December 29, 2006
Unst--epilogue
The Unst Stole from Sharon Miller's Heirloom Knitting.
Begun on March 19, 2006, finished on December 21, 2006.
Knit in Lacis Shetland Cobweb on 2mm needles
Finished dimensions: 32.5 inches wide, 80 inches long
Posted by missalicefaye at 07:33 PM | Comments (25)
December 18, 2006
25 minutes
That's how long it takes me to complete one edging repeat on the Unst stole.
Approximate total time spent on edging so far: 56.25 hours
Estimated time left: 8.33 hours
Perhaps by the end of the week?
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:42 AM | Comments (6)
November 17, 2006
Edgy
Started the edging for the Unst stole during a four-hour delay in the Fort Lauderdale airport on the way home. Continued during an insane day-long Full Metal Alchemist marathon before returning to work (sniff). Slow going and a bit terrifying at first (is this when the yarn is finally going to snap?), but most enjoyable now. It even has a spider insertion.
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:25 AM | Comments (5)
November 06, 2006
Dear Jane goes to Cayman
Hand appliqued on the flight from New York to Fort Lauderdale (en route to Grand Cayman....)
Day 2 of vacation here on the island. Resort wi-fi by the ocean is just one of the lovely perks here.
And these are a few of my favorite things:
The second border of the Unst stole is almost done. The edging should be a bit more manageable for travel knitting! :)
Posted by missalicefaye at 07:20 PM | Comments (9)
October 30, 2006
Unst: The First Border
The first border of the Unst Stole is complete. I added about 40 rows and two new motifs to lengthen the stole by a few inches.
(One of the new motifs, adapted from a pattern in Heirloom Knitting.)
And now to do it all over again for Border 2!
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:02 AM | Comments (6)
October 18, 2006
Spiders I have loved
Up to row 62 of the first border. Since I'm using gossamer-weight yarn rather than the cobweb yarn the pattern calls for, the stole is turning out to be a little shorter than I'd like lengthwise. So I'm planning to add another repeat of the diamond grid and another tree-like motif.
Have I mentioned lately how much I love the spiders?
Posted by missalicefaye at 08:59 AM | Comments (8)
October 10, 2006
Caprice
Yes, I've started Rusted Root and Dragone. (Click here and here for progress). Yes, I've enjoyed working on both.
And yet. The fine lace--it has an inexplicable hold on me. So I pulled out the Unst stole again.
Stretched it out.
Fell a bit in love.
7 out of 10 pattern repeats completed for the center. I think I'm finally ready to commit to this project, crazy gossamer weight single-ply yarn and all.
(Pattern from Heirloom Knitting by Sharon Miller.)
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:37 AM | Comments (7)
April 06, 2006
Fluff
One of the best things about lace is knowing that this bit of fluff:
will one day grow up to look like this:
Incidentally, as my two-hour-plus experience with winding the wool for this stole wasn't exactly a deep, fulfilling experience, I've finally procured my own wool winder.
The swift is on its way. Finally, I've progressed to 19th century knitting technology.
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:07 AM | Comments (7)
March 31, 2006
Unst, etc.
And, no, I have not yet managed to block the Spider Queen Shawl. Blame the DMV for sucking out my will to live last weekend.
However, I do have a picture of the Unst Stole, Day 11:
No disasters with the yarn yet, and I enjoy working with it more and more. We have entered the Cautious Optimism phase.
Meanwhile, I decided to work on something sturdier for a bit of relief. I couldn't find a small triangular shawl pattern that I was excited about, so I'm making up my own using patterns from Heirloom Knitting. The center triangle is made up of the rosebud pattern and the border is Old Shale. Edging TBA. And let me tell you, compared to the lace knitting I've been doing, Old Shale is putting me to sleep. It will block out nice and pretty, though.
I also did some more swatching for the wedding ring shawl.
Gossamer merino
Gossamer silk
Jon prefers the silk, but I kind of like the way the merino blocks out. Not to mention that it's easier to work with. Not an insignificant consideration.
Further proof that things I've planted will grow:
I think these may be the black tulips. Very exciting!
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:42 AM | Comments (2)
March 24, 2006
Unst stole
As predicted, I finished knitting the Spider Queen shawl on Sunday. No pictures for you, though, until it's blocked this weekend. I'm mean like that.
Meanwhile, I've started another semi-major undertaking:
This is the beginning of the center portion of the Unst Stole from Sharon Miller's Heirloom Knitting. (Finished stole is pictured here.)
I'm using the cobweb Shetland yarn from Laci's (which is not actually Shetland wool at all. Go figure.) Here it is pictured (left) with the Jaggerspun Zephyr I used for the Spider Queen:
I must admit that there is a distinct possibility of disaster occuring with this project. (cue ominous music) The yarn is quite fragile and has some thin spots. I'm hoping that splicing will take care of these. We shall see....
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:24 AM | Comments (3)
March 01, 2006
Planning ahead
No pictorial updates of the Spider Queen yet--I should be done with the second border very soon, so maybe I'll have photographic evidence by Friday.
Meanwhile, when one is pursuing a complex and time-consuming shawl in a fine yarn, what does one look forward to starting?
An even more complex and time-consuming shawl in an even finer yarn.
Yarn pictured with regular-sized paper clip and bit of floss for scale.
Having never worked with cobweb weight yarn before, I plan to work something a bit smaller before diving into the Wedding Ring Shawl--probably Hazel Carter's Sampler Stole from A Gathering of Lace. Hazel Carter being my new lace hero and all.
Posted by missalicefaye at 09:08 AM | Comments (3)
