As I mentioned previously, I wound thousands and thousands, millions and millions, of yards of yarn to keep me occupied during my recovery phase. A lot of it was laceweight, but much of it was not. But I have really been focusing my efforts on the lace. Plain stockinette is too boring when your lifestyle is super boring!! Three lace FOs and one lace WIP later…
Sally and I happily jumped on The Sanguine Gryphon Gaia Lace band wagon when she revealed a huge new batch of her signature colors. We surmised she was preparing for the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival, where she had a booth (Sally said you couldn’t fight your way in!). The color Lobstrosity (yes, a crazy name) is an intense blue-green that is absolutely STUNNING. We bought a skein for each of us, lemmings that we are, running off the cliff in search of rare and beautiful yarns!
Both of us thought something in leaves. Something knit side to side perhaps. I thought, beads — just a touch. Sally found a beautiful, vintage-looking pattern: Acanthus (available on Ravelry for $1.99 — perfect!). I started out calling it, “I Can’t Knit This.” The charts do not line up logically so you can’t tell where you are. After a few repeats, you start to get the hang of it, so I ended up finishing it in a few days.
My finished Acanthus:
It is small. The finished size just goes around the shoulders and is only 14-15 inches wide at the widest point. But it is a lovely accent piece.
I am also working on a larger shawl in 100% silk: Mulberry Silk from Miss Babs, color Smooch (I would link to it, but I don’t think she makes it any more):
The shawl in question is again from Romi Hill, Fiori di Sole. I knew I wanted to make this one and knew the pink was “the” yarn for it. Others who have made it ended up with H-U-G-E shawls so I thought I would make mine a little smaller. With my gauge, I am not going to be able to get away with that and will need to knit the 5th repeat of Chart E after all. Darn! I finished the 4th repeat and would have been able to move on. Oh well, more knitting for me! I start back to work next week so knitting all the live long day will soon be over. 🙁
PS: Stashdragon said, “The Acanthus shawl and Lobstrosity (!) yarn are a perfect pair. Well played.” I should have mentioned that Sangrine Gryphon Gaia Lace was the yarn used to make the prototype for Acanthus.
Oh man, that silk yarn looks so fluid! Like you could drink it! (Is that weird to say about yarn? Maybe I’m just thirsty.)
Comment by Yarndude — June 14, 2011 @ 12:56 am
Perfect! Love the color.
Comment by Kym — June 14, 2011 @ 8:45 am
The Acanthus is absolutely gorgeous and perfectly accents a plain white blouse. As for the Smooch why IS it that every time I see a perfect shade of pink, it is already unavailable.
So glad you are having a successful (and apparently, quick) recovery!
Comment by Chloe — June 14, 2011 @ 8:58 am
No doubt you are ready for some return to normal life but gosh, the hours of guilt-free knitting time you’ve enjoyed have made me very jealous!
Comment by Wool free and Lovin' knit — June 14, 2011 @ 10:07 am
The Acanthus shawl and Lobstrosity (!) yarn are a perfect pair. Well played.
Comment by stashdragon — June 14, 2011 @ 11:58 am
As soon as I saw your Acanthus, I immediately went and bought the pattern. It’s gorgeous. I’m also going to work on a Romi design called Maia. It’s really beautiful.
Comment by Nik — June 14, 2011 @ 3:44 pm
Love the lobstery goodness. I think I NEED that pattern.
As to Fiori, I loved knitting it, and I did copper. I also had the perfect pink silk (Yarn Chef) for my second Fiori (I gave away the first to my sister for her 50th), but when I asked my neice if she’d like something from my stash to honor her graduation from college, she naturally chose the pink silk. The perfect pink is perhaps the most elusive colour for me to find.
Comment by Susan — June 14, 2011 @ 5:21 pm
Barry told me that you’d taken a little “step back” in your recovery, and I was so sorry to hear about it. I was thinking that you did have the PERFECT past time to wile away the hours while mending yourself. We missed you on Sunday, but we knew that you were here in spirit! Heal soon!!! Love, your baby cousin.
Comment by Cousin Marti — June 14, 2011 @ 5:57 pm
I know your Fiori will turn out wonderful. I looove the color, and silk is perfect for the shawl. Mine is Tanis mulberry silk, and I love the way it drapes. I am on a huge lace spree myself, and you have just inspired me to buy the acanthus pattern. It sounds like it will be a challenge.
Comment by Astrid — June 14, 2011 @ 7:09 pm
Just wanted to share with you that Lobstrosity comes from a Stephen King book. 🙂 As I am not The Sanguine Griphon, I can’t swear that that’s where she took the name from, but hey, now you know.
Anyways, love your blog. And the shrug is gorgeous.
Comment by Emily — June 14, 2011 @ 9:03 pm