And just to prove it, I’ve recently purchased another shawl pattern: the Brandywine Shawl, by Rosemary Hill. You can check it out on Ravelry, here, or on Romi’s blog  — read her post about the pattern here. She is donating $5.00 of the purchase price for each pattern sold to Doctors Without Borders and has set herself quite a goal for the number of patterns she hopes to sell and the amount of money she wants to donate.

So if you think it’s pretty and like me need another shawl in your life, buy the pattern!

Meanwhile, I’m still working on the Chevron Stole.

I am halfway done. I know this because I have just about finished the first skein of yarn, and I bought two skeins. The finished shawl will block out to at least 72″ long, I’m thinking.

Winners!

The great and mighty Random Number Generator has chosen winners to receive copies of my new book! So many of you left a comment (Yowies! 1400+ comments!) that I decided to give away three copies. The winners are Sarah, Jayne, and Kelly-Ann. I’ve emailed the three of you, so if you think one of those individuals might be you, check your email! Thanks to everyone who entered the contest!

Here are some details about the way I pick the winners . . .

I check the total number of comments on the blog post, and then have the generator pick 3 numbers within that number range. In WordPress (my blogging software) it is pretty easy for me to go in and find the comments with the winning numbers because I can display the comments for a particular post 20 on the screen at a time.

Why am I telling you this? I am telling you this because  this is the reason why I ask that entries be left in the comments and not emailed to me or sent using the “contact me” form. If one sends me an entry via email or the “contact me” form (which is also emailed to me and in fact sometimes ends up in my spam filter, for whatever reason), the entry is not assigned a number.

Okie dokie, gotta run! I’ve got a busy Sunday planned. Lucy does as well:

She has to “make biscuits” on her sheepskin!

A kitty’s work is never done.

I took a picture of the KOARC’s foot the other night, as he was wearing a pair of socks I had made for him.

I noticed what remarkable good shape they are in. This is the sole of the foot:

If you click to enlarge the pic, you’ll see there’s absolutely no sign of wear.

I went back through my blog, and found the project page for this pair, here. The yarn is Regia sock yarn (wool/nylon blend). I made this pair of socks for him in July 2003 — six and a half years ago! Since that time they have been worn regularly, machine washed in hot water, and dried on high heat. That Regia yarn wears pretty darn well, doesn’t it? Can’t ask for much better than that!

The second sock tale . . .

Remember these socks?

I finished them back in November — the Heather and Thistle Socks. They are knit from MacKintosh Yarns lovely lovely Iona fingering weight yarn — it’s 80% superwash merino/10% cashmere/10% nylon. The pattern is now available for sale, at MacKintosh Yarns, here.

The third sock tale . . .

My new sock-in-progress.

This is a design from my upcoming book, Toe-Up Socks for Every Body. They are called “Manly Aran Socks” and I designed them specifically for guys. The socks pictured in the book are knit from Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock in the “denim” colorway, lighter than the colorway I’m using. I showed the pic to the KOARC and asked him if he’d like the sample socks knit for the book (he’s the same foot size as the model). He said he’d like them, but he can’t have them until after they go on tour with me this year. (Alternatively, the KOARC could come on tour with me and wear those socks at every event, but then who would take care of Lucy while I’m away from home?)

Anyhow, I figured I’d knit him a pair right now. I’m using Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Sock, in the “Cookie’s Deep Dark Secret” colorway.

I’m actually a lot further along than the above picture shows.

This colorway is great to knit during daylight, but at night it turns into a dark navy, so I’m knitting blind most of the time.

Another thing . . .

The Argus Shawl pattern is up for sale in my Ravelry store, here (Ravelry link).

This shawlette can be knit from one 100-gram skein of sock yarn and when blocked measures approximately 54” across the top (wingspan) and 25” down the center back.

This pattern is perfect for a beginner knitter who wants to knit lace. The pattern is written in great detail and spells out everything you need to know. The lace is charted in 4 relatively simple charts that are easy to follow.

It is knit from fingering rather than laceweight yarn, which is much easier for a lace newbie to execute. The stitches used are knit and purl, and a few simple lace techniques – yarnover, knit 2 together, and ssk, and sl1 k2tog, psso (which are explained in the pattern).

