knit1frog2

blocking razor

I woke up with the hugest headache on the planet.  I remember thinking "...maybe if I slept some more..."   It didn't help so I finally got up and took pictures! :)

As promised, here it is...

the razor blocking with cutie pink flower pins

And in case you wanted to see the new and improved close up to see the lacyness...

the chocolate background looks nice too :)

It always amazes me how blocking works...I love how it straightened out the center stitches between the holey bits!  Yay for that...and how now (brown cow) you can see the holes!  I may even take a shot with it on!  (I know...shocking!!)  I had to block it on an enormous chocolate bath sheet and it went almost 2" over the end.  It was too long for my blocking board.

It's also interesting how you think you will remember what you did when you knit the item...what needles were used, what yarn...little things that made a difference...and since I am inept with the lacy stuff I am seriously happy with the way this turned out.  (I know, I know, there is hardly any lace here!  Little steps man!  Little steps...)  So...the details...

Pattern:  Razor Shell Scarf from Hilltop Yarn Queen Anne

Yarn:  Blue Sky Alpacas Royal in #702 Spanish Leather - 20% off
when I bought it--phew!

Amount:  One hank 100g, 288yds/263m

Needles:  US4 circulars 16" Addi Turbos, extra US4 to hold
finished half while starting other half

Start date: Saturday, 21 April 2007

Completion:  Saturday, 5 May (olé!) 2007

The cast on was done with the two US4 circular ends held together.  The pattern was easy and almost relaxing and the yarn was like butter. I did manage to put it down though, so it wasn't worked on every night, but I tried to get in a few rows here and there when I could. It was easy to get 6" done in a sitting!  Almost every bit of the yarn was used, save the ends and it came to 5.5"W x 68.5"L, more than long enough for me--and a bit wider and longer than the pattern called for.  I had read someplace that scarves should be your height + 3".  The first half was knit to 33" as the pattern stated, then the second half until I had enough to just weave in the ends and it came to 35.5" long.  I wanted to see how far the yarn would go, now I know.  I wish there was a way to kitchener the two together in pattern...hmmm, now that I think about it, I suppose you could knit both halves ending on a RS and then 'purl' the two together on the WS?

p.s. I'm on my 2nd espresso...the first one didn't take and my headache is still over the top maybe I'll take some excedrin as well...

can't stop...

Okay wow.  I can't put this down unless I absolutely have to.  I haven't even wound the hank into a cake yet (odd I know).

Look how far I've gotten...

yay!  sooo much done!

I'm seriously amazed how far I've gotten. I've only had 2 snafus...one occured while watching TV and the other occured just having brain freeze.  It was SO weird.  I was happily knitting along...la la la...and I couldn't for the LIFE of me remember what the pattern was!!  I looked back, I stutter-knitted...and just could NOT get it.  I had to look at the pattern to reset my brain.  Man that was weird.

The pattern is really pretty and it's obvious that it will need blocking b/c you cannot see the YO holes.  For a closer view, click here.

I had a massage today, I'm really ouchy.  I should put the scarf down so I let my arms rest if only a few hours...I...cannot...stop.

Good thing I'm meeting a friend for dinner tonight and have to leave soon, otherwise I'd be a goner.

cha-ching!

Met Z this morning at Macrina for coffee and to fuel up before our visit to Hilltop to peruse the yarns and whatnot.  They had the 20% off thing going on and well, I'm glad they did b/c I didn't realize that Blue Sky Alpaca was that darned expensive.  Ever since I saw the scarf they had hanging in the store, I've wanted to knit it.  Sure enough, when we went back, they had gotten in the exact color that I had wanted...

soak wool wash starter pack!

Sadly, my one hank of Blue Sky was as much as Z's 4 hanks of blue (what a shocker I know, blue!!) yarn that she picked up.  I would never have picked up that book up there.  I didn't even realize Tracey Ullman was on it (I LOVE her!  She's hilarious!), but I was pleasantly surprised at the projects inside of the book.  I think it really helped that they actually had many of the sweaters on the table around the book (smart, very smart...) so we could feel, see and try on the items!  I was sold as you can see from the picture.  I really didn't feel like picking up the EIGHTEEN balls of Karabella Aurora for one of the sweaters on this trip, especially since I have so many things on the needles right now.  I need to get some of them done, I am feeling a bit anxious with so many unended things.

I need to figure out what I'm going to do with the not-so-Simple sweater.  The pattern obviously didn't figure in MY bust in, so it's not fitting as well as I had hoped.  To go back and add short rows now would mean I would need to take the sleeve out (yes, only one), undo the shoulders and frog the collar off of the sweater, frog the front panels down and reknit it.  sigh. 

Still.  not.  decided.

In the meantime, yes I couldn't resist, I cast on for the new scarf and wow is it soft.  I've got 6" done, 27 more to go for this part...

I do have the back almost completely done for the cnr though!  I'll be doing japanese short rows for the shoulders and I'm feeling all smart about that, yet kind of daft at the same time while trying to figure out how to do both sides at one since it's been so long since I've done shoulders this way.