Passementerie

"Passementerie (/pæsˈmɛntri/, is the art of making elaborate trimmings or edgings (in French, passements) of applied braid, gold or silver cord, embroidery, colored silk, or beads for clothing or furnishings."~Wikipedia

The first thing I thought of when contacting Kim about the colors for the Mystery shawl, was the idea of trimmings, gold braid, "passementerie". Kim always seems to read my mind and assured me that her Butterscotch Pudding was just the right shade to work with Through the Looking Glass. Since this was a Mystery Shawl, and no one knew the direction it would take, I made a leap of faith.

I first started with Butterscotch Pudding, but after the second clue arrived without a change in color, I changed my mind. I began again with Through The Looking Glass and I am now grateful I listened to my intuition.

After years of great Mystery results, I trusted Kirsten to design a shawl I'd love and, the newly named, Liz Christy is no exception.  Our only direction as to color was the guidelines Kirsten suggested when we signed up. My idea for the colors worked, but not in the way I had first envisioned. Questions abounded while knitting (What? No stripes!? Whatever are we going to do with this second color? Will this shawl be a disappointment?) As with Germinate, this shawl ended up being a serendipitous (and fortuitous) melding of the designer, the dyer, and a knitter's trust.

Kim's Airy, a deliciously soft single spun yarn, which I enjoyed knitting. As the yarn slipped through my fingers I saw the colors held both light and shadow adding depth and intensity to the shades. My delight with the shawl is evident as I have worn nothing else (as usually happens when I finish a great project). I am predictable.

I am also not very good at putting notes on my Ravelry projects, but you can still check out my Ravelry page.

Oy. This Shawl

You'd think by now I'd have the hang of knitting, of reading a pattern, of double checking before I start a row--you'd think. But, as you've heard before, I still make (a ton of) mistakes. I will now be tinking back the last two rows of knitting because I did a row of k2tog instead of a row of ssk. I also did the purl row that came after...which adds up to two rows of tinking (as I said).

It's all, every bit of it, the forth-ing and backing, the good and the bad, it's all part of the process and I truly believe that. I may sit in a grump for awhile, but it doesn't last long. I realize the only way to go forward is to go back. It's only two rows, which will mean I'm 3 rows from finishing this section and moving onto the edging. That's all good, the journey will continue, even though it's a slow one. 

Things are not as they appear. The colors are COMPLETELY OFF. Maybe when it's finished I'll have better luck with photo shoot. 

Water and Sky

Do you remember my promise of revealing my Romi's Mystery? We took pictures over Memorial Day weekend, but the last week of the month is a busy time and fitting in a post just wasn't to be. However, waiting until this week gave me time to take more pictures at one of my favorite places, one I think you'll recognize. Between Silver Lake and Red Butte Gardens, I have the best back drops of any place.

The minute I decided to knit Romi's Mystery, I asked Vicki to dye my yarn in the colors of water and sky. She dyed several skeins and I picked 2 that I thought were close to my vision. However, before I'd knit many rows, I decided the second skein needed more contrast. Vicki concurred, and I was happy to hear she still had one of the darker skeins on hand.  It made all the difference.


Knitting a mystery is a unique experience, as you never know what the designer has in mind. You trust her, you take each step with her and, while you may have reservations, you act on faith and just go with it.


The  colors worked out perfectly, the design exactly right for my water and sky vision, as the lace and stripe sections remind me of waves.

The size of the shawl is large enough to cover my shoulders  and keep my arms from the chill of air conditioning.  Romi's Mystery 2015 and Vicki's Make.Do.Dream, six weeks of knitting time (I'm slow, but I get there eventually), and a whole lot of fun all wrapped around me. I love knitting.

Wednesday's Are For Knitting

Isn't that what Carole's says?

I am slowly knitting Romi's Mystery Shawl and it is every bit as beautiful as I hoped it would be. Vicki's blue-tifully dyed yarn has knit up just as I'd envisioned and the color change we made early on was a good choice. My original colors were too light in contrast, but it was only when I knit a couple of rows of the new second color, I knew it had been the right decision. 

