The Tale of a Shawl--A Story in Pictures

Laura and Sarah over at Bella Knitting are having a contest. The goal is to produce a knitting story entirely in pictures. Here's mine

Swatch Me Knit

So, I know I said I didn't need to swatch for the CPH because I've worked with Malabrigo before and have a whole sweater to use as a gauge swatch. But I kind of got to thinking, it's not a great idea to tease the Knitting Goddess like that. So even though we all know that math lies and gauge is a myth and swatches don't bear any relationship to reality...I knitted a swatch.

And to my complete surprise--although why I should be surprised by anything that happens while swatching is beyond me--instead of the 19 stitches and 22 rows to 4 inches that I got consistently with size 8 needles over the course of an entire long sweater coat, I got exactly the 17 stitches and 24 rows to 4 inches on size 8 needles called for by the CPH pattern.

I checked it three times. And then, because I am savvy to the ways of the swatch, and it occurred to me that this could be due to a variation in the thickness of that particular section of yarn, or an unconsciously more relaxed tension due to wishful thinking on my part, or the alignment of the planets...

I swatched again with a second ball.

And I got 17 stitches and 24 rows to 4 inches. Again. At this point, I am pretty much certain that this is a setup. This is not reality. This is the Knitting Goddess snickering behind her hands, because there is just no way I could have enough yarn (Malabrigo--on sale) of exactly the gauge called for to knit exactly the sweater I want to do at exactly the time I want to do it.

Then again, maybe it's these:

Have you seen these? These are amazing. Beautiful. Perfect. These are the new Knit Picks Options wood needles. See all the pretty colors? They're much prettier in person. If you already have the Options nickel-plated needles, these work with the same cables. They are grabbier than the nickel-plated needles, but not as grabby as bamboo needles--or at least not as grabby as the 20-year-old bamboo needles I've had since college (oh.my.god.--was I really in college 20 years ago?! Excuse me for just a moment; I'm having a small personal crisis requiring a little deep breathing intervention. Stand by.)

Okay. Uh...needles. Right. These are grabbier than the nickel plated needles, which I love and would ordinarily use for this sort of sticky wool, but...these are new. And colorful. And this is my first chance to use them. So I am. And this could be responsible for the gauge difference, because the wool isn't sliding as easily and I have to tension a little looser to keep it moving. That is the logical explanation.

I prefer to believe that it is simply because the needles are so darned beautiful. You know how beautiful people always seem to have the best luck and are the most popular and successful? (Not that I would know from personal experience; let me know when they start handing out the goodies for being a gawky nerd.) I think the sheer beauty of these needles is casting a little knitting magic over this project and I am experiencing a minor miracle.

Either that, or it's the Knitting Goddess, setting me up for a big fall.

A Wing and a Prayer

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably remember the saga of Icarus (FO pics here) the wedding shawl. If you haven't, you can read about it here, here, here, here, here (my personal favorite), and here. I told you it was a saga. Or, if you just want the short version, Icarus was my first (and so far my last) lace shawl. I made it as a wedding shawl for a childhood friend, and the project was fraught with yarn breakage, dropped stitches, 500+ stitch rows, and running out of yarn just rows from the end, days before I was originally supposed to give it to her. And then, the bridal shower was put off for three months, so Icarus has been living in a ziploc bag in my yarn closet since I finished it, amid minor hysteria and possible drunkenness, in October. This, therefore, is a momentous occasion:

This is Icarus, getting wrapped to go to its new home tomorrow. There is a bridal shower tomorrow in Saugus, about three hours from my home. There will also be another in town in February, but--naturally, considering the nature of this entire experience--it will be held on the one and only Saturday of the entire year when I will be away on vacation with my family. So tomorrow, I will be driving the six hours round trip to attend the Saugus shower--through a raging rainstorm, if the weather channel is to be believed.

Getting Icarus wrapped is almost like packing to go to the hospital to deliver a baby. After the many long months of planning and work and surprises and small tragedies, I'm just ready to get it over with. I've been asked how I can bear to give it up, and whether my friend will appreciate it.

I can bear to give it up, because it was never mine in the first place. From the moment of its conception, Icarus was hers. I was just taking care of it for her. And although it came out better than I ever anticipated--and certainly better than I had any reason to expect--that just makes me prouder to be able to give her something that is beautiful, rather than just handmade.

Will she appreciate it? Of course she will. She will appreciate the thought and effort that went into creating something special just for her. She's not a knitter, so she has no way of knowing just how much thought and effort went into this particular gift, nor would I tell her, even if I knew of a way to convey an understanding of the hundreds of often-stressful hours it cost. That's not the point, is it? The point is that I know that I have given her something of myself; something that she will probably keep and remember forever. I know that every stitch holds my prayers for her happiness and well-being. And that's really what this gift is about, after all.

