theraineysisters knitting and so much more

July 11, 2008

From Susan — My Peeps is Back

Filed under: Mystic Waters Shawl,Wrapped in Care — lv2knit @ 12:10 am

Summer in Minnesota means that people go “Up North” — to cabins and resorts to enjoy our 15,000 lakes.  The city becomes a ghost town every weekend — especially over the 4th.  It has been tough finding two knitting peeps together at one time at my Thursday night group.  However, the peeps showed up tonight, at least 8 or so of us.  It was a wonderful way to spend an evening.  Are you knitting less and enjoying it more?  Then you must be at knitting night! 😉

Thanks to all of you for the unexpected and overwhelming response to the “old baby sweater.”  I guess the old classics truly stand the test of time.  I would share the pattern, but it would take a lot to uncover all the brain-webs and get to my inspiration, lost long ago!

I have been knitting a little here and a little there: trying to wrap up a shawl for Wrapped in Care and one for moi.  Dee Moore received three shawls from persons other than myself and has given one away.  She said when she saw how touched the mom was upon receiving the shawl, she was convinced this is a wonderful thing to do. 

I have been working on the Mystic Waters Shawl.  I hope people love it as my as I when I get it done.  I don’t know if it is a flashy as the Peacock Feathers or some other shawls, but something about it is very appealing to me.  I think it is the variety in the patterning that I like and the repetition of the squares within squares around the outer border.

 

I spoke to Sally today.  She has no cell phone service most of the time and cannot send emails, so she is pretty much incommunicado.   I miss our daily ::hourly:: phone chats and constant emails, etc.  It’s just not the same!

June 21, 2008

From Susan — Whatcha Working On?

Filed under: Mystic Waters Shawl — lv2knit @ 8:23 am

Thank you all for the wonderful outpouring of support for the Wrapped in Care program.  I received a number of stories that validate the project and a number of people who have jumped on board to knit a shawl and/or get the word out to knitting groups, church knitting ministries, etc.  Thanks!  I created a Ravelry Group called Wrapped in Care — I would love it if those of you who are working on shawls would join!  You’re all issued a formal invitation to join the group!

This weekend, instead of spending two full days at a soccer tournament ( – er, Bad, Bad Mommy! – ), I will be sewing.  I am making the dress that goes with my Mystic Waters Shawl (which isn’t making much progress) — here’s the pattern:

Check out the cute pants that go under the dress!  I thought that was a great idea — more coverage without looking frumpy, so I bought the dark blue to go with.  It says “fast & easy” so I hope there is truth in advertising!  My real sewing days are over.  I used to do close-to-couture sewing and made all of my clothes.  Now, fast and easy rules!

I’ve stationed myself downstairs in view of the DVD player and will sew to Pride and Prejudice or something along those lines.  I know every word by heart, so it can play in the background.

What are the rest of you working on?  My knitting is in such a doldrum lately that I would love to be inspired by others!!

 

May 28, 2008

From Susan — Play Mystic for Me

Filed under: Mystic Waters Shawl — lv2knit @ 7:20 am

That’s what Lettie said, and I had to comply!  Bad puns abound in our household.

Row 226 and Chart D complete.  Using my crack math skills (or should I say, my math on crack!), I figure that around Row 260 of 367, I will be at the ~50% mark area-wise.  There is something so wrong about that!  I feel better deluding myself with row counts and not square inches :).  But I must be at least 1/3 done…The picture isn’t great or artistic, but the green is pretty close to accurate.

This is a fun shawl to knit and I attribute it to lack of repetitive patterning.  The squares along the sides repeat, but not noticeably and the internal patterns have a rhythm, but the shawl in its entirety does not feel repetitive.  It certainly is not mindless, and I prefer that for my at-home knitting.  My mindless, take-along knitting is not progressing very well because I do not have much time to work on it.  Monogamy assures faster results, that’s for sure!

