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Laminaria Shawl

Posted on March 30, 2015 by auburnchick

A lot of things have gone by the wayside this school year.

I’ve been an inconsistent blogger.

My housekeeping has gone to pot.

My knitting, though, has not ceased.

In January, I cast on for this term’s OWL…a three-month project that reads almost like a dissertation when a proposal is submitted.  We’re hard-core on Ravelry!

I love to knit lace, so the Laminaria Shawl fit the bill.

I used Malabrigo yarn I’d purchased some time before (I didn’t have to use the pink, but it was there as a backup plan in case I ran out of the purple), but it wasn’t long before I hit a snag.

Thank heavens for Ravelry.  Folks, if you want to make this shawl, DO YOUR HOMEWORK!  There are some issues with symmetry in the pattern.  The KAL (knitalong) forum for this pattern proved invaluable and helped me figure out how to adjust the stitches on the left side in the first couple of charts.

I used a lot of lifelines and about halfway through quit counting stitches.  It gets old counting out three to four hundred stitches.  Relying on my ability to hit the end of a section with the right stitch was scary, and I often tinked back to fix mistakes.

Still, I persisted.

Mom’s health crisis nearly did me in at the end.  Deadline knitting can be stressful, but it’s also a motivating factor when I knit.  That’s been a big bonus since joining the Harry Potter Knit/Crochet House Cup.

I took this project with me during both trips to visit my mom.  I knit in her hospital room by the light provided by the bathroom during the times when Mom’s headaches were so bad that she couldn’t tolerate any extra light.

I knit in the car when Super Sis drove the second trip down.

I knit when the Mr. picked me up and we traveled to Orlando for a Spring Break vacation.

I knit on the way home and then the day after that.

Blocking went much quicker than I’d originally expected, and I was able to take pictures the next day.

I do love my picture taking, although I sometimes fear that my neighbors will one day commit me to the loony bin; the sight of a camera on a tripod and me running back and forth to set the self-timer must be hysterical to behold.

A special thanks to the Mr. who did snap a few photos for me.  He grew aggravated, snapped a photo of my rear end for laughs (husbands…sheesh), but tolerated my request for help…to a point.

I wound up using nearly both skeins of yarn (935 yards), more than meeting the 800 yard requirement for this Charms OWL.

I tried to figure out a way to show off the lace work.  The purple yarn was difficult to photograph.  I hit upon an idea…using the shawl like stained glass.  My front window provided the perfect backdrop.

I’ll let you peruse the rest of my photos.  It’s a smorgasbord, that’s for sure!  If you want more details about the project, visit my project page on Ravelry!  I’m Auburnchick over there!

Filed under: Knitting | Tagged: , , , , | 2 Comments »

Candlepower Socks

Posted on October 27, 2014 by auburnchick

My strategy for getting lesson plans finished before the weekend is beginning to reap dividends.

Yesterday, I finished another project!

I present my Candlepower Socks…the second pair of three proposed socks for this term’s OWL.

It took me thirteen days to complete this pair.  I could have done it in a week had it been summer (aka no responsibilities).

The yarn is Gypsy Girl Creations, Transitions, and the colorway is Evening Solitude.  I used 316 yards (almost two skeins) and size 0 needles.

This pattern was less tedious than the pair I finished a couple of weeks ago.  The pattern was easy to understand and just made sense, if you know what I mean.

The only thing I wish is that I’d gotten to the yellow part of the yarn.  I had envisioned starting with this color but didn’t wind my yarn that way.  Oh well.

I have one more pair of socks to complete before the end of November and hope to cast on sometime this week.  It may be the weekend, though, because I know how zombied out I get during the week…especially with me working so hard early on to make my lesson plans…staying up into the wee hours of the night to meet my goal.

Stay on the lookout though.  You know I’ll share!

Filed under: Knitting | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Vernal Equinox Shawl

Posted on July 22, 2014 by auburnchick

Although it has seemed as though I’ve been sleeping the summer away, I have, in fact, kept myself busy…reading…watching many, many episodes of Alias, AND knitting.

“Sid, Sloan is here,” Marshall mutters in a barely-audible voice. heehee

The Harry Potter group I’m involved with on Ravelry encourages “students” to propose and complete OWLs.  An OWL is a larger project that requires more time to complete.  It’s a fairly big deal to propose and must meet the specifics of the prompt a student selects.

I set my sights on a Runes project…one that required multiple charts.  Enter in my Vernal Equinox Shawl, a free pattern you can find on Ravelry.

Here’s my swatch…

I’d purchased Cascade Alpaca yarn for it during Spring Break.

I cast on May 25th.

The project grew…and grew…and grew.

For the first time in my knitting career, I used lifelines.  A lifeline is what you create when you run thin yarn or thick thread through a row of stitches.  I used quilt thread and ran it through the live stitches on my needle after I finished each chart.  Thank heavens because there were a few times when I had to tink back to fix mistakes, and because the yarn was so thin, stitches dropped.  Fortunately, the lifeline caught the dropped stitches, so I could put them back on my needle easily.

I finally got to the bind off row and got stuck.  I wanted to do the crochet bind off but wasn’t sure how, despite visiting YouTube.  I contacted a sweet friend, and she invited me to her home on her day off.  We spent a wonderful hour and a half together while she helped me figure out the instructions.  Note to anyone doing this pattern…TRUST THE INSTRUCTIONS.  They work out in the end.  In other words, don’t overthink them (ahem).

I began the cast off the next day.  It took me over NINE HOURS to finish.

I kid you not.

I had 652 stitches on the needle and was freaked out that the stitch count wouldn’t come out right.

I had created a chart to keep track of what I was supposed to do…

Fortunately (and surprisingly), I reached the end right on track with the pattern.  God had mercy on me!!!  😀

It took me a couple of hours to block it (pin it out).  I ran my blocking wires through the decrease stitches, making points in the process.

Here’s what it looked like when I took it off of the wires…

Here are close-ups…

On Sunday, the Mr. acquiesced to my request for photography assistance.  It was simply too humid to be running back and forth between the tripod and self-timer on the camera, which is how I usually take my knitting pictures.

I’m quite proud of this shawl, so please forgive my crazy number of pictures.

I’m not sure if I’m going to propose an OWL for the Fall term.  The beginning of school is crazy-busy, and I don’t want to stress myself needlessly.  However, I do like the challenge of a larger project.  I also think that an OWL would help me take time out for myself…something I feel guilty about doing because of my teaching responsibilities.  Guess I’ll just have to pray about it.

Either way, I hope you enjoyed the photos!  Thanks for allowing me to brag a bit.  😀

Filed under: Knitting | Tagged: , , , | 6 Comments »

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