if you touch that, you’ll go blind

Posted on annePosted in designing, lace/shawls, projects

(sunday, 10 am)
just look at those yummy cocoons of cashmere-y goodness. they look innocent, but they’re not. not quite.

(monday, 2 pm)
i mean, what could look sweeter or cozier than a cashmere shawl sprawled across the living room floor? trust me, it’s a pose—it’s really there to suck me in, like the sucka i am.

i meant to work on other things these last two evenings, but my complete addiction to this project got the best of me. it’s over now, though.

really. it is.
(ok—the truth: i just plain ran out of yarn)
but can i just take one moment point out to you the gorgeous sheen and soft halo on this hand maiden yarn, and the way the colors play across the fabric? i’m desperate to try it on and feel it against my skin

but that’s cashmere for you—it dries slo-o-wly, just when you’re panting for it to go faster.

ahem . . . excuse me while i fan myself.

ok, that’s better. now, how about a name for this baby?
thank you for all the wonderful suggestions—it’s been really tough to decide. i know a LOT of people liked the name tussie-mussie, and it’s appropriate, but somehow the words just don’t sit right for me.

then one suggestion jumped out at me simply because it described the feeling of the yarn so well (it’s got a dangerously rich, buttery, caress). it was maryann b. who suggested “embrace me” and that one hit me as the one.

so off i went to google and search on ravelry, but lo and behold, that name has been used quite a bit (but i also like “caress” as an alternative). so i went to my favorite language translator to look for variations and came up with two choices: caricia (caress) and embrassez-moi (embrace me).

still waffling over which one i like better . . . wanna vote?
here, lemme give you something to help you concentrate

i did get some charting for the new shawl squared away but want to wait to show pictures of it till i have something substantial for you to look at ( i am loving the orange, though).

in late night knitting news, i experienced a small, what-the-hell-was-i-doing/thinking/looking
at-while-this-happened setback.

friday night i got my second bougainvillea sock all the way to the start of the toe shaping before i went to bed. on saturday morning i sat down to write the pattern and sat . . . and sat—it just wasn’t working out on paper. i had sock #1 right there and it looked fine (and i know it knit up ok), but what i stared at on-screen didn’t make sense any more, according to what i was doing on sock #2 (which i was knitting exactly the same way).

heh. i ran up to get my sock-in-progress, brought it downstairs, counted stitches and looked it over carefully several times before i finally saw it.

it wasn’t the same at all.

while working on it in the airport i somehow moved one stitch in the wrong direction before i started my heel flap. that resulted in the heel pattern being two stitches off-center, which in turn, caused the foot to be asymmetrical. that’s bad enough, but not the worst part, even—what’s really bad is that i proceeded to knit through the heel and down the whole foot without noticing, like i was high or something . . . oh wait—hehe, i was.

i’m blaming it on cashmere fumes. it’s just like your mama said—that’s dangerous territory and if you touch it, you’ll go blind.
another reason it was a very good idea to finish that schmata and lock it UP where it can’t harm anyone else.

i was so mad at myself that i started another sock saturday night just to calm my nerves and distract me from my own stupidity.

(don’t think i’m completely unaware that i’m trading one dangerous fiber for another here—i do, but like any good addict i can justify it. somehow)

anyway. this is the sock for this yarn i think, finally. you might remember this yarn in its previous incarnation as a poppy sock which i waffled over for a good long time before finally deciding to rip out. yes it was ok, but i thought i could do a better job showing off the yarn to its best potential.

i like the new one a lot better—the color transitions are more muted and the little wave in the motif enhances them. it’s another variation on a feather and fan pattern which works up quickly and easily, making the sock another good traveler.

ok . . . i’ve put myself on a bit of a schedule and i’m trying to stick with it in order to catch up and to fit in another activity that’s been on hold for way too long.

here’s a clue: it involves whatever is inside the box that arrived the other day.
(don’t forget to vote on one of the two names!)

164 thoughts on “if you touch that, you’ll go blind”

  1. Caricia is my vote 🙂 It’s lovely.
    And every time I read ‘poppy sock’, my brain helpfully shouts ‘Poppycock!!’ – which is making me giggle. Obviously, I’m in need of more sleep.
    Thanks for the cashmere fumes from afar…

  5. My choice is “embrassez-moi”! Not only does it mean “embrace me”, it also means “kiss me”, and that seems fitting to me because of what you said you were looking for the other day when you had bouquet and flowers in mind – bringing flowers to someone, isn’t it a way to ask for a kiss? (Hope this all makes sense, my mind is kind of busy packing a suitcase, so the words didn’t come easily, and aren’t necessarily in the right order…)

  6. Another vote for Caricia – it’s just stunning! I just wish there was a “feel-how-soft-this-is” button on my computer.

  11. Caricia seems perfect to me. By the way,I knit the Rivolo in the bronze colorway of Sea Silk and it is gorgeous. Love that colorway!