All the clues have been published and their are several finished shawls floating around for you to see (if you wish). The border on the shawl is quite brilliant and I'm excited to see my finished shawl. If only I could knit faster and/or had more time. C'est la vie--it will be when it will be. Now the mystery is when the shawl will be finished. 

This month my book group is reading Mink River by Brian Doyle. I haven't read enough to give you a review, but the humor and writing have captured me. I even read the description of a man's workroom out loud to Smith and he was captivated, too.  The story seems to have a little of everything, including quite a bit of humor, fantastic characters, and little mystery thrown in, too. 

Is there something good on your night stand? 

In Full Bloom

On the last day of fall, the day before winter (finally) descended upon us, Smith and I went to the farm for for a photo shoot. The sky was as blue as blue can be and the temperature belied the November date. Smith looked around the fields emptied of crops where he spotted an old rusted truck and he thought would be perfect as a backdrop to photograph my elegant shawl.

We had some fun and he captured some great shots of the shawl in action, but I think he was more enamored of the truck.

I had some fun with SketchGuru while he took more pictues of the truck. 

When I saw Cactus Flower I fell head over heels for its beauty, but admit to being slightly intimidated by the construction. The side knit border was new to me and it looked oh-so-complicated, but I decided to step forward despite my angst. As it turned out, there wasn't anything about the pattern I couldn't do and, while I knew it would take me a long while to knit, I was surprised it only took 3 months.

As I neared the end of the border, the fear  of not having enough yarn struck. My friends were also fairly sure I'd run out, but I knit and weighed, and right after sending Kim a panicked email, I realized I would make it to the end. As it ended up, to my relief, I had a tiny little ball of yarn left.

Blocking this shawl took a lot of pins, more blocking wires than I'd anticipated, and about an hour of time. But, seeing the end result of a well stretched lace is worth the time and trouble of proper blocking. 

Cactus Flower by Romi
Kim's elegant Woolen Rabbit Lucent
Inspiration and encouragement from my virtual grrlfriends

When I finish a long-time project I feel a little sadness, but that is abated by the joy of wearing something so beautiful every day and I have done so even since it came off the needles.

My Ravelry Here

The WIP Goes On

And on and on. A while ago Kim said she felt the border of Cactus Flower was never ending and it made me realized how much I had yet to knit. At this point I am 11 or 12 repeats into an 18 repeat border and, I must say, it is starting to feel endless. It wasn't until I'd reached the halfway point that my attitude changed to the "endless" feeling. 

Why had my attitude changed when I was now, actually, on the downhill side? Had I forgotten that I am all about the process? Oh yes, I love a finished project, but I also love being mindful of knitting while I knit. There is entertainment in each loop of the yarn over a needles and being conscious of the action of creating lace. Each nupp brings me joy (after it's completed) and each 38 row repeat gives pleasure, along with a feeling of accomplishment. The process of knitting is all about just that, the process.

By changing my perception, my new perspective has yielded much happier knitting time. Completing each row takes me closer to wearing this beautiful shawl over my shoulders and the advantage is I am enjoying each row as it happens. I no longer look at how far I have to go, but at how much I've accomplished.  It is the process that brings joy.

 

5 Shades of Gray

When you have an excellent experience knitting a project, you have all the confidence you need to do something similar again. Last year I took on Kirsten Kapur's Mystery Shawl and won big with my Germinate a shawl I have worn almost daily since its finish.

Not the best photo, but I like it

The minute I heard about the gradient yarn from Black Trillium I knew I had to use it and, of course, I fell for shades of gray. Crater to be exact. It was the idea of gradients that enticed many a friend to step into the mystery with me.

Some knitters are afraid step into the unknown, take the clues as they come, and wait for the mystery to reveal itself. Knitting time is precious and the fear of ending up with something you don't like is visceral.

I've knit mysteries shawls I've ripped out, giving up after the first clue, and, in the end, I was happy I did. I would not have liked the end product, but I trust Kirsten and her design process. She has a multitude of shawls I'd like to knit and I was very happy to follow her into a mysterious place.

