It's a bird, it's a plane!

It's a Cylon raider!  At least, that's what I thought Aeolian looked like on the blocking mats the evening after an afternoon of stretching and pinning and scrutinizing and re-pinning.

The crimson adds to the effect of something just slightly alive, and the shape, that sharp-pointed curved wingspan, well, you be the judge.  (PS that teddy bear in the corner is Vincent--brother to Theo, of course!--version 1, whom I scrapped 'cause I ran out of yarn.  Version 2 in progress now.  Also, can somebody remind me whether bears and/or pandas have thumbs?  I want to say bears no/pandas yes?  Something tells me I should've taken Comparative Animal Physiology during my Bio major in college...)

 But back to Aeolian, I do have to admit it looks rather gorgeous when worn, and the pattern is inspired.  But is that really how tiny it is?  Good thing I'm living in the Deep South now and don't actually need wraps and things for warmth.  Otherwise we might have a slight problem.  Now, I'm only sometimes a glutton for punishment, but if I ever make one of these babies again for a gift, I'm going to have to go big (full-size shawl) or go home.

 And this concludes Shawl-block 2012.  At least for now.  It's true what they say out there: lace is an addiction.  There may have to be more of this.  Gulp!

Showing off

What, you think I'm not going to post pictures?  This was part 1 of Shawl-block 2012, wherein I take my lace shawl projects of the past few months and do the right thing, i.e. wet-block them into submission.  Shown here is TARDIS shawl stretched out on foam sheets, available in the crafts section at the local Walmart, apparently.  I was looking for the foam puzzle-piece thingies that lock together, but the toys section was oddly disappointing, so foam sheets and magic tape it is.  Unfortunately it's less mobile than my original brilliant plan, so if you're going to do it this way you may need to plan ahead, space-wise.  Great thing about this project is it actually shapes pretty readily, no wires or fancy manipulations required.

 By the way, y'all are gonna get very familiar with the insides of my bathrooms because strategically placed mirrors are my friends.  Also, new apartment, new mirrors, new rules.  Took me forever to line up these shots properly, and if you hallucinate, you might actually be able to see some of the detailing.

 Yes, I'm in my jammies, and yes, that is a Hogwarts tee.  Why do you ask?

Quick note about the pattern if, like me, you plan on wearing it into the outside world when it's finally not 90+ degrees and more humid than the Jurassic period: it does end up very long and not particularly wide, especially at its ends, so expect it to cover essentially the same areas in back that a somewhat generous shrug might do.  I think you can probably get a bit more up-and-down with some strategic stretching during the blocking phase, but we're talking maybe an inch or two, so plan accordingly.


This concludes Shawl-block 2012 part 1.  Next up: Aeolian, or possibly a somewhat larger-than-intended teddy bear.  We shall see whether legs or more blocking strikes me as more annoying.  Till we meet again....

Detour for a good cause

In the process of packing/shipping my entire life over to North Myrtle Beach, I decided to put the complicated lace projects on hold for something a little cuddlier.  A friend of mine's mother is a nurse who works with (or possibly runs?) the bereavement program at her local NICU.  Part of that is something called the Empty Arms Program, which gives a teddy bear to each mom who's lost a baby.  They're currently low on bears, and since I happen to have a metric crap-ton of Lionbrand Jiffy and approximately as much stuffing, a new project idea was born.  I don't know that much about the program itself or the logistics of donation, but if my readership of 2-ish (besides the Desultory Knitter, of course ;)) would like to contribute (you don't have to make the bears yourself--I'm just doing it 'cause I'm a little cuckoo), I just Googled Chandler Regional Hospital Empty Arms Program, and I think there's people you can contact.  In the meantime, I'm going to knit some bears.

Adventures in lace knitting, part 3-1/2

I have to hand it to the lace-knitters out there: it's not for the faint of heart (or clumsy of fingers).  There were moments in this shawl where I was almost certain I'd screwed it up irreparably and would have to start all over again.  Imagine my surprise and immense relief when I found my dropped stitches and forgotten yarnovers and somehow, miraculously, managed to recover from a couple of botched nupps.  You almost can't see them, and probably won't once it's all blocked out.  I fully intended to leave all nupps and beads out of my future lace endeavors, but at the end of the day (or fortnight, or possibly month), they do add a little to the pattern, don't they?  Oh, bother.  Take a drink for every one of my knitting taboos that I've now officially set to rights.  If you're still sober at the end, um, whatever you do, don't tackle Estonian lace.  Go knit a pair of socks or something.  Or wrist-warmers.  Anything involving long stretches of knit or purl and no small parts that can fall into a glass and get aspirated and have to be removed bronchoscopically.  Yes, I went there.  As for the rest of my remaining time in St. Louis, I'm going to go sort my hunter green merino laceweight and study for the Boards.  Possibly at the same time.  Because it's how I roll.

wtf and other loose screws

Oh, the joy of moving, especially halfway across the country.  Definitely puts a damper on projects of the sewing/knitting persuasion when you're trying to pack up your crap and/or find somebody else to pack up your crap and ship it on its way and you uncover stashes of things you didn't remember existed and, honestly, at a time like this, really kind of wish had stayed that way.  (Oh, the Asian print tunic top I was going to make.  Oops.)  Then there's trying to find a box big enough to accommodate the cutting mat I never use.  Or the nest of shredded paper I found under the--now emptied out!--drawer of my sewing table.  Actually, I can see why the cat tries to get in there all the time now.

And then factor in trying to balance a long-term task like lace-knitting with *important!* chores like cleaning the bathroom, vacuuming the floors (a losing battle at best when you have a long-haired human with a long-haired pet, both of whom shed like the dickens), and finding a legitimate moving company that ships cars.  The bathroom saga is proof that nobody should ever have to put up with me as a roommate.  Also, my brain seems to have decided that the reason why my ideal schedule this week seems to be staying up till 2 and sleeping in till 10 is that it thinks it's the summer hols.  Its words, not mine.  Seriously, what's up with that, brain?  That paired with a sudden craving for Indian food and beer.  Honestly, I should get back to knitting, or Dalek cross-stitch, or editing a poetry collection, or whatever it is one does while procrastinating.