Life, etc.

Hello all!

I don't have a lot of time to write blog posts, what with all of the homework and stuff I've had lately, so this won't really be a full post. Just thought I'd update a bit in the meantime.

For the kool-aid dyed yarn, I've decided not to do any of the possible ideas I had last post. You know, just to shake things up. No, really it's just because I tried a few of them out and didn't really like any of them. For a first lace project, the branching leaves pattern was just too difficult, at least for me (don't laugh, lace knitters) and I got frustrated VERY quickly. The very first row had types of decreases that I'd never heard of before. And after working a swatch of about 1/2 of a repeat, I had already had to rip back so many times that I had to restrain myself from flinging the whole thing across the room. If I can't handle 1/2 a repeat of the lace pattern, I sure as HELL wasn't going to attempt a whole shawl. I still think it's a very pretty scarf, but I'll probably come back to it much later, after I'm more experienced with knitting lace.

So, it was basically back to the drawing board. Or in this case, back to Ravelry pattern search.

In the end, I decided on the Seascape wrap from Knitty. It looked fairly straightforward, I could understand all of the charts without having too look anything up, and there are good sized patches of stockinette that make the lace pattern look a whole lot less daunting. Not to mention the fact that it is GORGEOUS. I'd admired the pattern when it first came out (Summer '08 issue of Knitty), but just in a wow-that's-awesome-but-i'd-never-knit-that kind of way.

So anyway, I started the pattern, and I'd like to say that this is probably a perfect first lace project. The first thing that you knit is a simple border with basically just knit stitches and YOs in a repetitive sequence. It's a great introduction to reading a chart and dealing with laceweight yarn because it's easy, and every row is the same. Fantastic! Then, once you get past the border section, the wavy pattern is pretty much just the same sequence of stitches, but with more space in between and an extra increase or decrease here and there. It's easy to understand why the lace pattern works the way it does. I mean, it's not just blindly following a chart, the mechanics of it actually make a lot of sense.

I've knitted about six inches, impressive progress for about three days of work, if I do say so myself! (it's actually been about 2 weeks, but I only have time to work on it on weekends). I'll put up a progress picture when the lace pattern takes shape a little more. Right now, you can't quite see the swirls yet.

Would you look at that, this turned into a pretty decent-sized post. Huh.

Frustration

I wrote in my last post about trying to knit/crochet a shawl for prom. I even picked out a sort of fishnet lace crochet stitch pattern for it. I crocheted a couple of inches in this stitch pattern when I realized...I really don't like it. It looks too....cheap. I don't know, just somehow it reminds me of a string bag or something. Not glamorous and elegant and prom-like.


So, I've been looking for other lacey shawl patterns on Ravelry. I'm thinking of making this pattern from Knitty, just making it wider and longer. That's really a last resort pattern, because I think the yarn I'm using would do better in a more classical lace pattern. I'm also thinking about one of those dragon scale-looking lace stitch patterns. I like those, and I think I have an afghan pattern around here somewhere that I can adapt. There's also a leafy lace pattern called branching out that I think would look gorgeous if I knit about 2 or 3 side by side. Especially since the yarn is green and would look terriffic as leaves.


Two problems, though.


1) It needs to be relatively fast to knit/crochet. I've only got until April 25th to have this DONE. And this is working around the intense workload I've got at school right now.
2) I've never knitted lace before. I have never even worked with yarn this thin before. The pattern needs to be simple enough that even a beginner like me can do it with no problem.


Not to mention the fact that I have to actually LIKE it...


Ideas? Suggestions? All are welcome!

Pictures!

Hey hey!

It's been a while. Yeah, i've been busy, then was out of town, then was really sick for a few days, but all that is behind us now. Because I'M BACK, and I come bearing gifts! Well, photos, but I so rarely add photos to my posts (it's a pain in the...ahem...rear end with blogger) so the addition of photos is exciting, and just as good as a gift! (just nod your heads and humor me, people)

First of all, I'm going to prom this year, and I really wanted to feature something handmade in my prom wardrobe. So, I bought some Knitpicks Gloss, a laceweight merino wool/silk blend yarn from knitpicks.com, to make a sort of a stole/wrap thing. The yarn is super soft, and so affordable!
Well, I wasn't really a fan of any of the colors that the yarn is sold in, so I bought 4 skeins of the bare (undyed) yarn to dye with Kool-Aid! I chose the Lemon-Lime flavor, and dyed it Monday while I was staying home sick (i had...and still have...a really bad cold. yuck.)
Here is the result:
It was a whole lot of fun to dye! After it was done and hanging to dry, it took considerable self control to LEAVE IT ALONE and not try to do anything with it while it was wet. It's just so pretty!!!
Here is the makeshift swift that I used to wind the yarn into a ball:
(By the way, the fabulous chairs were hand-painted by my mom! Check out her etsy site at maryjostudio.etsy.com)
And here is a shot of my ball winder with about half of a skein already wound:

I am in LOVE with my ball winder! It makes jobs like this so easy!

And because I am already adding a bunch of pictures, here's one of my cat, Stormy Llewellyn, asleep on a straw hat:

Awwww!

And finally, I leave you with the challenge of the day. What is this picture a close up of?

First one to guess it right gets a prize!