Isn’t Lucy helpful? Pre-blocking dimensions are 40″ across the top and 20″ down the middle of the center back.

Post-blocking:

After blocking is is 60″ across the top edge and 28″ down the center back.

Here’s a close-up:

That’s one skein of Madelinetosh Tosh Sock, in the Clover colorway. I had 18 grams left over.

I started my stole based on this same pattern — but I’ll talk about that tomorrow.

Right now I want to draw your attention to a particularly heinous crime. Sensitive readers may want to look away now.

The crime scene:

Not sure what you are seeing?

Here is the body:

And here is the tail:

Lucy sez:

“I wuz framed! I’m innocent, I tells ya!”

As soon as this baby is off the needles, I will cast on for the Chevron Stole. Conveniently, the yarn I have planned to use for the Chevron stole arrived in my Loopy Ewe order today.

I do so like it when a plan works out well.

This new yarn is once again Madelinetosh Tosh Sock, this one in the “Logwood” colorway. I have two skeins of it, because I think the stole will take more than one skein.

From time to time people ask me what I do with all these shawlettes. A girl can only wear so many shawls, right? I always keep a couple at the office for starters. and the smaller ones I’ve been making lately make great scarves. I do give some of them away. And right now, three of them (Argus, Seaside, and Miss Woodhouse) are visiting for the next few weeks over at fibre space.

Lucy has indicated that her own fluffy fur coat is sufficient for her, thank you.

Blocked she is 66″ across the top, 25″ down the center back.

I used a size 6 (4mm) needle and one skein of MadelineTosh Tosh Sock in the “Oak B” colorway with 24 grams left over.

Expect a pattern presently.

Lucy is beside herself with excitement.

Because I am far too lazy and impatient to do anything like actually swatch out the lace before starting work on it, I’ve been designing it on the fly. In fact, the last two charts of the pattern underwent a significant overhaul after I worked a couple of rows and just wasn’t feeling the love.

This is a more-than-a-triangle shawlette and I’m still planning to keep the yarn requirements down to one skein of sock yarn, so it will be wider but not as deep as the previous two I just completed.

I love the yarn — MadelineTosh Tosh Sock in the “Oak B” colorway. It may look brown in photos, but in real life it’s sort of a browny-olive-greeny mix. Very nice!

Lucy sez:

“It is not as pretty as my colorway!

I started a new project, but you don’t get to see it yet. Friday night I finished my shawlette-in-progress. Here it is, fresh off the needles:

Lucy’s head included for scale. It is about the same size as the Argus shawl unblocked — 40″ across the top edge and 20″ down the center back.

After popping some percocet, I felt up to blocking it. Behold the shawlette all pinned out!

Blocked it is 56″ across the top edge and 25″ down the center back. Here it is, released from its bondage:

A close-up:

Another close-up:

I’m calling it “Seaside Shawlette.” The bottom border is supposed to remind you of waves and the body pattern could be shells on the beach. Or something. I knit it from one skein of Sanguine Gryphon Eidos sock yarn on a U.S., size 6 needle. The skein weighed 118 grams and when I was done, I had 16 grams leftover. Each skein had around 400 yards, so I’m estimating that this shawl will take 400 yards. If my math is correct, I used about 350 yards for mine.

Anyhow the pattern will be available soon.

Check It Out!

Check out Threadknits — it’s an online knitting and crocheting contest. You could win some very cool prizes by entering your creations. I was asked to be one of the judges, so I’m looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with! Contest ends March 1, so you’ve got some time to come up with something fabulous.

Lucy sez:

“Speaking of fabulous . . . I heart naps!”

I cheated on the pic I showed you yesterday, because it is from Sunday afternoon. Here is the current state of the shawlette.

Sorry for the crappy flash pic — it’s dark, so hard to get a good shot.

I’m knitting this from one of my favorite sock yarns: Sanguine Gryphon Eidos. The colorway is “Polimarchus” — ain’t it purdy?

I’m using a U.S. size 6 needle for this one. I used a size 5 for Argus, but the Eidos is a bit . . . I dunno . . . firmer than the MadTosh sock yarn I used for Argus so I figured I’d go up a needle size.

Like Argus, I’m trying to make this from one skein of sock yarn and so far it looks like I’ll be successful.

And Lucy is hard at work keeping my place on the couch warm.

Here’s the view from this morning:

The sun was coming out. Yay!

