swan lake is totally fini!

it still amazes me what blocking will do for lace. you knit and knit and knit and end up with a light-weight blob of something. soak it in water, squeeze it dry, and then stretch it to an itch of its life (which is kind of scary because it was knit with very skinny, fragile-looking "thread"). somehow, it turns into a thing of beauty (if you are lucky and didn't make too many noticeable mistakes - grin)! i did find that i missed TWO beads in the edging; so did some minor "repair" work in those two spots. other than that, i think i did pretty well. the mistakes aren't too glaring. i am very happy with my finished "swan lake." now, i need some place to go. ah-hh! grocery shopping!!!

"the point"

"the wing"

"the whole enchilada"

zephyr wool-silk in ebony
approx. 80 gm/945 yds
us 4 needles
finished size: 20" x 78" (will probably shrink a little after i remove all the pins)
gauge: who knows? i am a bad girl and didn't swatch!

modifications: i used beading banshee's ending for clue 4 and didn't knit all the cat's paw lace. i am not sure how many i actually knitted. i was going to knit the shorter version but didn't because i would have only had like 4 repeats of the cat's paw lace and thought it would look really funny. i did add beads to clue 4. i hope that it's not too long when i wear it. i am still waiting for it to completely dry before i undo all the pins.

now, i'm itching to start another lace project from my long list of shawl/stole mystery (mostly known now because i didn't start them on time) kals. i could start the mystic water shawl or the secret of the stole ii OR i could wait for the mystic light or secret of the bad nauheim ( both of which start soon). i think i need to buy more lace yarn!

i really should just go finish my serendipitys and work on those 3 new sock designs (plus write up that one for crystal palace yarn) instead of thinking of lace; but the lace is so fun!

ps. hey, debi, i think i finally figured out that blocking thing. send your stuff down! of course, if i block it, i keep it!!!!!!!!!! then i can have a contest and give away all your shawls for prizes!!!!!

edited to correct needle size used for stole. you would think i would know after working on the stole for 8 months.

it's hatched!

it's finally undergone its transformation from mystery stole 3 to "swan lake"! and it only took 8 months almost to the day (actually finished binding off friday night)!! sad but true. but it is finished. i am anxious to see the shawl blocked and in all its glory. i did miss one of the beads on the edging so am trying to decide if i should just leave it or figure out a way to add one now. being me, i will probably try to figure out how to add it on.

in other news, i have a new sock pattern available for your knitting pleasure over at crystal palace yarns. "kilauea" has just been posted. go on over and take a look. i want to thank barbara for knitting a sample in panda silk (so you can see the stitch better). she told me it was "total torture" having to knit with the yarn (she loved every minute of it!!!!)

"kilauea"

CONTEST ALERT!!! secret word is "malabrigo." i have touched it and it is soft. i want some! (i don't know why i am telling you. it may lessen my chances for winning.) head on over to mariknits who is celebrating a blogiversary. leave her a link to your first post. i get "brownie points" if you let her know i sent cha over. (i knew there was a reason why i would tell you!)

is it "startitis" or finishitis"?

i have a bad case of one of those things, for sure. i think it must be "finishitis" because i have no problems starting things. right now, i have on my needles (which i am actively knitting on; ie., not my projects that are hidden away where i don't see them so i can pretend that they don't exists):

1. mate to "zen garden" which had been frogged and needed to be reknit per observations in a previous post. (this may just be a case of "bad sock" time out until i finish the other projects listed below.)
   
2. i just need to knit the toe to the first of my panda silk socks. then i need to write up the pattern. this is a new design for crystal palace yarn. (i am loving the yarn; so why didn't i knit the toe last night instead of winding "dragon dance" (rockin' sock club kit yarn) into a ball?)
   