  15. ummm i recall from my french class that in modern colloquial french embrassez-moi means something a lot less graceful and sweet as you are intending… it means f___ me!! So I vote for caricia

  16. I vote for caricia. I kept reading embrassez-moi as embarrass me and that is not true of this shawl. It is beautiful, and I love the yarn colors.

  19. As a francophone, I can assure you that “embrassez-moi” does not mean what Brooklynne suggests. It simply and sweetly means “kiss me” or “embrace me”. I think she may be confusing it with “baisez-moi” which both means “kiss me” and “f… me”.

    And that’s your French lesson for today.

    (I must admit that Caricia just rolls off the tongue.)

    And by the way, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new pattern for the handspun.

  20. I love how caracia sounds, so that gets my vote. It is beautiful, and the colors are fabulous and mix so well together.

    Bummer on the pink sock problem. The nice thing about knitting is that it is fixable. I ripped out 5 inches of a sweater back a couple weeks ago convinced I had screwed up the stitch pattern. I cast on again, and then realized I hadn’t screwed up before and had ripped for nothing. I had a glass of wine then.

  22. Hi. I just bought a pattern from you. I love your designs and sometime I will get the Honey Bee Stole from you. When will have the pattern available for your newest shawl? I love the pattern and the yarn…got to know about that yarn too. I love the colorway.Please write to me and let me know.
    Sherry

  23. Wow! Yeah – love the colors and their marriage with the pattern. I can “almost” feel the cashmere from here. 😀

    I’m voting for caricia.

  24. I vote for embrassez-moi. French is the language of love! Actually, I was going to suggest “flower basket”, which admittedly doesn’t have much of a ring to it, but the pattern reminds me so much of a flower basket quilt I have that my grandmother made. I’m fascinated that the knitted motif resembles the quilted motif so strongly. The bougainvillea socks are gorgeous, and I especially love the newest pair. The pattern really does show off the quiet loveliness of the yarn to great advantage.

  25. Caricia is what I vote for. Evertime I wear cashmere I feel the caress of the fabric. Seems to be the perfect name.
    Another beautiful shawl! I love the warm colors.

  27. Caricia. That’s definitely an Italian shawl. (Your post title made me snicker…) I’m so sorry about the bougainvillea socks – I hate it when that kind of thing happens (I’m still charmed to pieces by the combination of pattern and yarn color, though). And i love the way that new sock is working up — it’s a great way to show off the yarn 🙂

  30. Here’s my logic–Handmaiden’s from Canada, Canada’s bilingual (English and French)– no-brainer–go with the French but I’d use the personal “embrasse-moi”–(“tu” instead of “vous”)–more seductive. Especially if you can say it a la Piaf, with a real roll of the “r”. Good luck and have fun wrapping this one around you!

    Cheers, Barbie O.

  36. Caricia. Because I am a lazy punkin (to quote Frank Zappa) and one word is easier to remember than two. Especially at this hour of the morning.

  38. Caricia for sure. Rolls right off the tongue. “What are you knitting??” Caricia! Now get on your bike and pedal!

  39. Caricia…it sounds so lovely and romantic, just like that gorgeous shawl.

    Sorry about the oops in your sock; I sure know how you felt. I needed more than one glass of wine…more like the entire bottle!…after discovering an oops in a simple feather and fan stole I was making. How on earth could I reverse the pattern and not notice until nearly 6 inches later?? Since I didn’t use a lifeline, I have to very carefully tink back all 6 inches to keep it all straight. Hmmmm. Maybe this calls for a few stiff drinks instead?

  42. Caricia !
    Altough I do confess that at first I thought this was Italian ( but then Caricia means desk) but it turns out it’s Spanish 🙂
    It sounds a lot better than it would in my language anyway, what about “omhelzing” or ” streling” who could pronounce that! No, Caricia sounds a lot more exotic to me haha !

