Summer Sampler Stole finished !!

A few days ago I finished the Summer Stole Stole by Bad Cat Designs, soaked it for a few hours and then blocked it (took me about one hour), crawling around it on the floor and sticking needles into a blocking board and a towel, and yet another towel. It turned out a bit bigger than I expected, even though I knew it would be larger than a "normal" lace stole, because I used fingering-weight wool and 5 mm needles. It weighs 14 7/8 oz and measures about 27.5" by 8'. Thank you, BadCat, for a lovely design and a great knit-along!

Here it is blocking ...

and here it is afterwards:

I am glad this project is done - now I can start knitting samples in the Orenburg lace style in preparation for the lace-making retreat at the Lacis Museum in February.

On another note: I have started to make my own kefir - it is delicious! I received the kefir-grains from someone living near-by through a kefir-grains-sharing website. I was really surprised how fast the milk turned into kefir - it only takes about 24 hours.

Till next time.

I LOVE YOUR BLOG Award

03 September 2008: Wow! Somebody actually reads my blog!!! And gave me this award:

Thank you, Halfmaennchen!  Since the *rules* state that you have to ...

1. post this award on your blog;
2. add a link to the person who sent you the award;
3. nominate at least 4 other bloggers, and add their links as well;
4. leave a comment at the new recipients' blogs, so they know they got an award ...

My number 1 nominee is Fleegle, one of my knitting heroes. Shortly after joining Ravelry, I stumbled upon some of her project pictures, and they are jaw-dropping! Her blog is very educational ... anything a knitter might want to know is here: from her no-hassle sock pattern, to a one-piece sideways cardigan to tiger-washing instructions. Oh, and what to do if lost aliens land in your backyard.

Taking Fleegle's blog as a starting point I began to explore lace-knitting websites, so far via pictures only, and soon came across BadCatDesigns. At that time her Summer Sampler Stole study was just starting, and on a whim I decided to participate. This KAL has taught me that lifelines are my friend! I'm a control freak and hate having to do something over, so after every pattern repeat in goes a lifeline. BadCat just finished her stole - it will take me a few more weeks to finish the edging (only 143 10-row repeats to go!). Current status of my stole:


For a while before that I was drooling over Galina Khmeleva's book Gossamer Webs - Orenburg Lace Shawls, so the Summer Sampler Stole KAL was a good test of whether I could actually DO something similar. Once it is finished I plan to knit several small samples according to Galina's instructions in her book, then take her classes at the Lacis Museum Urban Retreat next February, and then to design my own. I already have a few patterns in mind, but still need to figure out the border/edging.

Nominees #3 and 4 are: KnitYoga and Melusine (check out her adorable cat in her post from Sep 2!).

There are many other blogs I like ... sigh. If it weren't for the fact that I need to earn some money for cat food, I would be on the computer, or knitting, or gardening (that's actually a euphemism - it's more a matter of trying to keep down the weeds) and obliging my cats ("Open the door! ... No, wait. ... OK, open the door now ... ummm, I forgot something ... now, open the door! ... Eh, no, I changed my mind ... wait! what is he doing out there? ... LET ME OUT! I MUST KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON OUT THERE!!")

Thank you again, Halfmaennchen, for the award. You've given me quite a few ideas. You are very talented!

Till next time.

Curse broken!

18 Aug 2008: I think I got my groove back - I was able to finish patterns 10 and 11 of the Summer Sampler stole in quick succession. Presently, the stole is about 2 m long (about 2.2 yards) which is rather long, but exactly what I want, because I plan to take it to work to wrap around my shoulders and neck. My cubicle is directly underneath an air register and I always have some kind of cool or cold draft blowing at me. This will be perfect. Can't wait for the last pattern and then the border.

Pattern 11

Pattern 10

And this is the pattern that took over 2 weeks' time, because I kept making stupid mistakes:

Pattern 9

Time flies when you are having fun - not so much when you have to tink back ... has anyone read The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann? It's a most excellent book. One of its main leitmotifs is a variation of the old legend of the magic mountain. You enter it and spend what seems like a short time inside. But once you leave (if you find the way out that is!) you realize that a long time has passed. The perception of time is very elastic. If your days seem short, because they are taken up with a lot of activities (if you are very conscious of what you are doing, iow), and you look back at that general time frame, it will appear long (because so much has happened). Conversely, if your days seem long, because you either do the same things over and over again or have nothing to do (iow if you are bored or don't pay attention), then looking back at that time period, it will seem like a very short time overall. You would be able to sum it up in a few words. It's a fascinating subject.

Summer Sampler Stole, Pattern 6

Pattern 6 of the Summer Sampler Stole is done:

Pattern 6 of the Summer Sampler Stole

The gracefully arching fronds of this pattern remind me of the Maiglöckchen (= Lily of the Valley) pattern I saw in a book I recently purchased ("Maiglöckchen - Variationen eines traditionellen Strickmusters", ISBN 3-8334-1337-9). Except it does not have the nupps of the traditional Estonian pattern. This old pattern seems to enjoy a renewed popularity at this time - it is also featured in the latest issue (Jul/Aug 2008) of Piecework magazine. The book shows how to apply the pattern to different garments and shawls. Here is a picture from the book (used with permission) showing the pattern:

Maiglöckchen pattern

You can see the contents of the book and more photos here. English instructions for a Möbius scarf are also available here (scroll to STR08).

I just love this pattern - it is very graceful and feminine.

Progress with Summer Sampler Stole ...

Pattern 5 in the KAL of BadCat's Summer Sampler Stole caused me some head-scratching. I habitually mark all pattern repeats with a stitch marker, just so I can see at a glance exactly where I am. Well, in the case of this pattern, even though the pattern repeat in the chart looks perfectly lined up for each row, you will have to move the pattern markers 1 stitch to the left whenever the next row has a yarn-over in the left pattern edge. So, for a few rows the pattern shifts 1 stitch to the left. This pattern is really nice, see ...


BadCat calls it the Grand Spider ... I cannot see the spiders :-) ... others say it looks more like people. Either way, it's a beautiful pattern.

In other news ... Germany did not win the European Soccer Championship (sob), let's see how they do in the World Cup in two years.

We saw WALL*E this weekend - a very good movie, with a message and a love story! Pixar always does a short before the main feature film - this one was really funny. It was called Presto (I believe) and is about a hungry magician's rabbit (you know: the ones that get pulled out of a hat) who refuses to play along until he's fed.

Summer Sampler stole

Currently, my main project is the Summer Sampler stole by Bad Cat Designs (see blog list). I just finished pattern 4:


This is a nice practice for someone like me who knows how to do the basics, but hasn't yet tried lace knitting. Eventually I hope to graduate and try one of the Niebling patterns. But before then I want to design my own Shetland/Orenburg style lace shawl.

Tomorrow are the semi-finals of the European Soccer Championship. Go Germany!!!