Forest Canopy Shawl, kinda sorta wordless

I started this shawl back in October. It's knit from the handspun Romney that Voracious Reader and I dyed with Marigolds. It turned out beautifully, though it's much smaller than I expected  it to be (blocked: 56" x 25"). I've knitted this shawl before, and though I found the posts, I didn't note at the time whether I worked extra repeats. I must have, because that shawl is much larger while being knit with yarn that is far more fine.  This one is too small to be an adult shawl, at least as a full-size shawl (it would be fine as a neck decoration), so I think maybe it'll go to VR.

Okay, that's enough words- the pictures tell the story.

Yarny Stuff- on the road and at home

Yesterday, we took a small road trip that turned into a slightly longer road trip. The Hub needed to check out plumbing and bathroom supplies at any outlet that does not rhyme with *Schmenards*, so we hit the road to Brookings, to see the Lowe's there.

 On the way, I spindle spun some Coopworth roving that I bought at NCFF. It's lovely wool, though not at all soft, and far fuzzier than I expected it to be. It's going to make a really interesting yarn- not good for next-to-skin, but perfect for hats and mittens.

 Just before we got to the Brooking's exit, The Hub decided that we might as well go on to Sioux Falls, since it was only 50 more miles. Sioux Falls boasts not only a Lowe's, but also a Home Depot (plus Sam's Club, and of course, *Schmenards*). Sioux Falls also boasts a Granite City, which justifiably boasts about its prosciutto olive flatbread pizza, which was even better than it looks in the photo. 

Unfortunately for The Hub, he didn't find the info he needed, but we ate a good lunch,  stocked up at Sam's and headed back home in some of the worst wind I've seen in a long time. The flooded fields had whitecaps and waves.

 Last evening, while watching Parks & Rec, Community, and The Office (all three doing well this season, especially P&R), I finished spinning and plying another large hank of the self-striping Romney. This is 5.6 ozs and 203 yards. It's thinner than worsted weight yarn, but I suspect it'll knit up just fine on size 5 needles anyway.

And this amorphous blob is the beginning of a Forest Canopy Shawl, worked with the handspun Romney that Voracious Reader and I dyed with marigolds over the summer. I started with the most pale yellow hank, and I'll work my way through the darker shades, though since I'm knitting this on size 8 needles, I suspect I won't get to the darkest yarn before I finish the shawl, even though I intend to make it larger than the pattern calls for.

P.S. It's not that The Hub dislikes *Schmenards*- I think he was mostly in the mood for a road trip

P.S.S. I ate the leftovers for lunch today, and the pizza was just as good reheated.

Speed Record

I can't believe that I finished the Forest Canopy shawl already. Not only finished, but washed and blocked, and ends woven in.

It helps that I knitted it on size 8 needles, and that I was glued to the TV last night. But the real credit has to go to the lovely pattern. This is a very versitile design- it can be worked in any size yarn, and to any size. No recalculation is needed to make the border work with additional repeats- just work to the end of the 8-row rep, and start the border.

This yarn (Rose Garden, 2-ply merino hand spun from hand-dyed roving) is particularly hard to photograph, but the outside shots capture the colors the best, I think (I was pretty leery about taking it outside- we have pea-soup fog this morning, and it was so damp that was afraid it would revert to form in short order).

Stats: Blocked: 72" x 33", used about 400 yds of yarn (a little over 4 ozs), Size 8 needles for the body, with Size 10 for the BO. I worked 5 extra repeats (ended up with 80 more sts than called for). My calculations for figuring out the largest possible number of repeats was off a little. I would have had enough yarn to knit one more repeat, but the shawl is plenty big enough as is.

Of the lace yarns I've used so far, the Pima Cotton (Snowdrop) has the best stitch definition. On the other hand, it's the least pleasurable to knit with, so even though I have a 4lb cone on hand, I don't think I'll be using it again soon. There is something totally satisfying about knitting with handspun (Swallowtail, Cascade Madeira, Forest Canopy), and I have plenty ready to wind, but I discovered 2 balls (almost 500 yds) of cream colored laceweight Alpaca that are calling me (hurrah for buying yarn years ago, and then forgetting about it). I also don't know whether I want to knit another triangle, or a rectangle (no desire to knit a circle shawl yet). And I don't know if I want to design something, or go with something from Victorian Lace Today, or Arctic Lace (or Ravelry, or ... or... or...).

Whatever I decide, I have just begun to lace.

Run, Forest

(not many canopy puns that don't involve a can o' pee, and I'm not going there)

The Forest Canopy shawl is progressing nicely- it doesn't photograph well at this stage because unblocked lace is just a mass of lumps. But this shot does show the colors well. It looks pretty busy, but I think once it's blocked, it'll be fine.

I figured out how to calculate the remaining yarn in order to use up as much as I can, without running out on the final border rows (this is handspun yarn. there is no more. anywhere). I weighed the ball of yarn at the beginning of the last repeat, and then again after I finished it- the shawl gained 16 sts, and I used 11gr of yarn (out of a total of 73gr remaining). I will weigh the yarn again after the next repeat, which should give me a notion of how much more yarn than 11gr the next 16 st gain will eat. The repeats are 8 rows, and the border is 10 (including a loose bind off), so if I leave enough yarn for 2 full repeats for the border, I should be able to finish and have a little left over. My rough guess is that I'll knit 2 more repeats, and then move on to the border. Wish me luck.

This shawl is an amazingly quick knit. Note that I am working without a net- or more literally, without stitch markers. At least without stitch markers after every 8st repeat. So far, that's working out pretty well, though there are mistakes. There are always mistakes.

And if you're an American Citizen, and haven't done it yet- go vote already.

Snowdrop Hangover

I probably should have worked on some socks, or something simple to cleanse the palate, before diving right into the Forest Canopy Shawl, but I was on a roll and antsy to get started. So I wound the Rose Garden 2-ply merino handspun yarn and buckled down.

And not quite quickly enough, realized that if the previous pattern always had a YO on either side of an SK2P, my fingers would occasionally, and without my notice, place a YO on either side of an Sk2P even where the current pattern does not call for holes.

Also, I used needles that were too small. (Confession time: though my books rightly stress the importance of swatching, I hardly ever do it myself. Shameful, I know).

So I tore it out, and started Forest Canopy over with size 8 needles (much larger than I would have expected to need with fingering weight yarn), and am now, as they say, bookin'.

Truly, this is a lovely pattern, perfect for new lace knitters. There is lots of explanation, and very clear instructions, and a nice chart (though I think the Ktbl symbol is too similar to the YO symbol- I fixed that by using a highlighter on the Ktbl spots). The pattern is written for heavier yarns, and the blocked shawl isn't very large (52" x 23", I think), and it's designed to use 350 yds of yarn, or less (a single skein), which is wonderful for stash busting. But I have over 450 yds of this handspun yarn, and I want to use it up, and I'd like a slightly larger shawl, so I'm going to knit a few more repeats before moving on to the border. The tricky part will be figuring out when to start the border. The border is just 10 rows, and if I begin it when I am halfway through the 2nd ball of yarn, I should be okay. I hope.

This yarn is far bouncier than I expected (after knitting 2 shawls with cotton), and it's one of those top-down triangles, which are hard to photograph in-progress (especially since I'm using straight needles), but I did manage to get a scan of the pattern repeat. Lovely, no?

And for lace, this is an extremely quick knit- if I was working it to the pattern specs, I would be on to the border in about 10 more rows. Amazing.