  43. Hi Anne! The shawl is gorgeous as always! I came in to point out that “embrassez-moi” definitely means kiss me in modern French but obviously that’s been taken care of already! If you’re looking for a French word in the same vein, however, I would suggest “câlin” or the familiar “câlinou”, which is a hug. 🙂

  45. I’m still giggling over the title. I was wondering what in that world you to what you were referring.

    Caricia works for me. It just… rolls off the tongue.

  46. Another vote for Caricia – it rolls off the tongue nicely!

    It’s a beautiful shawl. 🙂 I can see how it could mess with your head…

  47. I vote for Caricia. At first glance, I read embrassez-moi as “embarrass me” which I know is incorrect, but still.

  48. I prefer “embrassez-moi” because it looks cleaner to me when typed.

    For Caricia, the letters seem to smoosh together making it both harder to read and to pronounce without thinking. It might be a nice word but it also just doesn’t flow verbally for me. I doubt I could remember Caricia as a pattern name.

  51. I’m going to vote ‘caricia’. I reminds me of the Jay & the Americans song ‘Cara Mia’ (giving my age away!). The yarn sounds so yummy! I’m a big fan of Fleece Artist/Handmaiden yarns but I’ve yet to try this one. Now I may have a reason!

  53. Sounds like your vote is in…. :). It’s a lovely shawl…such prettiness!

    Can’t wait to see what is in the box 🙂

  54. Caricia, please. What a fast knitter you are! Can’t wait for the wiggles scarf pattern by the way. (I’m not nagging.) I promised to make that one for my sister.

  55. I vote for both names use the embrace for the triangular as it falls over the shoulders like an embrace. Just to make more work; for those of us who like a rectagular shawl work one up in the same patter or similar because a caress requires more action like wrapping the rectangular shawl.

  57. Why not something along the lines of Blind Embrace (and then translate that)? I laughed so hard when you said, “if you touch it, you’ll go blind”–you have to link this up with the name.

  58. Caricia — absolutely gorgeous! Love the colors…..

    Also, I’m kinda liking Christine Link’s suggestion as well. Hmmm.

  59. I admit I am partial to embrassez-moi. To me,
    Caricia IS close to Cara Mia which was Gomez Addams of The Addams Family favorite endearment for his wife Morticia. Cute but too Goth for me-and the shawl is not Goth. How about My Embrace instead of Embrace me. Or My Love’s Embrace.

  60. Another vote for Caricia, here. The other is too close to Embarrass Me. Which cashmere might cause us to do…but I think Caricia rolls off the tongue more easily.

  61. Great names! The shawl is beautiful! I’m going with Caricia, because it’s Spanish, and I don’t think you’ve had a Spanish name yet, have you?

    So sorry about the sock! Cashmere fumes!!! I love it. If you’re going to have fumes, cashmere would be a good kind to have!

  62. This shawl is very enticing. It has a slight hint of Missoni – so I vote for an Italian connection. To me the fabric is well suited to Italian design. Caricia for me.

    By the way – huge improvement in design on the New Hue sock. The yarn colour needed a touch of control in the pattern to add some maturity. What a difference a stitch pattern can make!

  63. Although I like the idea of a french name, because Fleece Artist is from Canada, I’m not fond of Embrassez-moi. I do like the familiar version, Embrasse-moi better. But if I have to vote between the two choices given, then I think Caricia wins. It’s really lovely! If you were fanning the shawl instead of yourself it might dry faster… 🙂

    You’d better show what’s in the box! Is it a loom or perhaps a new wheel?

  64. I like “caricia” because it seems to roll off the tongue more smoothly…that being said, another commenter mentioned that embrassez-moi also means “kiss me” and that made me think of “besame”…..just throwing that little monkey wrench into the mix…

  65. Caricia. I had a lovely doe named Caricia. I like that colorway. It reminds me of the Bronze Fleece Artitst SeaWool sock yarn I still have.

  66. Oh, between the two you offered…Caricia all the way! It’s a lovely appropriate name.
    But… I LOVE Besame…. not sure why it seems to fit even better, but I”m warped that way.
    .
    Bummer about the socks. 🙁 I’m sure you’ll resolve it soon. (but… loving the new sock!)

  67. HAHA Caress is my cousin’s name. I was doing her taxes last night. We call her Caricia. 😀 So you KNOW that gets my vote.

    And…how many $40 skeins is it that one would need for that purty little shawl?!

  69. While I love French and embrassez-moi sounds oh, so enticing, really…..one has only to say the word “cashmere” and that one word evokes everything about the fiber. That’s why I think that just one word for the shawl, “Caricia” will do just fine to paint the word picture for this grand shawl.

