Priorites?

Now that the rain has stopped, and the pollen has cleared the air, my brain is now prepared to not only knit, but write about knitting. You see, for the past week, I've been living like David Blayne, as if my head were submerged under water. But, I didn't see Katie and Matt knocking on my door - and I was suffering, yes siree, what about the suffering of the common folk? Sheesh.

Anyway, Mother's Day is fast approaching, and I had to put all of my
Sheep and Wool thoughts on the back burner, and concentrate on finishing Kimono Shawl. With only 3 repeats to go (based on weighing what was left of my skein, not based on the actual pattern. I have no idea how many repeats I actually did), it was still the last thing I wanted to knit. Especially when I don't think my mom is even going to like it. When I went home for Passover, she showed off the new clothes she bought for the cruise she's going on next week. She bought a brown skirt, and a few tops to go with it - a fancy top, and a not so fancy top. Then, when I blocked Highland Triangle on her dining room floor, she said, hmmm . . . it's too bad that's not brown. Well, it's not brown. But if it were brown . . . you're welcome to take it on your cruise. But it's not brown. I know, it will never be brown - and, just get it out of your head - I already started your mother's day present, and it's not brown. And, here is the not brown Kimono Shawl:

I love it, so if she doesn't want it . . . I can always make Highland Triangle again, in brown. But, by then, it will be another cruise, and another skirt she's building a wardrobe around, and she'll want Kimono. Maybe, for the next cruise, she can just build her suitcase around Kimono -- I would.

Someone recently asked me if I would consider making Kimono again. There are a lot of things I've knit that I would consider making again - either because I wasn't quite happy with the finished project (Ene - too small), I'm tired of repairing moth holes, and I would even do it in the exact same yarn, colorway and all (razor shell capelet in Kureyon), or I would just like another one because the first one didn't hold up so well (Twisty Turns - major pilling with the Silver Thaw), but I've found that my knitting is really about tackling something new - and I always have something up on deck ready to go, that I never seem to get a chance to revisit past projects. So, Kimono again - in theory, definitely. But, I kind of have my eye on that Bird's Nest Shawl from Folk Shawls, which is the same shape - so why would I do a pattern I've already done, when there's something new and exciting to cast on?

With that said, this desire to tackle the new and untried is also the source of my knitting speed. On Wednesday, at knitting circle, Robin and I both cast on Clapotis with the same yarn that we both bought from the same vendor, Roz Houseknecht, at Sheep and Wool. I had bought a skein of hand dyed alpaca from her last year, that eventually became my feather and fan shawl, which I love, and I was actively seeking her out again this year. My colorway is a brightly jeweltoned, and her's are beautiful pinks - in the coral family. Robin made it quite clear that she was not knitting a project "with" me, that it was just a happy coincidence that we were casting on at the same time, and could figure out the pattern together. I made a sad face as she teased me about how I would be done over the weekend, and I knit too fast, and it would just make her feel inadequate. I poo pooed that - this isn't my priority knitting - pi shawl is my priority. But, when I got home that night, I became obsessed - WHAT'S IT GOING TO LOOK LIKE WHEN I DROP THE STITCHES??? I think that's why I like knitting with hand dyed yarns so much, you're just never quite sure exactly what it's going to look like until you're done - and that's why I'm so fast - I need to know - I don't like suspense, I have to know, NOW.

So, here is Clap 2 rows away from dropping the stitches:This yarn, a hand dyed silk/merino blend, is yumm-o! I can't stop touching it. As soon as I'm finished it, I'm going to turn the air way up in my house just so I can wear it before the fall. I weighed the first part of the scarf, and determined that I had enough yarn (700 yards) for 2 extra repeats in the increase section, and I can't wait to see what it's going to look like. Because it's knit on a bias, and because the stitches are still on the needle, it's hard to tell - and the suspense is KILLING ME!!! Luckily, I'm supposed to start a homicide retrial in June, and the original trial is 7 volumes - my morning, once this post is over, will be spent plowing through Vols 5-7, and DROPPING THOSE DAMN STITCHES.


And what's up on deck - oh yeah, that pi shawl that's supposedly my priority:
Round and round - as it grows, I feel like I'm knitting a big tumor. I'm on about row 48 -- I'm not really counting rows at this point - in this 576 stitch round, the instructions say, knit 40 rounds, or until you get tired. The previous stretch was 48 rounds, so I can go up to 96 rows before I would have to increase again. I'm on the last skein of the multi for this section, and then I'm going to do a repeat of mauve, and a repeat of the celery, then I'm going to switch to seafoam and the multi to finish it off. So close!

Close enough to have the next project in mind. As soon as I saw the Interweave preview on line, before I ever got my issue in the mail, I knew I wanted to make Icarus. It reminds me of wings, and butterflies, and who doesn't want to be a butterfly? I had my eye out at Sheep and Wool, and I did buy a laceweight alpaca in Ecru that is usable, but the yarddage (875) - would make me nervous (project = 880) - would make me knit even faster to get to the end to know if I had enough yarddage. Then, I had my eye on Lilac Zephyr - a lilac butterfly. But, I CANNOT BUY ANY MORE YARN - not considering all of the wool I bought this weekend (which I will reveal over the weekend once I post the podcast tonight) - so while I have visions of purple butterflies dancing in my head, I'm going to revisit Stitches, and this hank that was originally purchased for Forest Path Stole, until I got nervous about the yarddage:
My fingers are itching to cast this on (especially since Knitty D already has, arrhh!), but I'm supposed to have my priorities . . . but I want to see what it's going to look like . . .