Is it Monday Already?

No, wait, it's Tuesday.... long weekends do that to me. Add the fact that even though it was Memorial Day, we still have a week before it's June, and I am thoroughly confused.

Besides being Memorial Day this was also Graduation Weekend, which around here is almost a bigger deal. The graduation ceremony was Friday evening. Often I don't attend (though as a teacher, Mr S. is pretty faithful), but this year my friend Gretchen's twins were graduating - two of the nicest kids you will ever meet.



All of my pictures came out badly, but those are the twins leading the recessional (Molly was valedictorian).

The rest of the weekend was pretty much taken up with graduation parties. Almost every senior has a party, with a buffet and a display of pictures and awards/activities, and a table for gifts. The kids pretty much make the rounds. Adults are by invitation, but lots of invitations go out. Some people rent halls, some have them at home, some rent tents, or use a machine shed. As a teacher, Mr S gets lots of invitations, and we realized a few years back that it is impossible to get to all of them, but we hit quite a few. Fortunately, the weather was beautiful, and we had some pretty drives through the country, had the opportunity to run into folks we hadn't seen in awhile and generally enjoyed the sense of community good fellowship.

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Now it's back to work. My goal for the week is to get the triangle scarf pattern into final format. I asked CatBookMom to take a look at the first draft, and, as I expected, her comments were very helpful. A big "Thank You"!

OK, Cindy, buckle down....................

Take Two

So.... I've re-blocked the edge. I dampened it and shaped it, and then threw in a shot of steam for good measure. Seemed to work like a charm. The top edge, she is flat. Looks nice this way, too, if I do say so myself.




Note to Ms. Bee: I will bring it to Last Saturday Knitting on the 31st. Note to everyone else: if you aren't reading Ms Bee, you are missing some seriously funny blogging.

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Until Grace mentioned it in a comment, I had completely forgotten that the 20th was "my day" on the 2008 Pattern a Day calendar. There's my little "Dazed and Confused" scarf in all it's zig-zaggy glory.





The pattern is also available as a stand alone download at Ravelry (not free, but very thrifty).


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Big thanks to Bets for the sock book shout out, made my day, especially from a woman whose taste in fine china and ability to handle firearms I admire in equal measure (and no, I'm not being sarcastic). And, oh yeah, she's a pretty awesome knitter/designer.

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It occurs to me that in the postscript to my phone company rant I used the term "working stiffs" and that it is just possible someone might misconstrue this as derogatory. So I want to make it clear: in my mind the "working stiffs" of the world are the ones who do the real work, on the front lines, don't usually get to have input on decisions even if they know more than "upper management" about the nitty-gritty of the job, do get the flack when there's a problem and more often than not aren't paid nearly what they deserve. Blue, white or pink collar, I take my hats off to them all. I've been a working stiff as often as not in my highly checkered career, and I'm proud of it.

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Well, that ended up being a pretty rambly post. Guess I'll just hush up now.

Take One

OK, here's the version with a rolled edge at the top. First observation: as knit it's more of a scarf than a shawl, though it could easily be worked to any size with more yarn and more repeats.









For myself, I like the look and would wear it with the edge as it is. There's an informality about it that suits my general style. But in the interest of comparison I'm going to see if re-blocking can prevent the roll. Stay tuned for updates.

Rolling Along?

Uh oh.
I did finish the triangle scarf/shawl. Laid it out to block yesterday. Checked on it this morning and....





the top edge is rolling. I was afraid this might happen, because the garter based section is really narrow. The swatch didn't do this, but the swatch 1) was in a different yarn, same weight but different structure - two ply instead of four, less twist and 2) it was much smaller and 3) though I'm not the first to mention it, swatches lie.


Now to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure I object to the look of the roll. In fact, I kind of like it. This is not a particularly formal looking lace. The question is, would other knitters look at it and think "I don't like that pattern because edges are not 'supposed' to roll"? Or can I just point it out as a design feature?


Another oddity, it's only rolling along half the length. Did I just inadvertently mash that roll into place when I put a towel on top of it for the night (to keep the cats off)? This was not pinned out, just stretched to shape and left to dry. I often block this way, and can give my theoretical reasons backed by a competent authority - maybe I will someday




But for now, what to do, what to do? I could try to re-block it flat (maybe with steam). Or I could spritz that flat part with water and nudge it into a roll, too.. Or I could rip back and work a wider edging. But design wise I don't particularly want a wider edging on that side.

I believe it was E.B. White who advised that if you aren't sure of the pronunciation of a word, you should speak it loudly and confidently, because you might just fool everyone else.

I think my first approach will be "spritz and roll". I'll keep you posted.

Variegated Yarn and Knitted Lace

They don't always work well together, but in this case I'm very happy with the results. The pattern stitch and the colorway are playing nicely.

The pattern stitch has very simple lines. In this yarn it comes across almost more as a textured openwork than lace. The Shepherd Sport has really good stitch definition, which means that the " sl1, k2tog, psso" decreases read almost like little cables.

I'm working the triangle from the bottom point upwards to avoid the "spine" that forms at the center when working from the top down. (I don't object to this construction, myself; it just wasn't the look I was after here). In some colorways this would result in strong horizontal color lines fighting with the vertical lines of the pattern stitch. But I don't think that's a problem here for three reasons: 1) the length of any one color is relatively short, 2) all of the colors are quite similar in in tone and saturation and 3) it's an analogous color scheme (though it ranges from a very greenish blue through a very reddish violet). No single color stands out too strongly; they all blend well visually.

Looks like this should be finished by Monday, which in a way is too bad. This is one of those projects where I've been enjoying the process as much as the anticipation of the finished object.

Goings On

Believe it or not, I really have been knitting.



At the bottom you see some initial swatches, at the top the beginning of the actual project. This is the item I was knitting "straight from the swift." It will be a large triangle scarf/small shoulder shawl depending on how far the yarn goes. I've finished one skein and have one to go. It's Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in the "Tahoe" colorway.

I've also started a sock. The cuff will be turned down when worn, so what you are looking at is the back of the pattern stitch. The ribbing will be hidden by the cuff. It's just there on the theory that it will help the cuff fit more snugly. This is also LLSS in "Sherbet"



I've had a certain amount of interference while working on it.



The sweater is one I did not make, though people always ask if I did. It came from St Vinnie's, never worn. There were several, which made me think some business had donated excess inventory. It cost much less than the yarn to make it would have, or even the roving to spin the yarn, so how could I pass it up?

HUDSON RIVER TRIANGLE pattern

I think of Hudson River as a casual lace, just a little something to throw around your shoulders on a breezy day. Worked from the lower point upward, 430 yards of fingering/sock weight yarn will make a large scarf/shoulder shawl as shown. But the pattern can easily be enlarged, either by adding row repeats or by using thicker yarn and larger needles.

It's a relaxing knit. Once you get into the rhythm of the pattern it just flows along. Directions are given in both line by line written and charted formats; and include two side edge options.