Mystery Shawl Update

Here's another picture of the mystery shawl in progress.  I had just finished clue 3 of 6 in the photo.  The knitting was complete as of 8 Feb... but the blocking?  Blocking will have to wait until next weekend I think.  I have a few spots in the lace pattern that are completely goofed up, but on the bright side, I will have a chance to do better next time.  This was a practice shawl for one I will knit in blue for a friend's wedding.  She wanted one to match her bouquet, and given the flower lace themes in this pattern it would be quite apropos.  Plus now I know approximately how long it will take to knit (about a month), which should ease some of the pressure.  I have plenty of time for the June nuptials.

To Weave, Weaving, Woven

I "finished" my first woven object!  (The quotations indicate that while the weaving is finished, I still have some work to do on the fringe...)  It's a scarf/table runner/thing.  back to knitting to catch up on my mystery shawl!

Lost but not forgotten...

This scarf in progress was lost to me when I moved from California to Texas in 2009 and I was nearly prepared to chalk it off as a win for the chaos of the universe, until I found it in November.  It was a nice low brain power project for the holidays while transfixed by the magic of Showtime original series.  (The whole family needed to get caught up on Dexter and was transfixed by Homeland.)  I was glad to have rescued and finished this project and am thrilled every time the recipient wears it while interpreting well logs.

Warped

Le sigh.  

 After the minimum 2 weeks my schedule required to complete loom assembly, create the warp, and dress the loom in between work and other tasks like the hunting and gathering of food, I sat down last night to weave.  If you have limited experience with this particular branch of fiber-y goodness, like myself, it may not be readily apparent that there is something seriously awry with the project illustrated above.  This lovely 32" Kromski Harp rigid heddle loom has been warped backwards.

If you look closely at the business end where I have started to weave a little bit, you will see a beam that is totally in the way.  When you try to beat the yarn in place... you cannot.  This is when I looked back at the plans and discovered my folly.  The heddle blocks are also backwards in this configuration, but I could have worked around that.  I'm not sure what to do.  I have to somehow unspool the 15ft of warp threads from the "back" beam (actually the front beam), flip the heddle,and spool them on the "front" beam (actually the back beam).  I think this is possible.  I would hate to chuck all that yarn and start over.

Winter Mystery Shawl

I'm working on my second ever mystery shawl knit-a-long, the Winter Mystery Shawl by Marina Fitch at the Swift Stitch in Santa Cruz, CA.  I must say that this mystery knit-a-long is going much better than the last.

The pattern is complicated enough to keep my interest and clue #2 was actually a surprise!  That's the fun part!  Here is my work through clue #1:  (the picture isn't great, but it's not blocked either...)

I'm not sure if I'll make it through clue #2 this week because I pulled jury duty and was horrified to learn that knitting needles are prohibited at the Harris County Courthouse.  After briefly considering the repercussions of contraband smuggling, I have decided to start a crochet project for my day in court.

By the Way...

Dookie loves his new sweater!

Oldies but Goodies

When I go on vacation, I really go on vacation.  There has been lots of activity yarn-wise, but on this New Year's Eve I thought it would be fun to look at some sweaters I made a long, long time ago.  I purchased a Bond Incredible Sweater Machine from QVC at some point in the early 90's.  It was totally random, I have never called them before or since, but I just had to have this thing.  It was loads of fun and I eventually bought a second one and bolted them together to form a super-Bond ISM, with an approximate capacity of 200 stitches per row.  I whipped out afghans in a day and sweaters in a weekend.  While home over Christmas, my lovely mother volunteered to model some of these fiber artifacts for posterity.  Here they are in all of their acrylic glory.