  73. For me it’s embrassez-moi, most definitely. It SOUNDS like cashmere to me! But I see that I’m probably in the minority here. . .

  74. Caricia! Love it! I’m trying to find a stole to make quickly for my brother’s wedding (for his new bride). I only have a few weeks and I have a cone of off-white Zephyr. Any suggestions? Thanks!

  75. embrassez-moi! French for the wonderful, sexy, hot romance of it all!
    What a gorgeous shawl…
    Can’t wait to find out what’s in that box…
    (((hugs)))

  78. Caricia gets my vote.

    What type of blocking wires do you use? I’m looking for some right now but trying to choose ones that would be great for large projects like a shawl or scarf.

  80. I vote for caricia. When I look at embrassez-moi it looks like “embarrassment” to me…and this shawl is too beautiful to be an embarrassment!

  82. I’ve got fingerprints to wipe of the monitor from trying to snatch that shawl through the screen! I vote for the “tu” variation, embrasse-moi. Intimate and seductive.

  83. I liked Caricia too. Embrassez-moi is too colloquial with its other meanings (‘kiss’ actually being the primary one), and a false cognate with embarrass. (Hopefully caricia doesn’t have any hidden meanings! I don’t speak Italian (I assume it’s Italian), more than a few words!) And Caricia just is so liquid on the tongue, as I imagine the yarn to be to the touch. Lovely.

  85. Though I like the idea of a French name for this shawl (with the Canada connection), I like Caricia better. (Though I really like the suggestion of câlinou)

  89. Caricia for sure. And OMG I had no idea how gorgeous it was until you pinned it out! I have a large skein of handmaiden seasilk (in Melon) that would be gorgeous as that shawl. I’ve been waiting for just the right one to knit and I think this one would be it!

  90. another vote for Caricia.
    as for that BIG box. I’m guessing a loom. because its just too insanely cold and frozen out your door to have anything to do with the garden – unless you are going to start an indoor greenhouse. wait a minute.. you might be crazy enough to attempt either!

  91. Caricia is beautiful; Embrassez is to close to embarass for my eyes, even knowing the other meanings!

    And the shawl is beautiful too!

  93. I love Caricia too. And I love the title of this post! It reminds me of the people that turned to watch Sodom destroyed and were turned into pillars of salt!

  94. Oh, as soon as I read “embrace me,” I thought “oh, what about embrasse-moi!” And then I read the next paragraph. However, I think I really like caricia better. More mellifluous. And I can imagine a dark italian saying it….whew!

  100. Lovely! Caricia is my vote. It flows from the vocal cords and has an extra bit of anticipation in it.

  102. I vote for Caricia of course. I can say it. French, I have no idea how to pronounce, and always switch it around to Spanish anyway (and my funny little mind makes this particular French phrase into the Spanish for impregnate me – sort of. But that’s just me! Don’t worry!)

  106. I vote for Caricia too for lots of the reasons already mentioned, and also: one word is better than two… less chance to mess up. Love the finished product!

  107. LOVE the new sock–will have to have it!!!
    AHHHHHH the lovely shawl, it will be like a soft caress against the skin and sometimes a sweet caress is much better than an embrace.
    Caricia for me.

  108. Definitely Caricia. The other one sounds too much like the Spanish word for pregnant–embarazada.

  110. Caricia. Anne, which ever name you decide on, it’s beautiful. Is it a great (walking) wheel or a new counter top that David has gotten for the kitchen?

  111. My vote is caricia; moi just doesn’t roll off the tongue well.

    And I’m guessing there’s a spinning wheel in that box….*trying to peek through the cracks*…

  112. Hi Anne! Absolutely love the shawl – – you did it again! I vote for CARICIA, I think this is the word that does the shawl justice. The french one is ok, but the best one is caricia and being that I understand the language I tend to prefer caricia. Caricia definitely sounds more romantic. Thanks for sharing your projects and continuing to inspire us! Take care. Rosalia (from Southern California)

  113. I vote for caricia, but if you want to keep the caress, would floral caress do?

    I also like Mayday or nosegay. Didn’t check either on Ravelry, just thought of them.

  115. What a beautiful shawl. I truly enjoy following along with your projects. I vote for “Caricia” for the name of the shawl.

  116. caricia is shorter, and easier to say. embrassez-moi looks too much like embarrass or embarazada (pregnant in spanish). So I vote fore caricia. I was going to suggest nosegay to go along with the cone of flowers idea… but it’s a little too old fashioned sounding I think.