Any bets as to whether I will actually make it to the shower without any further disasters?

It's a Bird! It's a Plane! It's...

...the Central Park Hoodie!

That's right, folks. Meet my new project, the ubiquitous CPH. I'm a little slow jumping on this particular bandwagon. I'm not much for bandwagons, actually, but when it's such a lovely little project and I happen to have on hand eight--count 'em, eight--skeins of Malabrigo worsted that I scored at a great discount on Destash, what's the point in resisting just for the sake of resisting?

The gauge is probably going to be a bit finer than the pattern calls for. I say "probably going to be" because I have not swatched. I have worked with this yarn before, though, and I have a completed and washed finished garment to judge by. I suspect that I'll be able to just knit one size larger than I usually would and end up with a finished sweater the right size, but I'll be spending some quality time with my calculator before pursuing that course of action. I know math lies, but I believe in second chances.

This color is called "Vaa". It is hard to describe. Hard to see, in fact. It is a very dark, olivey green and midnight blue combination. Some parts are almost black, and there are occasional section with lighter bits, but mostly it's just...dark. The picture is pretty accurate. The colors are more subtle than most Malabrigo combinations (remind me to show you pictures of the orange-purple-brown nightmare hiding in my stash sometime), and I think it will work really well for the CPH.

Have I sufficiently distracted you yet? Have you forgotten that I promised FO pictures? I didn't think so. Here's the thing: I love the rain. We need the rain. But the rain is seriously messing with my FO mojo these days. Every time there is someone here who can actually take a modeled shot (someone more than four feet tall, that is), it is grey and drizzling outside. As soon as the sun makes an appearance, I find myself completely alone in the house. So that FO picture will just have to wait until the weather and my family both cooperate.

In the meantime, I have a small favor to ask. I have a friend who is new to blogland--and new to knitting to boot--and she's just not feeling the love. We've all been there: new kid in town, everyone's already got their own group, no one says hello. So if you have a minute, stop by and make her feel welcome. It'll make her day!

"You'd Better Go Back Inside"

I do have a new FO to show you, but it was necessary to wet block it, and since it has been raining for the past couple of days, the bulky alpaca is taking quite a while to dry. I'm hoping it will finish drying today and that there will be sun tomorrow for a quick photo shoot.

In the meantime, Patty of Fibreholic tagged me for a book reading meme. Since it's an easy one, I can answer it now, even though I still have eight hours of CD's to get through. The task is to open a book you are currently reading to page 161 and copy the fifth sentence on the page.

Page 161, sentence 5 reads:

"You'd better go back inside."

That's scintillating, isn't it? The book is The Kite Runner by Khaled Housseini. Most of it is much more interesting. If you haven't read it, you'll have to take my word for it.

I am supposed to tag five people, so I am tagging:

Melissa of melissaknits
Sophanne of beckyknitstoo
Sarah of bellaknitting
Romi of rosemary-go-round
and
Tammy of tammyknits

If you don't want to play, that's okay. And if I didn't name you and you do want to play, that's okay, too! We're inclusive around here. Besides, I'm hoping for some good book suggestions.

Because You Make My Day

Romi of Rosemary-Go-Round awarded me this:

and I am more touched than I can say. We all blog because we want to, but if no one read or enjoyed what we wrote, what would be the point? Knowing that someone relates to what we have to say, or finds our words funny or enlightening or inspiring, is what makes the blogging world go round.

And now, as part of my award, I get to pass the award on to ten bloggers who make my day. According to the instructions, I am supposed to: "Give the award to 10 people whose blogs bring you happiness and inspiration and make you feel happy about blogland. Let them know by posting a comment on their blog so they can pass it on. Beware you may get the award several times."

So, without further ado, and in random order, I pass this award on to some of the bloggers who make my day every day:

Sophanne of beckyknitstoo
Melissa of melissaknits
Faith of nomoresweaters
Sarah and Laura of Bella Knitting
Olga of uberstrickenfrau
Heather of A.D.D. Knitter
Tammy of Tammy Knits
Sharon of Chickenlips Knitting
Annie of Sheepish Annie
Steph of And She Knits, Too

These are far from the only blogs I read, and certainly not the only ones I love. But every one of these makes me smile regularly, and I did give extra credit for posting more often, since it means these blogs make my day more often than those that don't post as frequently. If I didn't name you, it doesn't mean I don't love you!

Just Call Me "Highness"

I'm still listening to MCLE's. Here's a little something to keep you entertained until we can resume our regularly scheduled blogging:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Royal Highness Suzanne the Elegant of Fiddlehope in the Marsh Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title