Tuesday, April 26, 2016

Still Alive!

Yikes! I feel like it's been ages since I've had a new design off the needles, and maybe it has. This damnable tennis elbow that comes and goes keeps me from doing lots of knitting, but I have actually been producing things.
This wee pile of yarn has the most immediate plans.



That represents 3 shawls. Two have already been knit and are awaiting me to knit them again in thicker/more suitable yarn - lying there unknit on the table. And one I have already started knitting.


This is a departure for me in many ways. A singles yarn (rather than multiple plied singles), an asymmetrical shape, and garter stitch. I may have said rude things about garter stitch (and singles yarn) in the past, but I take it all back. To be fair, there's only a little bit of garter stitch, which will be interspersed with a whole lot of lace. I can't show you much because I'm so slooooooow.

The singles yarn is delightful and represents a departure for me because in the past I've found that it self-destructs too easily - and pilly, fuzzy yarns REALLY annoy me. But I think this one will be absolutely fine for a shawl. The yarn is Dark Harbour Yarn, and mine contains 30% silk for a wonderful shine. The dyer Nikki told me something i have been wondering about but didn't actually 'know' - a singles yarn shines like it does because there is no ply shadow (the silk also shines). In plied yarns each of the plies creates a shadow and affects the way the light reflects off it. I'm really enjoying knitting with it and I can't wait until I get to the bit where I can start some lace!
I don't really like posting images of designs until I'm sure they're actually going to work, but I really feel that if it weren't for this elbow thing i would have had it and the other two finished by now!

Here's a photo of my daughter when she was about 4 years old. This is a photo she took on my phone the other day - a photo of a photo. I remember she was SO delighted to be wearing her Grandma's fancy shawl (circa 1970). Crocheted in Grandma's own handspun yarn.