snow and smoke—it’s cold here, so the furnace is running often, creating another layer of white on gray. and the snow continues to pile up outdoors, brr.
inside, it’s a little warmer with knitting in progress.
i’ve been devoting myself mainly to two projects this week—the autumn mantle shawl and a secret project i can’t show you til next week. i wanted to give you a peek at the yarn, but even that would endanger the surprise that’s brewing on my needles.
the shawl, though—wow, i’m in love.
i hesitated and allowed myself to hem and haw far too long over getting started on it because i was afraid. i was afraid of the shaping involved and whether the motifs would work if i went with a top-down construction. i was also afraid i would hate the darn thing if i started at the hem with a huge cast-on and got bored right away from knitting the long rows at the start.
finally i threw caution to the winds and just started, without too much of a plan (i might be sorry about that later, but so far, so good)
so maybe my unadulterated love for it (sorry, david) is partly pumped up by the tsunami of relief i feel that i’m enjoying the whole thing immensely, long rows and all. because, really, it’s been easy to commit. in fact, it’s far too easy.
actually, i can admit here that, not only am i not bored, i’m addicted to it.
i have not started the frosty neckwarmer, i am not working on another small secret project that i should do, i have not looked at my stash in days. i even forgot that i do, indeed, have a sock on the needles—a perfectly scrumptious one, in fact, when i wrote my post the other day (i’ll show you sock progress later).
instead, i am allowing myself to be enthralled with the leaves that are forming the hem of the shawl
sinking their lusty curves deep into my psyche so that i am helpless to work on almost anything else (except the current secret project—that i must finish by tonight). and how about those beautiful color gradations in the yarn? sigh.
the shawl knows exactly what it’s doing. as much as i love the pattern, it remembers how i almost got bored with the length of the autumn arbor stole (i know—shame on me! in my defense though, i was under a lot of project stress that month, so i blame the circumstances.), and it’s not allowing that to happen to me now.
maybe the excitement of designing on the needles with the risk of all that work at stake is good for my adrenaline level, who knows? at any rate, i’ve gotten through the first transition swimmingly and my stitch count is right where it should be for the shaping. next i have to figure out the transition to a completely different motif for the upper part of the shawl body so that it looks nice and the numbers work. then the shoulder-and-neck shaping and i’ll be home-free.
it’s a totally hybrid construction plan—partly reverse pi shawl and partly traditional triangle shaping, with the back panel in the center. i think it’s gonna work (but keep your fingers crossed for success; i know at some point i’ll need it). and for sure it will make the charting easier; where i initially worried about the necessity for huge, multi-page charts, i don’t think i’ll have to deal with that now—phew.
one of the nice perks about working hem up is that the shawl doesn’t grow into a big blob of knitting that i can’t really see properly—it spreads out nicely so i can grasp the proportions of the parts and judge better where i’m going with it. interesting—this advantage hadn’t occurred to me before, but i like.
i’m hoping to have it knit and blocked by mid-month so i can send it off to spend the weekend at SPA with kim at the woolen rabbit, where it can lounge around her booth whistling at the knitters walking by.
(is anyone else wondering why the shawl gets to go and i don’t??)
so yes, almost all else is on hold right now. i’m very much in danger of revealing part of the secret project i’m knitting—pardon me for blathering on about it, but it’s my other favorite thing right now. i will explain all when i can, in just a few days.
meanwhile, my poor sock has been largely ignored for the whole week (not to mention the blog—sorry).
though i did put a few inches on it (the sock) during classes on monday. i promise you, sock, that this weekend, my late nights are all yours.
and to continue with the addiction theme . . . david baked a cake yesterday
his frosting turned out better than mine and now i’m jealous. but i think i can keep the green monster at bay that by eating more than my fair share of it.
48 thoughts on “escaping the cold”
Mmmmm….cake and knitting a fabulous shawl. What could be better. Can’t wait to find out what your secret project is. I’m still loving the shawl- pattern and color are great.
