Sarcelle flapping in the wind on a beautiful, breezy Saturday:

Pattern: Sarcelle
Yarn: Random laceweight from Staci’s yarn swap, dyed by me
Modifications: Worked a M1 increase rather than kfb, because the latter was leaving holes in the lace. Also, I used a size US 5 (rather than US 2) needle, because my yarn is thicker than the called-for yarn.

I’ve had this done for quite a while. The knitting part was finished about two months ago, and I blocked it a few weekends ago on Amy’s nicely carpeted floor. I bought the Knitpicks blocking wires, and hoo boy were they useful! Using the blocking wires was SO much easier than trying to create a straight line with a zillion pins.

The pattern itself is really pretty. I’m totally in love with faggoting now. Sarcelle has patterning on both the right and wrong sides, but the pattern is pretty easy to memorize. My one mistake was forgetting to work the cast-on stitches on one row of the chart, and I would have to frog back the whole damn row. I worked the straight pattern section until I felt that it was long enough, which produced a 20 by almost-80 inch stole after blocking. I like my stoles big and enveloping, but it is a bit on the long side.

My favorite part about the project is the yarn. The yarn was previously a lovingly dyed, perfectly variegated, shocking electric PINK! I realized the potential in those little skeins, so I picked it up from the yarn swap, planning to dye it. The full dyeing story is here, and results turned out awesome. The above photo is the best representative of the final color (and a good representation of my need for a haircut).

I’m very happy with the end result here, even though I’m not an everyday stole-wearer. It will probably get more use as a lightweight (long!) scarf in the cooler months.

Sarcelle is almost finished! Yay! I’m so excited to have it done - it has been a very looong knit, and I’m finally itching to get back to the Asymmetrical Cardigan. The cats adore being draped in lace while they sleep.

The destashing has gone pretty well - everything that I really hated is long gone. Then I, uh, took the money in Paypal and put it into sock yarn. I essentially have quadrupled the size of my sock yarn stash in the past week:

Left to right are Yarn Pirate BFL in Merlot, Sunshine Yarns in Tundra, and Mountain Colors Bearfoot in Teal. Yum. I actually got the Bearfoot at a lys, because I loved the end product of the Thuja-ish socks so much. The photo doesn’t portray the gorgeous greens running through the skein. Time to find some good sock patterns - I’ve got plans for the Yarn Pirate, but nothing slated for the rest.

Rob asked why I got the blue and white yarn, considering that I already have yarn that color. Hmm…

Clearly they are different! Or perhaps I’m in my blue phase? I guess it’s a good change from purple everywhere, and perfect for Project Spectrum!

The Copper/Blue Yarn Pirate above is super skinny - I’m getting 10 stitches per inch on US 0 needles. They’ll likely be done sometime in 2008. The stitches are so teeny that it’s difficult to pull the cord between them to magic loop, so I’ll be switching the sock to some sharp dpns now that I’m knitting in the round.

Ugh! Returning to the working world this week has been so difficult! I enjoyed my nice, long vacation and travel, and going back to the daily grind has been dragging me down. I’ve already checked to see when my next vacation day is (April 6th, fyi). I think it’s time for a new source of the big bucks around here…

In knitting news, there’s so many things that I want to make, but I’m trying to stay faithful to my two large items in progress. Sarcelle is definitely in her ugly phase. Avert your eyes, unblocked lace ahead!

Oh, the horror!

The color is almost accurate in the right photo. I’ve completed 38 inches of the knit-straight section (I was at 14 inches before vacation). I’m going to have to measure Madli’s Shawl to see how long it was - I was pleased with it’s final length.

Last night I cast Sarcelle to the side to work on the Asymmetrical Cardigan. I was all ready to write a big post about how I pondered and considered, but in the end I decided that I would have to rip out the lighter-colored section because it was driving me insane. Then I put on the sweater-in-progress and realized that even I (aka Anal Retentive) couldn’t tell where the color changes when the sweater is worn. So we truck onward! I’m looking forward to when the sleeves are complete - then I’ll just be knitting the back, which will go much faster!

However, the mind wanders. I’ve been thinking about starting the Anemoi mittens, and my Yarn Pirate sock yarn has been calling my name. I’ve swatched the Yarn Pirate, and hoo boy is it purty.

I leave you with the cats, in one of those rare moments when they are all on the same surface.

Yay, Socktoberfest! I don’t (yet) have any size 0 needles for my Yarn Pirate yarn, so I’ve started knitting the hand-dyed Punched in the Eye yarn. It looks much less bruise-like once knitted up - my camera really wants to accentuate the crazy reds and blues in the skein, but it looks much more monochromatic in real life. And as always, yarn enjoys a tasty Flat Tire.

My plans for Socktoberfest are two, possibly three pairs of socks. I was planning on all sorts of sock knitting this evening, but was pulled away by beer instead. All in the name of Socktoberfest! The purple socks (Rib and Cable from Interweave Fall 2005) are for Rob’s mom for xmas. His dad will also be getting a pair of Manly Man socks (possibly Trekking. we’re still exploring our options for Manly socks). The Yarn Pirate is all mine, baby! I’m kind-of waiting to see if Lolly will get a full pair of kneesocks out of her skein - if so, then kneesocks it is! They’ll likely come in useful for the season that Houston calls Winter (also known as Fall in other, more northern, states).

This weekend I made a deal with Amy: I would knit 4-6 inches on Sarcelle in exchange for a completed Swallowtail Shawl. I totally finished my end of the deal - Sarcelle was 9 inches into the knit-straight rows on Friday night, and thanks to a movie night and some chill-out time on Saturday, is 13 inches long now. I seriously put some good knitting energy into the thing, so I’m pretty pleased with my progress. Amy has not finished the shawl, so BOOO! Hopefully we’ll see a finished Swallowtail at the Thursday Stich+Bitch!

Now that the Baudelaires are complete, I’ve moved on to some new and exciting projects.

Sarcelle. Oh dear Sarcelle, I appreciate the simplicity of your lace pattern. It was exactly what I needed when I was feeling bad a few weeks ago. However, I have recovered, and now you are bor-ing. Boring! Same old, same old!

I’m constantly attracted to triangular shawls (like the Shetland Triangle and Lace Leaf Shawl, both of which I WANT), but I have exactly zero opportunities in my life to wear them. Therefore my lace ends up in rectangular stoles (It’s a stole. Wait, now it’s a scarf. Excitement!). Sarcelle is interesting because it’s knit on the bias, but still! I’m bored!

I’m using the handdyed yarn from this adventure, which is looking pretty hot. There’s very, very subtle changes in intensity, which was exactly the look I was going for. The yarn isn’t terribly soft - I’m not sure if it’s a result of the dyeing, or if it’s just non-super-soft yarn to start with. Perhaps I’m spoiled by the uber-soft merinos and slinky cottons I’ve been using as of late.

I’ve also started a robot from Jess Hutch’s booklet of cute-ass toys. It’s a gift for Rob for his recent robot thesis. I’ve totally showed it to him already, because I can. not. keep. a. secret. I’m using Lamb’s Pride and some leftover Louet from the Target Wave Mittens. If you have this booklet, I totally recommend knitting up these guys on size 6 needles (rather than 8’s) - it definitely prevents holes when you eventually stuff them. I also decided to knit the robot in the round (the pattern calls for knitting flat) because I hate fake grafting! Ew! I’m a kitchener-stitching champ!