Rudee “accused” me 😉 of not being completely honest about my “stay-cations,” citing Sally’s and my recent trip to NYC.  I agree and disagree: did you notice who was missing on that trip?  My family peeps!  I go on trips with Surly, but my family and I never go anywhere!  Our family vacations are non-existent :(.

The weather here is downright b-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r-r.  Last year it was in the 90’s and now it’s barely making it to 60.

May 26, 2008

From Susan — Mystical Progress

Filed under: Mystic Waters Shawl — lv2knit @ 12:15 am

Happy Memorial Day weekend to all of you.  Are many of you having “stay-cations” this summer??  Stay-cations are those taken close to home to avoid rising gas prices.  All my vacations are stay-cations…

Anyway, part of my weekend plans involve knitting — shocking, I know ;).  I’ve been puttering along on the Mystic Waters Shawl and still really enjoying it.  The chart has grown to 4 pages wide already (landscape, no less!), so I now have it folded in half. There are no repeats to the chart, so I marked off 10-stitch intervals to help keep track of where I am.  The sts tend to line up clearly at various points, so that helps, too.

I’m in the 180’s — er– make that the 200’s out of 367 — 50% done with the rows so ~30% (?) done with the shawl.  I am on Chart D out of Charts A through I.  Shawls are a lot of knitting, n’est-ce pas?

Click here for a close up.  The color is greener than the pictures, but still very pale.

PS: We had some terrible weather come through today, and a tornado touched down within a few miles of here.  Further to the northeast a town was flattened. 

 

May 18, 2008

From Susan — Mystic-fied

Filed under: Mystic Waters Shawl — lv2knit @ 9:14 pm

i am really liking this shawl!!  I am in the early phase of infatuation when you need to knit all you can!  It fades quickly as we all know.  Strike while the knitting needle is hot, as they say.

I am done with the first two charts (130 rows complete): 26 x 13 inches:

The finished shawl is supposed to be about 50×100 inches!! Using my bogus math skills, that means I am ~13.5% done.   That’s not too bad, though I will never keep up the same pace. 

Tomorrow is Monday :(.

May 17, 2008

From Susan — A Small (but Time Consuming!) FO

Filed under: Alix's Prayer Shawl,Mystic Waters Shawl — lv2knit @ 11:13 pm

I have been working on a stealth project for a while and finally finished it.  However, it did not turn out quite the way I wanted, so it will not be going to the use for which it was intended.  I think the yarn is too heavy for the project and also not of high quality — the color runs!  I was disappointed but not devastated.

The FO is a shawl: Alix’s Prayer Shawl designed by Myrna A.I. Stahman.  Many people have made this shawl and it is a nice (and FREE!) pattern.  The origins are from a novel by Debbie MaComber which was lent to me by a work peep.  It has a knitting theme so she thought of me.  The books are a light and easy read with a lot of knitting references and quotes from many notable knitters.  I am reading them in the wrong order (3-1-2), but it’s no matter!  The Alix shawl was part of Book 3.

I used a mohair blend from my stash and US Size 9 needles.  I really think this is a nice, easy lace shawl pattern and would look wonderful in a lightly variegated or semi-solid sockweight yarn (like Koigu). 

I also started another project which is just getting off the ground — it, too, is a shawl.  What is with the shawls lately??  I have no idea!  Maybe I got the shawl bug from Surly.  I have at least three more in queue!

Anyway, I am making the Mystic Waters Shawl. 

It is a gorgeous pattern.  I am again using yarn from my stash (I am so proud ) — Zephyr and Silk Laceweight in Sage.  I am already in the 90’s for rows completed, which means it’s about 5″ long!  This is tiny knitting and a huge shawl.  Many people have also made this shawl — will 2 skeins of Zephyr be enough??  I’ve seen 2-3 listed and I only have two.

Mitered Jacket is in a slump but is the only knitting I can take with me.  The MWS is too intense (must follow the pattern stitch by stitch, line by line!). 

 

Powered by WordPress