3. i am still where i was with "swan lake"...almost done. i could probably finish off the rest of the shawl in a day (if i were to pick it up to work on).

i have 3 things on the needles that could easily be finished up in the next two weeks. so why did i start on "serendipity"? i admit that i have been delaying the start of these socks, partly because i was scared that I would not be able to knit the socks so they look like the pattern. how embarrassing would that be?! but i thought it would be fun to wear these at stitches next week; although, i really doubt that i will finish them. for some reason, my family think that eating and wearing clean clothes are a necessary part of life. but start them, i did. and my striping is working out so far. thank goodness.

so, do i have "startitis" because i keep starting new projects or do i have "finishitis" because i am not finishing the projects i HAVE started? help me. i think i have a problem.

so, what's your problem?

ps. i see you guys lurking out there....

we can both be winners!

go on over to the shizknit who is having an unusual contest to celebrate her upcoming post #100. you just need to leave her a comment that i sent you over and if she draws your comment, we both win a yarny prize. what could be easier than that?

i am almost finished with my ms3-swan lake (tortoise version). i am down to the last 12 rows or so. YIPPEE!!!!! then i can ponder which mystery kal shawl/stole i want to start next. i am soooooooo behind; but i can only concentrate on one big lace project at a time.

socks are another matter! and no, i don't know how many pairs i have going. i do have a LOT of needles!

mystery kal's

i am finally to clue 3 of mystery stole 3. i am, obviously, way behind; but there are advantages to this too. first, if there is a mistake in the pattern, someone else finds it. then there are always folks who tweak the pattern just a bit. i will be using beading banshee's clue 4 ending which wraps the lace border around the end before beginning the wing. i think it makes a beautiful transition between the two sections.

i signed up for secret of the stole (sos) and secret-of-chrysopolis shawl kals and am following the action closely. i have not started either one yet. i am not crazy enough to have more than one lace shawl/stole on the needles at one time. (socks, of course, are another knit! and please don't ask how many i have going right now. i am in denial and really don't want to know).

if i am counting correctly, that is 3 mystery kal's! but wait, there is one more... the mystic waters lace shawl kal. go there and read the description of the shawl. go ahead, i'll wait........ (cue in double jeopardy music ). doesn't it sound gorgeous? so, yes, i am signed up for that one too. and i may just have to cast on. a while back, carrie sent me some knit picks alpaca cloud in tide pool as a prize. doesn't this sound like destiny? sign-ups end tonight at midnight somewhere time. anybody wanna join me? now you can say i'm "crazy"!

eta: i actually signed up for 5 mystery shawl/stole kals. i missed one, spring shawl surprice. it doesn't start unil january 1, 2008 so does it really count?

sos!

for "stupid ol' sock" again!

look!

i am working on a sock for the design contest at sos and i ran out of yarn at the toe byjustthismuch! can you believe it? after sampling the pattern with about 3 different yarns (first, claudia handpaints, then cherry tree hill, and finally wollmeise), i finally went back to the claudia handpaints - only because the pattern was causing the other two yarns to pool really funny and i found it very distracting. i really love the wollmeise though.

so, what do i have to show after 6 weeks of sos? i have 4 single socks...one "peony", one each of 2 different designs for bmfa, and this last one with an almost toe. I 'M ON A ROLL!!!! stay tuned to see if i manage to finish any socks for "summer of (NO) socks (so far)."

mystery stole 3 progress: i am still on clue 2. i plan on knitting the "wing". how cool is that?!

so what are you working on?

mystery stole 3

i joined mystery stole 3 in its early stages but had not started because i procrastinated over getting the beads and i wanted beads. i already had some black zephyr in stash. lucky for me there is a bead store in the bellybutton so i managed to wander down there yesterday to buy some shiny black beads. i liked the metallic jewel-tone beads so bought a package of them too but had a hard time fitting my size 12 crochet hook through the holes. for some reason, the beads & holes are a bit smaller than the black beads. so the black beads win! i figure knitting will be hard enough without having to fight with the beads too.

mystery stole 3 - clue 1
jaggerspun zephyr in black with black #8 beads
us 4 vintage all plastic circular

the only other mystery thing that i have ever finished was the mystery shawl 2...one of my first ventures into lace shawls. i learned to knit from a chart. pretty spiffy. lace is still a wonder to me.

now to put in a lifeline...i am not THAT fool-hardy yet!