Like the rest of my Ravelry patterns, I’m donating 50% of my profits through January 31, 2010 to Doctors Without Borders. Thanks to all of you who’ve bought patterns so far!

Lucy sez . . .

“When you go on the road, Daddy stays home with me. This is non-negotiable.”

A cellphone beanbag chair!

Here is Lucy’s favorite new toy:

A tear strip from a box. Gotta love kitties!

Right before Christmas I put my Talisman Shawl pattern up for sale on Ravelry for $5.00 for a pdf download. Here is the direct link.

And I finished Ishbel. Here it is on Gwendolyn, shown draped over the Talisman Shawl, which is draped over my Exonumist’s Shawl:

A close-up:

And a floor shot:

I knit the larger size and used Dragonfly Fibers Dragon Sock in the Green Riptide colorway, on a U.S. 6 needle. It used about 1.5 skeins of the yarn. I didn’t wet-block it — just steamed it with my trusty steam-iron.

And I started something new.

Can you guess what it is?

Lucy sez:

“Now where is my tear-strip?”

This is the Talisman Shawl, which I designed and knit in 2008. I would have been highly impressed indeed if anyone had identified this as that pattern:

Here’s a close-up on the pattern stitch in the original version:

And here’s a close-up in my current version:

The original was knit from a laceweight handspun merino/tencel on a U.S. size 5 needle. I’m currently knitting it in fingering weight on a U.S. size 5 needle. Interesting to see how it looks, eh?

(I agree that it does resemble the Fountain Pen Shawl, but I designed and knit the original a good six months before that shawl pattern was published in IK so I wasn’t influenced by it!)

I never did anything with the pattern, apart from knitting it up. I came across the pattern a few days ago and thought it would be fun to knit it up in in fingering weight. So there you have it!

It may just be me . . .

But I think the nutcracker in this office party invitation looks rather shifty-eyed and sinister. He probably is, given who is hosting the party.

(Click photo to enlarge and make readable . . . and spot the punctuation issue!)

To change the subject . . .

Check out this perfect little profile:

An easy Faroese-style shawl knit from the bottom up that takes 600 – 650 yards of dk/light worsted yarn.

How easy is it? I finished it in under a week. Gotta love knitting with DK-weight yarn right after knitting with laceweight!

But I’ve not blocked it yet, so the official FO post will have to wait til Sunday. The color in that photo is way off because I was shooting into the sun.

In the meantime . . .

Book Review!

I have in my hot little hands (and have had for a week or so) a copy of this book:

Men’s Knits: 20 New Classics by Erika Knight. The publication date is September 1 — next Tuesday.

As the title suggests, this is a collection of classic designs for men. I love how the table of contents has photos of each design:

And there are some accessories as well as sweaters:

For each design, there is a photo of the sweater being worn by a “real” looking guy, as well as a photo of the sweater lying flat, with arrows superimposed on it to show you exactly where the size measurements were taken.

Of course, most of the models were young and cute:

But there are a couple of older guys in here too. Here’s one of them:

For the most part, the sweaters are indeed classic and non-fussy — perfect guy sweaters. This is the only one that gave me pause:

But I think it is just a matter of a too-big sweater on the model. Your mileage may vary, but most guys I know would not wear an oversized sweater like that.

Well, the back cover photo made me stop and think as well:

The cardigan looks rather ill-fitting but then, the pants do too.

There’s a range of sizes — from small to xxl. But a word of warning: the small is generally a 36″ chest, and the xxl is 44″. When I think of xxl for a man’s size, I think of 50″ or so. If you are knitting for a big guy, these sizes might not work for you.

There’s a wide variety of yarns represented from chunky to fingering, all of which could be swapped out and subbed with little problem, I think.

Okay, who would like my review copy?

If you’d like to be entered in a drawing to receive this book, leave a comment to this post by noon Eastern time on Sunday, August 30, 2009. I’ll draw a name at random then.

Lucy sez:

“I can’t wait!”

There were a couple of questions about using a heavier yarn to knit it — you could definitely knit it using a worsted weight yarn. I’d recommend a U.S. size 8 needle or thereabouts, but you could do a swatch to see how you liked the resulting fabric and adjust accordingly. And of course the shawl — well, blanket now, would be much larger. But I guess that’s the point, huh?