Personally I think you should tell Kim that the shawl will need to be escorted by you personally so you can protect it from getting lost. Oh well, it’s worth a try right?
Anne, The speed at which you knit blows my mind! And that cake looks soo scrumptious I might just have to leave work and make one myself!
Again so many beautiful tings; sock shawl and cake!the shawl is looking great! The colours are divine. I love the sock,I think I need to make some like it. Happy belated birthday by the way, is the cake for extended celbrations? I look forward to the secret project.
anne, the shawl is as mouth watering as david’s cake (and as i am a huge chocolate cake fan, that is high praise!) your blog, as always, is one of the highlights of my day- thx!
As does everything else you create, the shawl looks like it will be gorgeous! I’ve had my eye on that New England Red for a while and now I have the perfect project to go with it. (I hope Kim will be offering it as a kit when the pattern is released.) I’m working on Simurgh right now in a Raven color of Geisha, so I’ll be ready for a bright change of color!
That shawl looks lovely, and WOW, the pattern and the colors make it look JUST like fresh ginger flowers from Hawaii! In this cold weather, it makes me feel warmer just looking at it!
Hah! It’s YOUR cake, you’re supposed to eat more than your share! Enjoy the knitting and the cake!
I really love the color of that yarn and the pattern is working up nicely. You are a genius!
So do you think we’ll ever see spring?
Hmmm….cake…shawl….cake….shawl….cake….shawl.
Nah, I can’t choose. They are equally gorgeous and equally yummmy.
I’ll take one of each, please.
I can sure see why you are loving that shawl! It’s stunning and yes, the colors are a huge relief from gray and brown and white. Just looking at it makes me feel warm and happy!
There must be sparks flying off your needles! You are quick.
Shawl and chocolate cake, what a delicious post!
Wow…you really are going to town with this shawl and it looks stunning! My lace needles are empty and waiting only for this 🙂
Hmmm……did someone have a birthday? Happy Happy!!!
I adore your shawls! They are so inspiring to me as a new lace knitter. I can’t wait for the pattern for this one to come out! 🙂
I am LOVING that shawl. But I have a question–how easy do you think it would be to make a smaller shawl, with it being knit from the bottom edge? Like if I didn’t have that much yarn. Know whut I mean?
Happy belated birthday! That cake sure looks tasty.
The shawl is soooooooo very beautiful. I’m always drawn in by those undulating lines in leaf motifs. As if the leaves themselves are unfolding before our very eyes,much as in nature. Obsess on!! I can’t wait to see it.
Oh, Anne! You are a temptress. Waving that beautiful shawl around and then showing us glimpses of the sock with the neat yarn. And all that talk of the secret project! It’s like the old soap-opera cliffhangers on Fridays. But the final straw is the picture of that delectable chocolate cake. You are one lucky lady to have a husband that can bake a cake like that.
I am salivating over that cake. And the yarn on that sock is so way cool. I hope you hurry so I can buy that pattern. I’m almost done with the Gridiron!!!!
At first glance I thought that second photo was a flower. I am so ready for spring! But really, it’s just as beautiful as a flower.
The knitting is gorgeous. I have to wipe the drool off my keyboard – I’m especially digging the yarn on that sock.
BUT…will we learn soon what the green secret project is? I’m not letting that one go – the little snippet you showed us was gorgeous! 🙂
This is a major drool post, Anne!! Between the shawl, the socks and the cake I need a towel. The shawl is just a stunner. Off to buy the yarn from Kim!
the leaves look lovely! and speaking of secret projects, whatever happened to that green tangle from a few weeks ago? or is that the same secret project?? so many secrets!
I am very jealous that David is able to bake and it looks really yummy. I have been wearing my Autumn Arbor Stole in the evening since it is chilli enough to wear something light. I can’t wait to see what the shawl looks like.
The shawl is gorgeous – I’m so glad that the bottom-up knitting is going so well! The combination of yarn and motif is lovely. And I can’t wait to see the secret project — so much fun stuff going on (including cake, mmmm….) 🙂
UM OMG OMG OMG that shawl. I haven’t even finished my autumn arbor and I already want to toss it aside for this one!!! Tell me you need a tester for that??? Lol.
