Never Frog Pond: Clue 4: A Hasty Departure

And we are off!
With the infamous carpetbag full of money and little more, Fogg and Passepartout board the train in a hurry, and travel all the way to the port of Brindisi, traversing Europe without as much as a stop. Passepartout is sorry that all he got of his beloved Paris was a passing glance. Little wonder, since frenchman Mr. Verne was not interested at all in writing about travelling in France!
In every adventure, there must be time for the heroes to rest and recover; In every journey, there is travel time when we just have nothing to do but sit watching the landscape go by as the train tracks stretch ahead. Clue 4 is just like that: a little downtime after the sparkle and adventure of the beads and nupps. An easy, rhythmic background pattern that will frame our nupped/beaded/eyeleted clue beautifully. This clue is a bit longer than the others, adding size to our shawl. By this clue, you all should be able to transfer your knitting to a comfortable 24 inch cable, where you should be able to remain for a while.
This is the last clue of Section 1, which refers to the setup of the novel in London. By the time you have it completed, those making the square shawl will have a compass motif, a symbol for travel everywhere!
Next clue, Clue 5, due on 4/9, will mark the beginning of the journey itself, the main body of the shawl. And we will be travelling in Egypt!

A Postcard from France

Raveler Flofette send me this lovely gift from France: the stamp collection issued in Francto commemorate Jules Verne, which I had used as a picture (e ganked from the net) in a previous post. They are simply gorgeous! I plan to frame it, maybe with a collage of other pictures to remind me of this KAL.
Thank you so much for your thoughtfulness, Florence.
Keep those postcards coming!!!

Some great links for clue 3
Here are a couple of great links that were shared by our members for clue 3, which will help you along the way if you are still stuck there, or if you are a late comer... or for future clues.

Video shared by our own Netkissa, about beading with the dental floss method.

Another one about beading with hooks:

One more about making nupps the easy way:

And just here a thread in Rav about making nupps, started by MandyzMoon in the 11 in 2011 Ravelry group, listing a bunch of different nupping techniques.

New Posting Rule
We have a wonderful, fun group, full of useful information as well as well-humored chatter. While the chat is a lot of fun, it also makes it difficult to find the important pearls of information and techniques that are being shared. Also, spoiler pictures are posted in any and every thread, which does indeed spoil the mystery for the slower knitters.
In order to make a better, more user friendly group, mods will be enforcing a few posting rules:
- For every clue, two new threads will be open: one will be the announcement thread, which will be also the technique thread. Limit posting in this thread to sharing and discussion of techniques.
- The other thread will be a spoiler/chat thread . Use this one to post pictures and have some fun with the clue. Keep those wonderful tips and links coming! There are a lot of lace newbies that benefit greatly from your words of wisdom.
-There is an off-topic chat thread, which you should use to post all the rest of the chat that is not related to the shawl knitting; If you want to discuss other items you are knitting, your love of chocolate, your pet hair spinning plans (that was a fun thread!), here is the place

Unfortunately, in order to keep things tidy, mods may have to move or delete posts that are in the wrong thread, and they may send you a reminder that you should post this in a different thread. Do not be mad at them, they are just trying to make the group more useful and enjoyable for all! I am sure everybody will be comfortable with the rules soon.

My 2010 is done...

The Unblocked 2010 KALendar

And I will dedicate a post soon to some before-while-after blocking pictures of the process. The transformation of the knitted piece in the blocking process is my favorite part of lace knitting, just like watching a somewhat cute caterpillar turn into a gorgeous butterfly.
I have been tapping some members for their 2010 pictures. I still need pictures for the clues 7 (July) to 12 (December) plus edge, to complete the compiled 2011 Kalendar pattern. Thanks to those who responded so kindly to my request.

Some pretty yarn
My hedgehog fibers cashmere lace finally arrived. As our mod Salt has pointed out, there is an increased delay in the shipments from England, and my cashmere just took the slow boat from Cork, Ireland. It missed the beginning of the KAL by a long stretch, which means I will have to find another destination for it. It is so darned lovely and soft, I may have to design its very own shawl. My heart breaks when I think how much effort Beata put into dyeing it to my fussy specifications. It would have made a great Fogg shawl.

Hedgehog Fibers Cashmere Lace in Winter Thaw

And finally, I needed another project (like I needed a second head), one for the warmer weather. I was in love with the Chiton Pullover from Knitscene. I was in my LYS when I came up on their Manos del Uruguay Serena, a blend of cotton and alpaca with incredible softness and drape. The same yarn this shell is made off. I don't normally buy the same yarn that the project asks for, but it was just too yummy for words.