! may have to wander over and get some…
hmmmm, I love a rectangle stole, but the faroese sounds good too. Let the design lead you, as I’m sure you would anyway. 🙂 It looks wonderful so far!
How about a half hex shape? The pyramid-like shapes call that to mind for me. Faroese would have to be second, though.
I love the yellow colours, perfect for the lace and season.
I love the final picture in this post. The pattern is beautiful! I can’t wait to see the final project that it will be incorporated in. Thanks for all your wonderful and beautiful work.
Wow talk about an eye candy post. Lovely nearly finished scarves, lovely vegetation, lovely names for scarves and shawls/stoles and now a lovely intriguing new shawl option. I vote shaped myself but I knit slower than molasses in January in the Arctic so don’t mind me.
I’m completely flabbergasted that you would even entertain the notion that you are not productive. Have you SEEN the amount of knitting you get done?
You amaze me. You are so darned prolific! Everything is scrumptious!
I just managed to pick up some FF yarn and Gust, so I’ll be working on that once SOS’08 is done.
But I’m so slow on my knitting…you just blow me away!
(((Hugs)))
I can’t wait to see the new shawl! You know how I love those insect themes 🙂
Hamsa will be perfect for that lovely guava scarf! And as I told you in my email, I can’t wait to see how you’ll translate darvazeh Shiraz into stitches. It will be a gorgeous piece, no doubt, and I’m really honoured to have a little part in it, if only by sparking an idea in your amazing mind!
The swatch for the new shawl looks promising… Being late in catching up with your blog has its advantages: I won’t have to wait long before seeing it blocked!
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