    Very pretty, I think you ought to ship it to me for safekeeping. I know how addictive those cashmere fumes can be, and I am, ahem, immune… so just to make sure you don’t fall off the cashmere wagon, it would be great if that shawl were 3000 miles away, in Oregon perhaps…. heheheheh

  117. Another vote for Caricia — and I can hardly wait for the pattern. Will you do a rectangular stole with this stitch pattern? You are an amazing designer, and I can hardly wait to finish my current project so I can cast on one of yours that I have stashed.

    Heather

  118. Caricia, it fits the shawl and the yarn. I’m another one who saw embrassez-moi and it came it embarrass the first couple of times.

  120. i vote for caricia. i have no talent for languages other than american english (and really, not even then) and embrassez-moi looks to me like “embarrass me.”
    if you are really worried about the dangerousness of that shawl, you could send it to me for safe keeping….

  123. Love Caricia!! I’m really looking forward to this pattern. The yarn’s been marinating in my stash for a while, I think it’s about done now. 🙂

  124. Put down Caricia for me! I happen to hear that cha ching sound, yet again!!! Beautiful shawl, no matter what the name and I love the pattern….just wonderful!

  127. Oooo–caricia. Is it Spanish or Italian? I like French normally, but for some reason, embrassez-moi doesn’t push my buttons.

  128. caricia sounds like a small carcinoma (don’t mind me, I’m a nurse). Embrassez-moi is a bit too twee for me (hard to please, aren’t I?). Guess I’m not much help. Although you didn’t ask for suggestions, the first thing I though of when I saw the shawl and thought about cashmere, was “better than chocolate”. The colorway is sort of chocolatey too.

  129. Caricia will be the name if you go with the majority, and it is lovely! The other one reminded me of “bra” which on me would be an embarassment in itself! Love that new sock, too. Isn’t it awful how we can knit along and rows later finally look at what we’ve been doing and “see” a mistake – did it today.
    Oh yes, I’d be interested in a rectangle shawl, same pattern.
    And, aren’t the blocking wires wonderful? Used them for the first time on a shawl for my daughter’s wedding.

  130. Anne, when you’re talking about affairs of the heart – such as a caress is, you must go the the Italian: name it “Carezza”

  133. Caricia gets my vote. Unless you’re swayed by the commenters. Then I’d also second the Italian, Carezza.
    It’s gorgeous, btw, no matter what you decide to name it 🙂

  135. Although in French it also means “to kiss”, as in “j’embrasse mieux que je cuisine”, which I have en anglais on my kitchen wall: “I kiss better than I cook”.

  136. The title of this post made me snort coffee through my nose. You are hilariously wonderful!

    I vote for embrassez-moi.

  137. Although I speak French day in and day out, I find caricia to be the better choice. It has more of a flow to it. It’s truly a lovely pattern.

  143. Caracia. It’s lovely and unusual. And I really love French, but “embrassez moi” doesn’t seem like a shawl name to me.

  144. Caricia. I assume “Embrace” and “Caress” were already taken? Darn people. Why couldn’t they come with something different so we could use those names??

  145. I may be a little late, but I like Caricia. Looking at the size of your package, I think you are going to try out weaving and I think you got yourself a loom.

  147. I vote for embrassez-moi. That yarn feels like a lover nuzzling your neck and that name says that more for me than the other. That shawl is a thing of beauty!

  151. Sorry, got my emoticons mixed up – although i am slightly miffed that that gorgeous shawl isn’t encircling my shoulders right now…

  152. I’d love to just call it Caress .
    cashmere fumes indeed – they about bowled me over just reading this post and seeing the beauty of it.
    fivine.

  157. embrassez-moi is my vote

    where do you get those lonnnngggg blocking wires?

    Thanks.

    Jofran

  158. Caricia – definitely! Embrassez-moi is formal French. If you ask someone to hug you, it would be nice to be tutoyer-ing them – Embrasse-moi.

  159. I vote for Caricia. Just because Embrassez-moi, even though I know it is French, looks like “embarrass” at first glance, and that is not the sort of feeling you intend to convey (at least I didn’t think so).

    Someday you have to let us in on your speed knitting tricks. I am constantly in awe of how much lovely knitting you manage to produce in a day!

  161. embrassez-moi is my vote…
    I know it’s “embrace” but it always makes me think of “embarrass” me… and that just sounds cute… like a lover who spoils you too much 😉

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