AtomicKnits

Summer Flies

This is a shawl I just finished knitting out of some handspun I made a couple of years ago. My friend, Gail, gave me this pattern and it looked like a pretty fun, quick knit.  There are a lot of different stitch patterns that keep it moving and interesting. The half-circle shape and the picot edge are also pretty interesting.

A lot of people I have shown this to have pointed out that they like this knotted openwork section the best. I think, especially with the weight and texture of my handspun, that this section makes it look kind of hippie-ish, and I don't like that. I do think the color I picked was spot on, it makes the shawl look like a sun.  The color is more accurate in the picture below - more orange-y golden.

Summer Flies
Pattern Source: Holly and Ella Knits
Yarn: Merino/Silk Handspun
Needles: US 8

Laminaria is all the way finished finally!

Well finally this thing is ALL THE WAY DONE!  This shawl was a big challenge for me to knit.  It had all kinds of weird increases and you really had to pay attention to the chart the whole time.  I kept saying to myself "This better be worth it when it's done" and it totally was.

It blocked beautifully, and I can't even find the mistakes I know I made throughout.  I don't know when I will get to wear this, but I like twirling it around a lot.  This Shawl From Hell was an epic battle, but I prevailed!

Laminaria
Pattern Source: Knitty Spring 2008
Yarn: J. Knits Lace-A-Licious, colorway Pueblo
Needles: US 6

Laminaria is bound off!

Man oh man, this thing is FINALLY off of the needles. Laminaria, which Justin and I have affectionately been referring to as "the shawl from hell" is this close to being all the way done.  I just need to block it.  My pins are in a box somewhere in my storage unit, and totally not worth search for, so I have to get some sometime when I am out and then the blocking will begin!  I'm going to use our bed and pin it out in the morning on of these days so hopefully it will be dry by the time we need to go to sleep. The yarn is so thing, and the A/C will be blowing on it, so hopefully it's not a problem.  This thing was difficult to knit.  I really hope it comes out mind-blowingly beautiful after blocking.

Laminaria Update

So, I started this Laminaria about a month ago.  I don't think I'm really enjoying that much.  It's a project that I can't do in any kind of social or even TV watching situation.  The chart is pretty difficult and it has these really fiddly stitches. Pain. In. The. Ass.  This is the first time I'm using true lace weight yarn, and it isn't so bad.  On the rows that don't have the insane stitches, I can actually go pretty fast.

I'm just hoping that it is going to look so awesome with it's finished and blocked that I'm not going to care about how much I grumbled my way through it.  Those flower things are kind of pretty.

Christmas Gift 3/3 - Forest Canopy Shawl for Mom

Before I gave the Zetor Scarf to my Grandma, I let my mom see it.  When she saw it she put it on and really seemed to like it a lot.  So, I knew I wanted to knit her a lace shawl for Christmas.  I really love the way this shawl came out!  I think it's the best lace project I've done so far, and I LOVE the color of this yarn.

This is also the first time I used blocking wires to block a lace item.  I didn't buy wires specifically for knitting.  I went to Home Depot and bought 4 welding rods.  They were about $2 each and did the job great!

Here's my mom in the shawl on Christmas morning!

Forest Canopy Shawl
Pattern Source: I'm Knitting As Fast As I Can
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, colorway Ring-A-Line
Needles: US 8

Zetor scarf is finished!

I just pulled my Zetor scarf all of my cork board and it's beautiful.  It turned out to be pretty large, which is a Good Thing I think.  I was afraid that the lace pattern might get lost in the variegated colorway but I don't think it's too bad.  I am glad that I didn't choose a more complicated lace pattern, however.

I really hope my Grandma likes this shawl and wants to wear it a lot.  I know she'll appreciate the work that went into it.  I'm glad I am knitting holiday gifts this year.

Zetor Scarf
Pattern Source: Jatta Soheltaa
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino, colorway Blues/Purples
Needles: US 7

Zetor scarf is blocked and drying

I had to rip back the bind-off row of the Zetor Scarf twice because I underestimated the amount of yarn I would need to bind off.  I used a stretchy bind off that would allow me to be able to pull and pin the little points out as far as I could while blocking.  The bind of is the same one used for my Swallowtail Shawl and goes as follows: K2, *pass stitches back to left needle, K2tog tbl, K1* repeat between ** to the end.

Because of my bind off adventures, I couldn't complete all 14 rows of the lace edge chart, so the edge isn't as "pointy" as t could be, but I still think it looks good, and I used up exactly how much yarn I had, so that was satisfying.  I ended up doing 6 repeats of chart 2 and only 9 rows of chart 3.  I can't wait until it dries.  I love pulling up the pins and seeing how it stays perfectly in shape!

The holiday knitting has begun.

As the years go on, I continue to have mixed feelings about Christmas and the overall holiday season.  I love spending the time with my family and I love giving people I care about the perfect gift.  However, Christmas seems to have become only about "stuff" and how much new stuff you're going to get as gifts and how much stuff you can afford to give to others.  Because of my recent extended vacation and my new job (I am working part-time for now, more on that later...),  I won't have nearly as much money as last year that I'm going to want to spend on Christmas gifts.  This year I am going to try to make most of my Christmas gifts.  Here's the first one!

This is going to be a shawl for my Grandma.  I feel ok posting about this early, because, well, she's not what you would call 'Internet savvy."  This is the Zetor Scarf and the construction of it is very similar to the Swallowtail shawl that I knit for the Olympics.  The yarn is Cherry Tree Hill Supersock.  I received this yarn in my Valentine's Day Swap package, and every time I saw it in the stash, I thought about how perfect the colors were for something for my Grandma.  I am excited to get this one done and blocked, because all lace items look like poop until they are blocked.

Jeanie is COMPLETELY finished!

Man, am I glad to get this done!  I cam back from my trip to Beth's house, and Jeanie was all dry on my bedroom floor.  It turned out SO GOOD.  I am very proud of this shawl.  It was a monster project for me.

I love how the shawl dried and the drop stitches form perfect straight ladders.  The shawl grew a significant amount length-wise after blocking.  I was kind of counting on that, because I didn't *quite* have enough yarn to knit it to the measurement specified in the pattern.

I want to thank my Valentine's Day swap angel, knitpixie, for sending me the yarn I used to make Jeanie.  She picked out a beautiful color that I'm not sure I would have had the sense to pick out for myself.  Now, I need to find a dress to match!

Jeanie
Pattern Source: Knitty, Winter 2007
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy, colorway Some Summer Sky
Needles: US 6

Jeanie is FINALLY off of the needles!

Late last night I finally finished all of the knitting on Jeanie.  I loved being able to take apart my 20 inch size 6 circular needle and put it back in its case with all of its friends.  I have a small amount of the yarn left over that will probably be used for a stripe or two in a pair of socks. 

I washed it and pinned it out to dry in my bedroom.  It got a bit larger after blocking, but I ended up a little short of the length in the pattern when I was done knitting.  I'm going away for the long weekend, so when I come back it should be all dry!  I will take better pictures of it then.  This wrap will be so nice to keep warm with now that fall is coming up.