Ready for travel

June Clue is released!

I know, old news for most of you but still... I am SO happy that we have hit midpoint on our Kalendar. From now on it is going to be a mad scramble to get things done on time, working around crushing work schedule, summer vacations, and (gasp!) relatives visits. I should apologize in advance if things get a bit derailed, but i assure you I am working as fast as I can.

By the way, have you figured yet the pattern/theme to the beads? think, think...

July clue is already charted, and mod Tammy has offered to work on the written instructions while i try to wrap my head around August. And planning ahead, we started a new thread about borders and edges. There will be more about it in future blogs, just no time today!!!

The big June weigh-in
Don't panic, I am not talking about how much you have to lose to fit into last year's bikini. I am talking about weighing your yarn.
Once your June clue is done, take a few minutes to guesstimate your yard usage. My favorite method is a small, inexpensive postal scale (don't laugh... I used to weigh baby birds with it!). At this time, I have used 1.4 oz of my yarn, and if we use about the same for each half, I will be using 2.8 oz or 840 yd, which leaves me with 360 yds for the edge. That is not going to give me a very large edge but it should be sufficient.

And speaking of edges...
i finally arrived to the edging for my Cap Shawl! 738 stitch rounds were no fun...

A simple, beautiful edge, very easy to fall into the rhythm of knitting...
How about something like this for our Kalendar?
This is a knitted-on edge (knitted sideways and attached to the main shawl body as you go, the same way we did with the Talinay Gloves. This method avoids the bothersome picking up of potentially 1,000 stitches, but it is hard to adjust if you run short of yarn.

I just can't get over how ugly and wrinkly unblocked lace is... Can't wait for the magic to happen!!!
But I still have many days to go with this shawl. Couple of weeks.
But will be done on time to be worn!

Travel Plans
I am looking forward to a cross between an IRS audit and a root canal: 7 hours in the car with my kids. So I am preparing a few fun projects to knit along in the car, meaning brainless stuff I can put down while I break out a fight or a baby meltdown. 

Our car trips usually involve an uncomfortable conversation with a highway patrolman while we try to explain why we are stopped at the side of the road while bloodcurling cries come from the inside of the car. Our baby hates to be strapped to his chair. No child abuse involved.
So along will come my child sweater project, a knit in the round stockinette number good to knit without thinking while the saguaros zip by. Here is a picture of a stripe pattern with my attempt at "jogless stripes" going on.


And, to be the perfectly prepared travelling knitter, I scored this gorgeous bag from Sunshinewalks' Etsy store, the Owlicious bag:

Great craftmanship, beautiful finishing, and boy, FAST shipping!

Look how cute the inside is with matching fabric. This drawstring bag is big enough for a shawl project. As we speak, I am planning to order also one of her box bags, for smaller projects such as socks and mittens. She rocks!

Yellow Shawl is in the testing process. After losing some sleep and some chunks of hair making hundreds of corrections to my flawed written instructions (and even a couple of chart corrections), the fearless test knitters are going at it at great speed. It will be soon ready for Kate, my tech ed, to tear apart.
I was totally baffled by the speed at which the test knit filled up. I hope that means there is a fair amount of people interested in a KAL because I am saving some special raspberry color silk blend to make myself a large size!
And... I have come upon a fitting name for it... more soon!
Yarnyarnyarnyarn

I hit a fabulous destash a couple of weeks back, and I got to meet a couple of friends that I have always wanted to get, but was too cheap to buy at full prize. Behold, the Crazy Zauberball! I have no idea what I am going to knit with it, but it sure is fun.Maybe a crazy Clapotis?

Another personal favorite: Rowan Kidsilk Haze. The colors are discontinued, I have a couple of balls of each, suitable for, let's say, a neckwarmer or scarflet/shawlette. It is SO incredibly soft and yummy, like a spun cloud. I am giving some serious thought at having the yellow color over-dyed by somebody, maybe in a green?

and the Indie dyer special: Unwind Yarns Bourdeaux Lace, another discontinued colorway. This is almost, almost white with a whisper of pastel pink, lilac and blue. The overall effect is a very pale lilac. I have no clue what to do with this, it would make a perfect heirloom baby wrap but no babies in sight....

Speaking of which... my random picture of the week... My dogs looking scrawny after their summer shave (my old lady Java in foreground, our exchange student in the back), and the wreckage of my backyard. Courtesy of my 4-year old who snagged the camera while I was taking yarn pictures. Aw.