Happy birthday Anne! That cake looks divine… and you’ll have to put that shawl under lock and key, it’s looking very fine, love that color!
Your shawl looks beautiful and it isn’t even blocked yet. And cake – yum!
I can’t decide what looks most delicious, the shawl, the sock or the cake!
Another gorgeous creation! I love Renee’s comment about sparks flying off of your needles. That’s how I picture you! HA! I love Kim’s yarn. That color is beautiful.
I can’t get over the beauty of the shawl & Kim getting the color of autumn leaves in New England dead on! The cake that David baked looks divine…so were you able to keep the green montser at bay with eating?
your shawl is absolutely beautiful. the color is amazing.
I think a shawl that nice deserves to be hand-carried to SPA by you and you alone. Along with a few emergency slices of chocolate cake. You know… in case you get snowed in and need a snack. 🙂
Whenever someone says “I’ll be home free” in regards to their knitting, I always get nervous. It seems like whenever I think it myself, I end up screwing something up! I hope your birthday cake was yummy and that David sat and fed you bites of it so that you could continue knitting that lovely shawl! Looking forward to the reveal of the secret project and to see your poor socks get finished–they just look so cozy.
LOL You have the BEST dessert pictures on your blog! I love the sock too! Beautiful yarn! And, of course the lovely shawl in progress. I am in Michigan, so I can relate to your gray. Hopefully you’ll get a bit of the warm that is coming on Saturday.
That shawl is going to be so beautiful! I always love the yarns you choose, and often I say to myself that I really wouldn’t mind having some of them, but this one? To die for – I REALLY must acquire some of that, in that color, maybe even for that shawl (the rectangular version, more my style)…
To me, it’s the sock that looks good enough to eat! Have you named this confection yet?
The shawl is just beautiful, of course! And the cake – is it yellow cake with chocolate frosting? That’s my favorite combination.
I must admit that starting at the bottom of a shawl where you don’t have to plan every turn of events has a lot of appeal. There’s some real freedom there. And being able to stretch it out and see how deep each section is as you work on them has to help a lot in the general layout of the patterns. It’s interesting that beginning with a certain stitch pattern has changed the construction, turned it on it’s head or it’s tail or whatever a shawl has.
the shawl’s looking good. your concerns about how the shaping and pattern all would work are precisely why i’ve been so intrigued by this shawl – i want to know how you get it to work! hopefully it continues to work for you.
Anne- OMG- how much can a person take? Yet another stunning shawl, and a hubster who bakes a cake.
You lead a charmed life.
Ooops! Belated Happy Birthday! The cake looks delicious (David’s culinary skills are making the rest of us jealous) and the shawl is turning out beautifully.
this shawl is already a beauty!
when you have a moment, like when the cake is cooling or something, could you make the shawl’s vine-ing, leafy design into a cowl pattern?
OMG – just read Kim’s blog and found out the SPA will be only a 30 minute drive from my house. I’m going!! Can’t believe I might be able to actually see your beautiful shawl at the SPA. Oh joy!!!!
Its February 6 – where is Anne – I miss her! See what happens when soneone is addicted to your blog? Going through terrible withdrawls!!! I will stop by again – soon. Thanks for all you do.
I’m so excited about this shawl! It’s completely wonderful and I’ve been waiting for the faroese version since you finished the stole.
Oh rats, I thought you were saying that YOU were coming to SPA. We will entertain the shawl in appropriate fashion.
Cake, knitting… I can think of only one more thing to make this a perfect day for the senses 😉
Oooh Autumn Canopy sounds very very intriguing…. I’ve always wanted to do a shawl from the hem up. I wonder how long I shall have to wait… I think on the whole I prefer keeping up but there are advantages to make up for missing months of your blog. Not gonna let that happen again though.
The shawl looks fabulous so far!
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