Things are looking good down on the street. I went out and ran some errands. The streets were fine. The parking lots, not so much. Very icy.

I also finished this:

My Talisman Shawl. It sure doesn’t look like much in that photo, does it? The pre-blocked dimensions are 48″ by 24″.

Blocking achieved this miracle:

After blocking, it’s 64″ wide by 34″ down the center back. Knit from one skein of Wollmeise, with just 14 grams leftover.

Here’s a close-up of the lace pattern:

Here’s what I started today:

Care to hazard a guess as to what it is?

Miss Lucy slept through the blocking of the Talisman Shawl today. I’m sure she’s kicking herself that she missed out on helping me. But I turned the heat on this past weekend and she’s been happily sleeping through the most exciting events.

The Wollmeise is a lovely big skein — 575 yards. For this shawl, after you work the set-up chart, you can repeat the body chart as many times as you like (it is a 24-row repeat), and then work the edging chart. So I can sort of eyeball how much yarn I’ve got left as I work and decide when I need to stop doing repeats and work the edging.

I’m confident that my one skein will make a lovely good-sized shawl.

That is assuming I actually have time to knit on it. I’ve knit on the train the past two mornings, but was not able to get any lunchtime knitting in for one reason or another. And the trains have been too crowded for me to knit on the way home. I got an hour or so of knitting time in last night and expect to get about the same tonight.

It’s funny, the more I want to get something done, it seems like the less time I have to actually work on it.

And I won’t be knitting tonight — a botched blood donation (thank you, Red Cross) has left one arm bruised and throbbing.

So don’t expect much tomorrow.

To make up for the lack of photos and knitting progress tonight, Lucy gives you this:

Paw floof!

The fact that I am using the toothbrush thingie in my bathroom as a stand for my soda is a sign that today is Clear Out Day. I’ve been tidying up in one of the bathrooms, and I’ve got to have my beverage, right? I usually try to do some mucking out over Labor Day weekend. I get rid of clothes that have been marinating in my closet, never to be worn again, and try to generally reorganize things. Lookie here:

A new shoe organizer/cubby! Stuff like this makes me happy.

Clou Winners

The Random Number Generator has done its job and picked four commenters to win one skein each of Gedifra Clou. Those four are: Rose-Marie, Elsie, Sheryl, and Jan E.

I have emailed each of you. And a big thank you to everyone who left a comment.

In answer to an oft-asked question in the comments, the scrubbie does a nice job of being a scrubbie. It is softer than a nylon net scrubbie, but it certainly works. If you find the nylon net ones too harsh, you’ll like this.

Okay, back to the general muck-out/clean-up. But before I go, photos of my shetland shawl for Johanne, who would likely stop speaking to me if I neglected to post a picture or two.

And a close-up:

And a pic of what Lucy is doing this long weekend:

Well, yesterday the center cord on mine came undone and I was left holding approximately 4 yards of wet nylon net. I smooshed it back together and tied the cord around it again, but it will never be quite the same again.

Then I remembered something. A few years ago, there was a pattern in Knitty for a bath puff called Bonbon. I bought the yarn called for, Gedifra Clou, and stuck it in my stash room, thinking I’d make a couple. Of course I never did.

Gedifra Clou is a 100% nylon tape yarn — considered super bulky. And now discontinued.

Yesterday I went into the depths of the stash room ISO my Gedifra Clou. and I actually found it in the space of minutes! I was going to knit a Bonbon, but decided, hey, just for fun, I think I’ll winkle something together myself. Why do things the easy way?

Here’s the result:

I started out with U.S. size 10 needles and woo doggies! Not big enough! I dug out a set of U.S. size 15 needles and cast on again.

By the way, doing a longtail cast on with super bulky nylon tape and size 15 needles is . . . weird.

Just for grins, I wrote up the pattern for this and you can get it (in pdf format) here. It’s also linked to from the free patterns page.

Yeah, the yarn is discontinued. But I did a yarn search in Ravelry for bulky and super bulky yarns in nylon and/or cotton and came up with a few alternatives, which are mentioned in the pattern. I also noticed that there are people on Ravelry who have Gedifra Clou that they are willing to destash.

And of course, I have more than one skein. You didn’t really think I had bought just one, did you?

Want a skein of my Gedrifa Clou yarn? Leave a comment to this blog post by Sunday September 6 at noon Eastern Time, and I will have the random number generator draw four names to receive a skein each of my yarn.

Lucy Sez

“That doesn’t look like a toy for me.”