Ohh No Not the Frog Pond!

I have just met my first challenge with this project and surprise surprise it’s not the lace. Last weekend I decided to work on this dress outside in my garden. I usually only knit this at night in bed. I am on my third pattern repeat and my second ball of yarn, Its about 12 inches long now. As I hold the knitting up to my leg to check for length I notice what? A stripe! A colour change! Mixed dye lot? This is Handmaiden yarn. There are no dye lots or colour ways assigned to skeins because each batch varies, and apparently each skein varies within a batch. Mine was a custom order of a single batch: this is as good as it will get. They do recommend knitting with two skeins at once to minimize colour differences and pooling but this does not always work and I was reluctant to do this when knitting circular lace. I’m not frogging. I will have to figure out a way to work with the colour variations, especially since they are not that obvious when on the skein. My daughter says it just looks like an intentional fade, but I’m, worried about what happens when the next darker skein comes in.

- Either I introduce the next darkest skein immediately after this one is finished, and when it is finished start knitting with the remaining four skeins two at a time.
- or I frog 15 rows back to my life line (four rows above the shade/skein change) and start knitting two skeins at a time.
- Another option is to frog back to the life line and introduce the next darkest skein (I can only identify one) and then continue with the remaining four lighter skeins.

I’m afraid that knitting with two skeins alternating will create a ridge in the circular lace. What I really want to do is just continue knitting one skein at a time and pray that it all looks like a sophisticated fade in and out (fat chance!). The yarn is a semi solid as it is a mix of silk and linen which absorb dye differently.

I have posted a photo of the dress-in-progress below. The colour is not quite dark enough and I think the shade contrast is exaggerated. The “cast on” photo shown in the previous post is closer to the actual colour. Neither of the photos conveys the sheen and depth of the yarn. I lined up all of the wound skeins from light to dark. Again the photo colour is lighter than the actual colours. I looked at all of the yarn and the knitting in the sunlight, (morning, afternoon and evening) in the shade, in artificial light etc… Sunlight creates the most noticeable contrast and artifical light the least.

Starting Is More Enticing Than Finishing

February is over and my mittens are not finished. I till have one thumb and the blocking left to do. hopefully I can finish before next February. They would be excellent mittens to wear now in the late winter and in the early spring. The green and purple and black remind me of Blue Heron Tulips in my Spring garden.



I may not have finished in February but I did start projects. Starting is so much more enticing than finishing. My Habu lunch bag kit arrived in the mail. The yarn is multiple strands of coloured silk bound together with black silk. It creates a beautiful tapestry like effect. Blue and green roving is also in the kit, to make a felted handle. The instructions are a hoot. Very brief. You have to be an experienced crocheter to make sense of it, but the diagram is excellent.


Lunch Bag Kit

I also started the Anastasia socks, in red cotton/lycra Fixation. They are to be my March break travel project. I don't have wooden needles so I hope I don't have trouble taking them on the plane.


Anastasia

I finally photographed Curly Locks, the Fleece Artist mohair, and Flaxen, the Handmaiden silk/linen that I received before Christmas. Both of them are intended for Shirley Paden patterns. I have started swatching Curly Locks for a cardigan, but I probably won't knit that until next fall.


Curly Locks

The colour and feel were just so tempting that I couldn't resist swatching. How can yarn be so beautiful that I am happy to knit nothing but a swatch with it. The Flaxen is for the Ooh La La Lace dress and shawl, from Lace Style. I should start that some time in spring. But when will I finish?


Flaxen

February is for Finishing

Interlocking Balloons

This weekend I joined the Ravelry forum group February is for Finishing. This group is to encourage the finishing of knitting UFO's. Now I am sure that one of the reasons that more timely finishing doesn't happen is because of too much time spent on Ravelry being encouraged to start too many projects. It's hard to kick a bad habit when it is so much fun. Despite my scepticism I have joined this support group and will try to act in good faith. I have proposed to finish:

1. Interlocking Balloons Scarf
2. Druid Mittens
3. Airy Wrap-Around Lace Sweater

All are fingering weight projects, and number 1 and 2 have lengthy charted patterns. I am only on row 21 of Interlocking Balloons' approximately 410 rows. I have to just knit the last 20 rows of shaping and the thumbs of both mittens. The endless wrap-around ties need to be started on project 3. This weekend I worked on the scarf and the mittens. The scarf was designed for sport weight yarn and although I love the single strand of Dale Baby Ull that I am using I am beginning to think that two ends would be much more efficient and just as pretty.