I know. Another asymmetric shawl. The LazyKaty I made for my Mum has tapped an unfathomable fount of shawl-lust. A fount that SHOULD NOT EXIST. Especially after the shawlicide of my first attempt. Brrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.
Truthfully, I kind of got a little excited after finishing that first shawl and decided I was going to make a shawl/scarf for my sister's Christmas. She has chosen the colour yarn without knowing what it's for. I suspect she thinks it’s for socks, because that’s what I do! I knit socks. (And to be fair, when I was first learning to knit, scarves were all I made, but that passed once I discovered the joy that is socks. I think my sister has received at least four scarves in differing levels of competence from me so far, so I doubt she'd be expecting another version.)
Anyway. The chosen colourway of Noro Kureyon Sock (236) is making me salivate. It’s the only ball I could find of this colour, and I'm slightly kicking myself that I promised it away. Never mind, I’m sure it’ll look gorgeous. (And if it doesn't, well, what is knitted can be un-knitted and made into socks. possibly for me! Heh!)
Notes:
1 I’ve added a stitch marker before the first k2tog - the placement stays the same throughout the pattern (so far) and it means I don’t have to count the number of knit stitches to the edging stitches. WIN!
2 I still hate purling. If I didn’t dislike the appearance of garter stitch so much, I’d be knitting both sides like there’s no tomorrow!
3 Damn, but I want this green-coloured Noro for myself. WHY IS IT SO RARE, DAMMIT?
4 I’m replacing the skp with a k2tog tbl because it looks less baggy than my typical skp.
5 I’m going down a needle size to 5mm. I have suspicions this may be a good idea, length-of-wool-wise.
6 I HAVE to learn to knit backwards. Oo - nice video by the Knit Witch HERE! And another for continental (which helped me more, I must say) HERE.
7 Why Noro? WHY????? Orange. ORANGE? Just wrong. Wrong, I say.
:: rings bell ::
Row 79 and all is weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeell (apart from that damn orange. Yuck.)
:: rings bell ::
8 I’ve realised that although this feels like it’s going slower than the LazyKaty, it’s not really - it’s just that the edging on one side is already being incorporated into the shawl. :: phew ::
9 I should never invoke the wrath of the Shawl Gods by stating things are going well. I now need to learn how to pick up lace stitches.
10 I’ve added stitch markers to show the 11 repeated sections in the edging. It’s that or forever counting, and I’m doing rather shabbily at that so far…
11 Yeah, the name keeps changing. I’m nothing if not whimsical. And mathematically challenged. I should maybe keep a note, because I'm probably going to name it something Autumn-themed to justify that rusty orange that infiltrated an otherwise beautiful set of colours… ‘Two Plus Two Equals Three’; ‘Oops, It Just Fell On The Needles’, ‘Autumnal Equinox’… But seeing the colours, I’m reminded more of malachite and moss. Oh. Well. That'll do!
12 ETA D’oh. After frogging (oops - did that come as a surprise? Details further on at note 14/15…) I’ve realised (now that I’m back on track) that the stitch markers idea was great, but as a guideline only - their placement is not a rigid thing in the actual pattern contruction…
Things I Have Learned - follow the damn pattern.
13 I have to add that the colours are nearly as garish in real life. My flash is not conducive to a realistic, well, anything really.
14 I'm so crap. I’ve spent the entire day on 3 rows, making mistakes, counting, re-counting, jiggling about. I am so frustrated. ENTIRELY my fault. It seems this *easy* pattern is not easy enough for me. :(
15 Kill me. Kill me now. I’m going to have to frog this baby. Way too many mistakes from which to recover.
16 I need a moment…
17 Maybe I can frog a little and pick up before the edging starts… … … … … WOOHOO! 1 day of ‘knitting’ lost, but I think I may have salvaged it.
18 Well, I am almost certainly going to run out of yarn before I reach the end of the shawl, so going to have to search for some contingency yarn!
19 I’ve reached the first of the individual edging points, so I’m going to have to figure out what the crochet method *really* asks for to connect one point to the next. Ulp... oh. Actually - it’s a simple chain and slip for 8 stitches or so. My crochet is baggy as hell, but it gets the job done! (Poke the hook through the yo, pull through, then pull through st on hook. Make another stitch on hook, then poke the hook through the next yo and lather, rinse, repeat…! Please note extensive use of technical terms.)
20 WOOHOO! Finished with 4 metres of yarn left! FOUR METRES! Fabulous! Contingency yarn is not needed after all, which is grand, because I haven't found any yet!
21 Now the interesting part - blocking, and the never-ending questions of 'will it stay all nice and lacy, or will it ping back into a pretty-coloured tangle of nothingness...'?
22 There is nothing more sublime than taking out the blocking pins and the work staying blocked! No ping-back for this baby! WOOHOO!
23 And finally, the really fun part - taking photos of the finished item!
malachite and moss - for my sister