Just as I did with last years mystery, Germinate, I have worn this Mystery Shawl daily since its finish. How the gradients would fit together, the flow of the design from one pattern to another, as well as the border of the last clue, were all amazing to watch as they fell into place.

A mystery leaves clues throughout the story, but the final reveal is left for the very end. The mystery shawl does not reveal its true story until it is blocked, the lace is unfurled, and the richness of the color and pattern are shown. Only after that does one understand the truth of its beauty.

From Dark to Light

Do not look at the picture in this post if you do not want to see Through The Loops Mystery Shawl. 

I have been knitting on the Mystery Shawl and haven't wanted to show pictures in case someone wanted it kept a secret, but I'm going to show it today because it's the only thing I've knit for the last 3 weeks. The Black Trillium Gradient has worked well until Clue #3 when the contrast in shades created strong striping. The stripes were knit in order to mitigate a solid line of a new color and, in the all of it, I truly think it will work out. The eye should pass right over the stripes when seeing the full effect of the color-shaded lace.

It looks pretty nice, don't you think? This is through clue #3, so I have two more clues to knit. I'm working on clue #4 now. The color in the photo is bluer than the actual yarn which is charcoal gray. I'm looking forward to a dramatic end to this shawl as the last shade is nearly black.

During my quiet time this weekend an unexpected thing happened. I started listening to William Faulker's "Light in August". I listened as a did a few chores and listened as I grocery shopped. I listened as I cooked and I listened as I knit. I became so rapt in the story I couldn't break free. It was like a python had wrapped around me and help me as tightly as it could. There were times I did not breath, as the descriptions of time, place, people, and emotion held me fast. Finally, after hours of listening (around chapter 10) I realized I had to break free. It took all I had to stop the book and come back into my own life. I'll have to wait for another day to resume the story, as it held too tight a grasp on my mind.

Have you read a book lately that held you in its pages?

Check out Ginny's blog. Knitting and reading posts were her idea. You can join along, too.

Shades of Gray

Unique title, don't you think?

Gray, rainy days provide extended time to sit with ones knitting and I spent part of my rainy afternoon with Hayward. The dolman sleeves have long raglan seams with many, many, many decreases. Even though, I used a very visible decrease that Susan shared with me, the charcoal gray fabric made the decreases hard to see.

I marked every decrease with a coil-less safety pin and used straight pins to hold the body and sleeves together at every other decrease. It's what I had to do to see and ensure I matched each decrease with its partner. I sat under a strong light and slowly sewed together the seam, which, at first, felt like an arduous adventure. Dark gray fabric and old eyes, even with correction, made it difficult to find a rhythm. Once rhythm of mattress stitching was attained, seaming went smoothly and I was able to completely seam one sleeve. Over the next couple of days I hope to sew in the second sleeve and complete the other side. I should have a finished sweater by the weekend!

At this time I have a "thing" for one shade of gray, as Merle will be knit with a charcoal gray Silky Wool that's in the stash. I've also cast on my next shawl, Promise Me by Boo Knits, with Anzula Milky Way, in (you guessed it) Charcoal. It seems I am keeping up my reputation of knitting in color streaks and the color of moment is CHARCOAL!

I have a one track mind.

Toss Up

Perhaps, I should have had this post ready yesterday to participate in Ginny's Yarn Along. Instead, I'm tossing up a knitting post today.

In reality, I didn't have time to knit this weekend (too many outdoor things to do) and knitting hasn't been a big part of my week, so far.

I remain one clue behind on Kirsten's Mystery Shawl (now named!), Germinate. (I love the name!) If I put some effort into it, the beautiful edging could be completed this week, and effort shall be put into it...other projects shunted aside. Eye on the prize.

My reading has been varied, but as sporadic as my knitting. I've enjoyed the last few books I've read (or heard). While they weren't all 5 star books, they were enjoyable to read (ratings on the sidebar). The best of the lot was A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra, which is my favorite book of the year. Hands down.  Currently I'm reading The Fault in Our Stars by John Green and I can highly recommend this one, as well.