Magic Carpet Ride

Sometimes all the basic hats and socks and sweaters have to give way for something a little more spectacular, something a little more shiny.  Even in winter, a girl needs a little bit of something precious and lovely.  This particular lacy bit of a scarf is not for me, but it's something I'd love to keep, if I could.

The colour is a bit off in the photo (and yes, I also know it's blurry; I'm terrible at this, sometimes.)  This is an amazing alpaca/silk blend in a beautiful teal colourway, with pretty coppery beads glittering throughout either end.

I had ordered nice matte teal beads for this project, initially, but once I started to knit, I realized that the beads were too perfect a match for the yarn - they were almost invisible, so what was the point of doing all that beading?  I frogged the knitting, went back online, and ordered a second batch of beads, this time in a beautiful metallic copper - sure to be visible!  I love the colour combination, and think that it was a much better decision to change things up.

The original pattern also has a column of beads up either edge of the scarf, which would indeed be beautiful, but I see the potential for those beads to be a cold shock against the neck when initially putting the scarf on, so I left those columns off.

It was a somewhat complex project, with several charts to work off at any one time.  It also seemed to take ages to knit this, but I expect that's just because I was working on a few projects at once, and most of them were smaller and simpler and used fatter yarns.  In the end, it's quite lovely, and should be warm, too, even though it's light as a feather.

Aeolian Shawl

As I mentioned in my last post, I finished this one a while back (just in time for it to be a birthday present to myself) and have finally managed to get my photographer to take a few photos.

It took me about a month and a half to knit it, all told (though I was never really faithful to it, and was working on various other projects at the same time.) It was precisely the kind of lace project that I had a hankering for -- large and complex and lovely.


I think I mentioned before that I used some JaggerSpun Zephyr laceweight that I had in my stash -- and I still have tons left, so expect to see more purple shawls in the future. I also had a bunch of beads for another project that I ended up using for this one. You can't really see them in these photos, but they give a bit of substance to the shawl. Zephyr is so light and airy that this shawl would be barely there without the beads -- I really like what they added to the fabric.

The pattern itself isn't hard, but between adding hundreds of beads and making all those nupps, it's pretty time-consuming. The blocking and pinning was a real chore, though. It took forever to pin out all those little points. That being said, I would totally do it again, maybe in something a bit fluffier. I mean, I would, if there weren't so many other shawls out there for me to knit.


I have worn it a lot -- wrapped around my neck like a scarf or worn like a shawl. I really love it. Another successful stash yarn project into the FO pile.

This Week in Knitting

After finishing Sophie, I picked up the Skew socks I've been knitting on, and let me tell you, they are getting interesting. There are some sort of Zimmermann-ish contortions about to happen, which are somehow supposed to turn all those stitches bulging off to the side of the heel into the back leg. The mind boggles, I know. I'll show you the finished heel once I've made that turn, but don't count on it making sense.


I also got the March Rockin' Sock shipment, and of the two lovely patterns that came with it, I chose the one called Slip Jig. It is a much more straightforward pattern than Skew, so when my brain starts to hurt too much from the strange construction of Skew, I just resort to knitting on these ones. Aren't the colours lovely? It is a very springtimey yarn, and they are very fun and quick to knit.


Lastly, despite being distracted by so many socks, I made a bit more progress on the Aeolian shawl in the last day or two. I am just past the first row of nupps, and they turned out so nice (even though you can't really make them out in this photo. Trust me.) I just did a row with nearly 70 beads in it, so it is also very sparkly.

Queen of Cups

Friday morning before work, I finished my Rockin' Sock Club socks. The pattern is actually named Queen of Beads, but as I was knitting them, I was always reminded of the Queen of Cups from tarot decks. I suppose it's because of the colour (since Cups are the water suit) and the stitch pattern (since the lattice reminds me of royal garb) and also the beads (because a beaded sock seems so impractical and extravagant.)

The socks actually came together without a hitch -- the pattern was easy enough yet interesting; the beads are fun and flashy. The only anxiety came as I neared the finish and began to worry that I was going to run out of yarn. I finished them with about 13 metres left over. Yikes.

Whenever I see a photo of a completed project that isn't being modelled, I always worry that it fits poorly and that's why the knitter doesn't want to show it off while wearing it. Lest you think that about the socks, here is a half-arsed photo of my feet in them.
They are totally cozy and warm and squishy and fit very well. I used a needle one size up for the leg (i.e. US2) and then switched down (to US1) at the heel flap and foot. It worked perfectly: the leg isn't too tight and the foot is nice and snug.

Another happy knitter.

Socks that Really Rock

So this year I decided to treat myself and join the Rockin' Sock Club over at Blue Moon Fiber Arts. Basically what happens is that every two months, they send me some of their amazing yarn and a pattern by an amazing sock designer. It's all a mystery until it arrives. The yarn and pattern are exclusive to the sock club, and are unavailable to anyone else all year. For me, it's the surprise-package-in-the-mail aspect of it much more than the exclusivity. I have been wanting to join this club for ages, so this year I finally took the plunge.

My first package arrived just prior to the distraction of my Noro Silk Garden scarf, right as I was finishing up the sweater. Not only was there some incredible yarn inside (all shades of blues and teals and lavender) there was also a little bag of opalescent beads and a beautiful pattern by Sivia Harding to bring them all together. I dug a little deeper and found a sticker and a lapel pin and a keychain... honestly, this is the best sock club ever.


Having finished my other works in progress, I swatched and started the socks the other day. The yarn is gorgeous, variegated but solid enough to really let the pattern shine. It is lightweight sock yarn, but still very round and even. The pattern is simple but ingenious. Squishy and lovely and snuggly socks, coming right up.