Skip to main content

A finished shawl and some random ramblings‏

I finished my hand spun shawl last night, soaked it and blocked it. I love that magic moment when I take something wrinkled and slightly odd looking - Leon described this shawl, preblocking as " looking like a dissected lung" and stretch it out:
Blocking, it's just magic. I'm really happy with how this shawl came out, and it was a fun, quick knit. I altered the pattern a little, it calls for 1.5 repeats and I did 3.5, and instead of the border as written, I repeated rows 11 and 12 a couple of times.
The only problem is, little triangle shawls don't fit very naturally in my choice of clothes. I think I noted that last time I made one, but I was already half way through making this yarn, and I'm sure I will find a way to wear it. Going forward though the shawls I am planning for myself are all crescent shaped, or elongated. There is even a Wollmeise scarf in my near future. I am, however, going to knit two large, traditional, triangle shawls as gifts for my mother and sister in law, so I will have the satisfaction of the knitting lace, without actually needing to work out the practicalities of using the finished object.
Other than that I have done quite a bit of on-line shopping of late. I hadn't bought anything for a couple of months and now BAM I want everything. I have 5 packages coming in the mail, only one of which is yarn. I will share them with you as they arrive. I love online shopping, there is the excitement of the purchase, the thrill of finding the blue post office slip in the letterbox, going to the package centre and then taking the package home for the big reveal.
Now I'm off to a friends place to cast on a pair of mitts and watch the royal wedding.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Linky Wednesday - the one with the pause

In meditation it's said that the pause between the in breath and the out breath is a gap, a space to rest. Well, I'm in that in-between space for reading, listening and knitting. This is a random photo of a highlight of my week - I filled up my lolly jar. These are just supermarket party mix. During the lockdowns, we sources a great pick-and-mix delivery service, but at some point they started sending from the UK, which is a bit silly. Rachey messaged me a new one she found, and I impulsed purchased a kilo of mixed lollies, and then she sent me a link to the biggest lolly shop in Melbourne, which also delivers sweets by the kilogram, so i think I'm sorted for the rest of the year!  In reading I've just finished  The Beckoning Lady   by Margery Allingham . It's the second last book in the Summer of Mystery, and I have to admit, having now read nine Margery Allingham books, that they are OK. I wouldn't have read them if they were not connected to this club, but on...

Geogradiant MKAL Part 1 - that was unexpected (spoilers)

Stephen West released the first MKAL clue on Thursday night. I started knitting it without looking at spoilers. When I got up on Friday he had sent through an "alternative" clue one. I then went and had a look at the spoiler thread to try to work out what was going on. Which was that some people thought the pattern looked like a "German hate symbol". I knit on anyway, since I was half-way through. Then he took down the original clue, replacing it with a mitred square in garter stitch. The Ravelry forums and Instagram are a complete shit-show, even though Rav is being moderated. It's been a bit disheartening, having something that is usually quite light and fun weighed down with all this. I admire Stephen's quick and sensitive response to this drama. I also feel that anything can look like anything if you squint. To me this looks like a Celtic knot. I think mine is pretty, and I'll knit on through all crises. 

Unravelled Wednesday - the one where it's ordinary

This week I finished my first book for the  2025 When Are You Reading? Challenge , which was   The Silence of the Girls   by Pat Barker , which covered the pre 1200 time period. I loved it, it's a retelling of the siege of Troy from a feminist perspective. I haven't worked out what I'm reading for the 1200-1399 time period. Suggestions are welcome. I'm currently reading  Central Station by Lavie Tidhar , which is science fiction set in a future Tel-Aviv. It's good, but there are loads of characters and I'm not overly invested. Although at least I'm having no problems telling the characters apart, they are very district. I just don't overly care what happens to them.   I'm listening to a NetGalley review copy of  Mona Acts Out by Mischa Berlinski , which is the story of a woman unravelling. It's very different from Mischa's other books, but quite compelling. I'm not sure what's next, probably something from Kobo-Plus, perhaps Regrets...