Thanks for all your kind comments about this design! I am very happy with it. It was fun to knit, not very difficult, but entertaining enough to keep my interest, and I love the yarn — Dream in Color Smooshy. So what’s not to like?

By the way, I purchased my Smooshy for this shawl from my very favorite purveyor of yarn, Sheri at The Loopy Ewe. Note that Sheri has an anniversary sale going on right now — The Loopy Ewe has been in business for three years now! This week, through Friday, all Lorna’s Laces yarn, Knitspot patterns, and Zecca accessories are on sale — 20% off! What a deal! I might have purchased some Lorna’s Laces last night.

Sheri is having two more sale weeks this month to celebrate the anniversary, so keep an eye on her blog for news and updates.

So.

I’ve moved on to a new lace project. Behold — a pink blob!

This, as I mentioned yesterday, is some lovely Black Bunny Fibers laceweight. It’s 1300 yards of an alpaca/shetland blend. Not too fine — the 1300 yard skein weights 230 grams (a bit over 8 ounces). I particularly like slightly heavier laceweight, so this is just about perfect as far as I’m concerned. And good golly, look at that yummy colorway! It’s called “Hot Lips.”

I’m using a US 3 (3.25mm ) needle, because what I’m going for is a more solid rather than airy look.

I have embarked on a Faroese shawl, knitting it from the top down. It’s kinda hard to see what’s going on here, but here’s a pic of the center back motif.

So far, so good!

Lucy Sez:

“Yes, I am still lying on Momma’s shawl. But look how cute I am!”

Eeeek! Run! Run!

That photo is slightly lighter than it is in reality.

Here’s a close-up that’s slightly darker than it actually is:

So if you look at both photos and squint, you might get an idea of the actual color.

I’m knitting along, knitting along. And knitting along. I’m close to 600 stitches per round now.

Three Bags Full

Check out these adorable bags:

A little project bag and matching accessory pouch from my friend Michele’s etsy shop, Three Bags Full. I love the fabric!

Michele’s bags are just beautifully made, and she uses the most adorable fabrics.

Check out the kitty bead on the zipper pull.

I also love that the project bag has a pocket inside it.

Michele also does custom work — I’ve tasked her with creating the ultimate lace knitting tote bag for me.

Thank You!

Thank you to everyone who bought a copy of my Exonumist’s Shawl pattern on it’s first day. I can’t wait to see your shawls in progress!

I did indeed make a “Patterns for Sale” page — it is linked to from a new tab up at the top of the blog.

Lucy Sez

Well, Lucy doesn’t say anything because she is fast asleep, worn out from showing off for the blog over the past few days. I gave her the day off.

There were a few Girasole questions yesterday:

Lynne E. left this comment on yesterday’s blog post:

I have a question about the Girasole pattern. You mentioned before that you were up to the maximum stitch count, but you seemed to have the entire border left to knit. How is it possible to knit a circular item from the center out, without having to increase at regular intervals as you move outward? Is the border lace pattern so stretchy that you can just block the border ferociously and get a circular piece?

This shawl pattern is based on the same principle as the famous Pi Shawl, by Elizabeth Zimmermann. Having knit a Pi Shawl in the past, I can tell you it works. However, I am no mathematician, so shall not attempt to explain the underlying principle.

Laura asked:

What kind of join do you use for a new ball when knitting lace?

When there are a few inches left on the current ball of yarn, I simply hold the “old” yarn doubled with the strand of the “new” yarn and knit a few stitches with this double strand.

Timmie asked:

My prediction was that you’d finish Girasole by weekend–are you going to make it?

Absolutely not! But barring any knitting atrocities, I will be on Chart G by the weekend.

However, I did make some good progress on Girasole today. We had a fairly major train delay this morning that tacked 45 minute on my morning commute. Forty-five minutes of extra Girasole knitting time!

By the way, have y’all noticed that I have no socks on the needles and haven’t for a full week? Am I going through sock withdrawal? Or am I sick of socks and renouncing them as the devil’s playthings? Have I taught Lucy to knit socks in my stead?

Tune in next week for answers to these burning questions and other inanities.

Lucy sez:

“Wait . . . did she just call me an inanity?”