Knit-along rewards

Although yesterday was my birthday and  nearly all the post that arrived at our house was for me, today was a very exciting post day too

(Do you see the customs label)

Its my prize from the BlightKAL (Organised by Karen of Ridiculous Knits) all the way from the USA.  Beautiful hand painted yarn from Punita Yarns

I already have the other half of my prize, the pattern for Pine Barrens from Deborah Frank, I'm longing to get teh skeins would and begin.

When I last blogged about my Blight it was in the embryonic stage (I would have said tadpole but there is a knitting problem with that as it only ends in frogging).   I was so thrilled to finish very late the following Saturday night having knitted like a demon for 7 days!

Unblocked, fuzzy and a little blurred (it was late).  

But after a long soak in Eucalan (the colour of the yarnscape yarn did run a little) and lots of pulling into shape with blocking wires and holding with pins it had grown into  perfectly flat, multiple pointy, leafy, lacy, loveliness

Something like this needed a perfectly plain frock to wear with it - pale green silk twill, with just a touch of frivol, shell buttons in all the colours of the shawl and one more...

xx

C

#BlightKAL progress

Rules is Rules and The Rules say it's OK to swatch before-hand but not to cheat and keep knitting instead of casting on again on day 1 of the KAL.  So I frogged my swatch

Day one was Sunday and I knitted all afternoon .  The main chart, chart B has to be repeated 7 times but that is if you are making the shawl in sock weight.  My yarn is lace weight so I shall have to add several more repeats.  Three complete by the end of day 1

Each pattern row grows by four stitches so the work gets slower and slower, although I am making up a bit of speed by getting more familiar with the stitch pattern.  Day 2 only 1 repeat as most of my knitting was done at knitting group and I would never be able to knit lace and talk at the same time.

I had another knitty frustration on day 2 - my railway knitting, consisting of toe up two at a time socks on two circular needles, was severely hampered when didn't remember I had robbed that knitting bag of one of the circs to make Blight.  Only one repeat completed.on day 2

Day 3 better, three more repeats (it looks smaller because it crunches up as you knit and the colour is due to taking an i-phone pic at some time past midnight.)

Day 4 (today) and I haven't begun knitting yet as I'm working (at home).   This does not stop me swapping sarky comments on twitter and suggesting a fellow knitter visits a friend's house and steals from her stash. But @knitsend has finished!  Oh well onwards and upwards

xx

C

Knitting A-long

I have found the perfect use for this beautiful Yarnscape Lissom in winter sea that I bought from my friend Vandy's on line yarn shop a while ago.  Its Blight by Deborah Frank and I shall be knitting it in the company of tweeting knitters world wide in a knitalong organised by @atknitsend.  The details and sign up are on her blog 

So I've bought the pattern

Blight by Deborah Frank

wound the yarn

and swatched

Now anyone who reads this blog regularly will know I am too impatient to swatch very often.  This sometimes results in disaster and knitting and entire sweater twice but this time if I didn't prepare I would be in for some public humiliation.  I have also done my usual thing and set my heart on using yarn that is not the recommended weight for the project.  Deborah Frank calls for sock weight and the  Lissom is lace weight.

So... swatch is what I did this afternoon.  I have knitted the foundation chart and one repeat of the main chart.  I may have to repeat the main chart more than the 7 times stated in the pattern if I don't think the long side of the triangle is large enough but otherwise the lace weight will do fine.

The real work begins on Sunday, there are lots of excited tweeters chatting with the hash tag #brightKAL so if you tweet, look out for us there.  I will also blog a little PS up date following my regular posts.

xx

C

PS there are some tempting special offers over at Affinity right now, I have just nabbed enough Noro to make a lanesplitter skirt, more of that later