Lace CRAZY!

Note:
Okay, before we get to today's main content, let me note this:
Camera: Check
Computer: Check
USB Cable: Uh, oopsies...
The USB Cable is absent and thus will not be bringing you today's photos.

Friday:
It all began a little over a year ago, probably the weekend before Wednesday, August 30, 2006's entry "TTY, or a parody of Tortured Tangled Hearts". And it ended perhaps half an hour to fifteen minutes before midnight on Friday, September 14, 2007. It thus took a year and a half. You query, what am I talking about? Well, Arachnera brings you, as of today, the finished (but yet to be blocked) Snowdrop Shawl. (Take a peep at the above note for why the picture is missing...)
Stats:
1 100g skein KnitPicks Bare Merino Laceweight (880yds), natural
U.S. size 6 straight needles
1 dpn, size 10, 10 1/2 or 11 (I don't remember exactly what I used)
1 yr, 1/2 month.
This shawl was proudly modeled at the Wool Gathering.


Saturday:
The day of the Wool Gathering! There will most certainly be more socks on the way, because I got three skeins of sock yarn there. I also bought 3 oz. Wensleydale sliver in a deep green with red and blue fibers, 1 oz. Fox Fibre Vreseis cotton in a medium brown color, and 4 oz. Romney(?) roving in charcoal gray. Check later for more updates on what happens with this sock yarn.

After we got home from the wool gathering, I must have had the "startitis." Yes, oh, yes, I started socks like mad, but one was frogged. Now I have four pairs of socks "in progress." I listened to Lion Boy, by Zizou Corder.

Sunday:
Listened more to Lion Boy. Started a sock on U.S. size 1, set of 4 dpns, in the KnitPicks Felici Hummingbird I received this past July.

What happened to the other skein of laceweight I bought according to the Yarn Harlot's estimated quantity? Ah, well, I picked up A Gathering of Lace from the library, and having been looking around, I have decided that I absolutely love several of the Shetland lace shawls. (Such as the Unst Bridal Shawl, the Princess Shawl, and the Spring Shawl here.) as well as several of the American Alpaca Company's shawls (The Whisper shawl, the Winter Wonderland Shawl, the Misty Morning Shawl, the Forest Path Stole, and the Reflections Stole). (Three free lace patterns that intrigue me, but are being saved for a later date: Eunny Jang's Print o' the Wave stole,{totally irrelated, but I do believe I like just about any Eunny Jang design. Kudos to Eunny!} Orenburg style shawl{As a sidenote, be forewarned that the Orenburg shawl is a huge PDF file due to its pages of charts), and Daisies shawl) Anyway, I'm thinking I might try a slightly modified version of the Shetland Sampler stole by Hazel Carter from A Gathering of Lace. {I keep going off on tangents, or as my teacher calls them, rabbit trails, but anyway, have you seen Sweaters from Camp? I've never knitted Fair Isle, but that book made me want to try} So I dyed the other skein with Kool-Aid this weekend.
This did not turn out as I intended... The color seems to be a pale pink/dusty antique rose, rather than the reddish purple I was hoping for. I used 1 packet grape and 1 packet fruit punch on 1 100g skein of yarn.

Monday(Today):
I have knitted a good deal on those socks in KnitPicks Felici. I am at the time of this blog entry almost finished with the seventh repeat of the 12 row pattern, and past the heel, where I am doing an afterthought heel, albeit with a scrap yarn knitted in. The yarn seems to have some subtle variation in color within the solid section that reminds me (I am not an authority on this sort of thing, having never really properly experienced kettle dyed yarn) of kettle dyed yarn. I may give you a pattern for this.
Also, on the web today, I listened to KnitPicks Podcast 20 while knitting on my socks. This was my first podcast, and I chose today to try one because I had finally remembered to bring my socks today! And what did I start thinking of as Kelley Petkun was talking about short rows and I was working on my socks? This entry, from all the way back in January (!) from the Yarn Harlot's blog. Fortunately, Ms. Petkun does not have any power over my knitting, though it was a bit more difficult to pay attention. I may put up the patterns to my two sock designs, however, they are highly based off Sensational Knitted Socks patterns, so if they do get up, they will not have extensive information. By reading my blogs listed in the sidebar (Note to self: Fix Eunny Jang link), I came across this sock pattern which I will have to try sometime.

For no particular reason, if you were wondering, I kind of lagged out of Runagogo, but I may just make another effort now that cooler weather has started once the new session starts.
Unfortunately, I have got to go now.
Happy Knitting,
Arachnera

P.S.: Fall Knitty's out!

Short Randomness

Kromski has a new wheel: Sonata. They are very musical.

No Kromskis at the Wool Gathering, at least not for sale; in fact, I saw very few spinning wheels for sale at all. It's possible that someone brought a Kromski to spin on, but I'm not sure. I did try out an Ettrick Windwheel at the booth of the something or other of the Greater Miami Valley(?). Why such a wheel? I just wanted to try spinning and that happened to be the wheel I tried on.

I bought an ash lucet from the Rouge Lucette. I finally figured out how to use it that Saturday night.

"From the Archives": (Not really, after all, there are no archives!)

HOW KNITTING SAVED A SCIENCE PROJECT:
The junior high student had been sick over Christmas break and she had to start her science project that day. She finally found most of the items she needed for her weather instruments. However, the type of shoelace needed for the psychrometer could not be found. Thinking about it, she realized that a tubular shoelace could be simulated with that type of knitting known as I-cord. So she got out her U.S. #4 dpns, and some white Sugar 'n' Cream and saved her project with I cord. Horray!

Hmmm....

Today is 9/6/06. There are exactly 10 days until...

The Wool Gathering

This event takes place in Yellow Springs, Ohio. 10 days! Yes, I wish to go. This will be my first fiber festival. And...

I hope there might be Kromskis there.

Yes. I saw my first spinning wheel back in June/July(?) when I went to here for the first time.

As to the shawl:

I have gone back to the Yarn Harlot's entries from 2004 and read her stories of the invention of the Snowdrop Shawl. In addition, the Snowdrop Shawl is now almost 41 snowdrops worth of knitting. Unfortunately, the rows are now over a 100 stitches, not necessarily too long, but not short and quick.