While I might be smack in the midst of knitting through clue 3 of Wendy’s mystery shawlette, I haven’t yet shown off clue 2, and my procrastination can be interpreted as keeping the mystery and suspense.

Or something.

Clue 2 was another super short one, only 12 rows, coming up to 2 rows of border and 24 rows of pattern. Just easing us in gently before 72 rows of clue 3.

I have learned, however, that doing the long rows while you’re high on the new project fumes? Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. I may need to try and figure out how to do all the boring parts first, although perhaps that will just end in my getting bored on something else, but for this little thing? Brilliant. Each row gets shorter than the last, in direct contrast to my usual circular knitting where it rapidly gets huge.

I was going to add another picture, a close up of the first two clues here, but apparently I am incapable of taking a clear photo of it even with a quite nice camera and a monopod. I am that inept, clearly. So have a blurry one and just squint so that it’s supposed to look blurry, or something.

It’s a gorgeous day out, I think I might have to do some knitting on the front porch this evening.

Based on the mouseover for this xkcd comic: Extended Mind, one can get to the wikipedia page for philosophy from.. anywhere. So of course I had to try it.

I started at Lace Knitting and passed through such topics as Matter to Knowledge and Mathematics to get to Philosophy in 18 steps.

An amusing way to spend 5 mins of curious clicking, certainly.

As for actual lace knitting, I’m slowly plugging away on Frosted Ferns (Rav link, sorry about that.. although if you’re not on Ravely, why not? You dont need to talk to people, but it’s terribly handy for keeping track of your own stuff). It’s a Niebling. It’s more accurately, my first Niebling.

I am not a novice lace knitter. I have enough hubris to recognize that, I can cope with just about any pattern dropped in front of me, and I’ve knit a helluva lot of lace. This keeps my attention. Almost too much sometimes. I can’t just go on autopilot, and let me tell you, that’s pretty rare these days. I am rarely active challenged in my knitting, and I like that. I just wish I liked more of his pieces, but ideally I can eek out enough of his that I do like to keep my needles and thread happy for quite some time to come.

I’m on round 75 of 122, which is not more than halfway it’s only 38% completed. Area is a far more accurate measurement than plain row count when you’re working from the centre of a circle out.

Basic specs: 2mm needles (currently knitpicks metal circulars), size 60 Oren Bayan cotton in ecru, which is turkish and very nice. I found 5 balls of it at the thrift store for some piddling amount, and I’d guess I’m not even halfway through the first ball of thread.

Less than halfway by area, I am going to be at this for quite some time to come. At least it’s reasonably scenic along the way.

Alright, mostly dead.

But I am knitting, and as awesome as Ravelry is for letting me keep track of what I’m working on. (How /did/ I manage to keep track of what I was working on before ravelry? Oh right. A little orange notebook I lost a lot.)

Currently in progress is the Summer Mystery Shawlette by Wendy of Wendy Knits. It’s adorable, it’s like eating potato chips, and if you want to jump in, we’re only 24 rows in and they get shorter with each one. Go for it! I only have clue one photographed (and badly at that), so if you don’t want spoilers, close your eyes.

Okay, you can come back now. Isn’t it adorable? Relevant info is 4.5 mm needles, KnitPicks sock yarn in a tweedy russet. Just yum. In theory, it will only take two balls. I hope that theory pans out, even with the larger needles.

Tomorrow, or later, I will show you the Neibling I’m working on. Call it incentive to come back. If there’s anyone still reading, that is. *laugh*

Somewhere, I think in an email somewhere, I spotted a bag. Fair isle, bright colours, felted to some degree. I thought ‘Self.. we can do that’.. alright so perhaps it was more ‘ooh! I can do that!’ and a rush to the stash to go digging. All wool. Check. Bits and pieces as it was stripes and prime for using up bits. Check. Solids and handpaints. Check. A bit of handspun too, my first successfully navaho ply no less. Go digging for some fair isle patterns and find a booklet of fair isle sweaters that are woefully too small for me, but that I’ve always been fond of. Perfect!

Patterns are for suckers, so after some experimentation (aka ripping out the bottom twice) I settled on 2 strands and 9 mm needles for the bottom, single strand for the colourwork on 6 mm needles.

For the lace worker who is used to size 30 cotton and 2 mm needles? This is like speed crack. Each row actually adds length! Noticible length! I worked two patterns and it started to look like a bag. (I also started thinking that attempt two on the size of the bottom was probably a better choice, rather than hugely too big, but that’s besides the point).

Now I need to actually finish this and felt it and decide on what to do for a strap.

green sock, originally uploaded by Jazmin_.

It really is hard to be creative about describing more sock. Woot. More sock! Although I’m knitting along, turned the heel, working down the foot and that little ball of yarn is getting awfully little. Awfully awfully little. Hrm. Might I, for the first time ever, run out of yarn before I run out of sock? I’ll blithely keep knitting along and hope for the best. If need be, I’ll either have a funny coloured toe, or rip some off the top to add to the bottom. Or something.

photo, originally uploaded by Jazmin_.

Alright so it’s not the best photo, the colour is far more mossy in real life and well real life is far less blurry. My iphone is not a great camera and post bloodwork shaky hands aren’t exactly ideal either. Still! Having half of Guelph turn up to get bloodwork this morning meant that I had plenty of knitting time. This is the current drag around everywhere sock, started on the flight from London to Toronto, which is why it’s missing a pretty picot cast on. I forgot to pack two sets of needles, so it got a boring ribbed start, that I can do in the dark with no elbow room. As I proved. I’m not a small person, but economy seats sure are. And they cruelly walk you through the decadent first class seats on the way to your little cubby of hell, I think if they accepted credit cards on the plane for upgrades on the spot, they’d make a mint. Anyhow, let’s see if I can get socks knit before winter ends.

Apparently that’s what it takes for me to actually get off my lazy arse and get going on projects again. An unexpected trip to Scotland in Jan. resulted in me (sensibly I’d have to say) bringing 2 stalled projects and nothing else. It got dark at something silly like 4 pm, halting sightseeing, and well, no internet and 4 TV stations. No MUSHes, no WoW, no blog reading. 3 adults expressing TV station opinions and a TV smaller than my laptop screen. I arrived with 6 repeats done, and left with something like 26 repeats done.

photo
Originally uploaded by Jazmin_

I have fears that it’s going to be too short, but the proof on that is in the blocking. Someday I’ll remember that not only am I larger than most (to say the very least), but I’m long through the torso as well. Too short is just a shawlet, right?

see more puppies

I’m still knitting a little, mostly I’m just keeping up with life. Still, I couldn’t resist sharing with anyone who might still peep in now and then.

I decided today to pick up the needles (sure fire sign that the winter blahs might be letting up a bit), and cast on a wee bit of a thing to use as a coaster. Possibly to plunk in etsy as a set of coasters, but I digress.

Alright.. spiral design.. I like spirals. I dont want huge chunks of plain.. no problem, I’ll add in some extra lines of holes. Piece of cake. Only a 4 needle set. Well.. I’ll cast on 9 instead of 8.

Well it’d break the line to decrease on the first increase of a new line. That’s okay. It’s just one extra stitch. No problem, it won’t make sooo much difference.

Well. If you can’t be a good example, at least you can be a horrible warning.

 

If you increase too fast, you do not get a circle. See? You get.. oh.. 130% of a circle. Which is not a flat coaster. Well. Damn.