FO Friday 7/15: The Lightning Thief MKAL

Shadowscapes Tarot

Well, I've survived to the end of the week - there were some touch and go moments, but a good bottle of red wine from Belo helped me stumble through them.

I had finished the Lily Go MKAL earlier in the week, then washed and blocked it, which hugely improves its appearance just as the Eviller Twin said it would (she finished ahead of me). It is a striking design which I think needs all the squillions of beads to really 'make' it:

Those striking lines definitely look like lightning, don't they ?

I had two 100g skeins of 4ply superwash in the colorway 'Mallard', a lovely rich teal which I obviously have problems photographing, from Gorgeousknits on eBay, which actually weighed in at205g, and I have 87g left, a minimum of 300m or so: plenty for some kind of small project.

The silver-lined beads which I bought from Nicola at Chromabeader .... not quite sure how many size 8/0 beads I used as I have been simultaneously using them for the Tru Wuv shawl, but somewhere in the region of 40 to 45g, I reckon; and for the size 6/0 ...I have 11g left of the original 50g. I think that counts as squillions, don't you ?

The blocking was quite painstaking .... see all those loops ? which made me glad I'd stuck with the medium size shawl.

The designer is friendly and approachable, with a friendly group on Ravelry - I'd definitely consider doing another MKAL if she did one.

MKAL Monday 3: Hurry Up and Wait

World Spirit Tarot

For some reason, I feel like I am plodding through this MKAL - perhaps it is that general 'Iwishitwouldhurryupandbedonenow' thing, or maybe it is rather that I haven't had much time to dedicate to it this last week - Belo has been convalescing at my house after a minor operation. But I dodged out of attending the kids' rugby yesterday and did all my housework instead, meaning that today I can devote at least 4 hours of daylight time to getting on with this shawl ....

Here it is after Clue 3:

All I have left to do of Clue 4 is the final 2 rows and the picot bind-off, which I shall do as soon as I have been to the little park - a lady has just called to tell me where she has left Sebastian's collar for me, after it came off a couple of days ago ....

MKAL Monday 2: Bling-a-Bling

Tarot of Durer

Remember I told you I had chosen to make the medium size of the Lily Go 'Lightning Thief' MKAL ?  Even that involves 1242 size 8/0 beads, apparently. After Clue 2, this is what it looks like:

And a close-up, just for effect ....

And since it's Monday, I should tell you of my rookie mistake - while I wait for the next clue, I can't start on the next in my special series of 6 shawls for 2015, because like a complete dodo I forgot that I'd need to ball the skein of Drops Laceweight I bought to replace the disappointing Violet Green Merino Lace which I shuffled off donated gifted to my Eviller Twin. Anyway, I have a ballwinder (oh yes, I've made ALL the jokes) but no swift, so I need another person to hold the skein, but there's only me and Sebastian here.

I'm also on the hunt for white or ivory laceweights available without hassles in the UK; silk and alpaca and/or blends thereof are most welcome as is anything else on the luxury end of the scale - if you have any suggestions or recommendations for yarn and websites, please let me know ....

MKAL Monday: First Lily Go

AnnaK. Tarot

 
 
So it's another grey Monday, very blustery and somewhat mild - but heavy rain is forecast just in time for the school pick-up, and will remain right through walking to Cubs. Yaay.

Instead of being miserable, let's focus on something new and interesting and mysterious instead - the Lily Go 'The Lightning Thief' MKAL, for which the first clue was released last Thursday - I had already posted about being ready here. You'll be happy to know that with age I am sometimes maybe getting a bit more cautious, which means that this morning I ordered some more of the size 6/0 silver-lined crystal beads, just to make completely sure that I shan't run out. I also ordered some more size 6/0 ivory Ceylon beads, which I definitely would run out of on another current project ....

Seeing the quantities of beads required by the pattern is all well and good, but when you begin to see them actually on the knitting, and you only have 28 rows so far , it brings home how many there actually are .... a bazillion. Or so.

I like to start shawls on straight needles because I find it easier, but I'll be switching to circulars soon, not only because of the amount of stitches, but also because it's easier to see the flow of the pattern.

If you're participating in a MKAL, pop the link in the comment section below ...

                                                                                                                                                    

MKAL Monday 4: Breezing In

Halloween Tarot

Well, Autumn arrived all in one day today - strong winds and heavy rain; but coming after the driest September on record, I found it quite refreshing, and enjoyed the opportunity to wear my new warm jacket which I bought in a sale way back in July .....

Anyway. The weather report is not what you're here for ... this week clue 4 of the SusannaIC MKAL was released, but for many (including me) it means a week of catching up on other projects as this clue is only for those making the Large size.

But I can show you mine after I had completed Clue 3:

I love the glint of the gazillion beads ... whatever you're working on, Mystery or plain KAL or CAL,. pop your link in below ....

MKAL Monday 3: Moving Along

Gendron Tarot

I'm about 4 rows into Clue 3 of the SusannaIC MKAL6, but let me show you what it looks like after Clue 2:

Definitely looking like Autumny colors to me - but outside after the fog has lifted we have bright blue skies and warm sunshine ....I do love an Indian Summer. Please pop your link in below to any MKAL, KAL, or CAL that you're blogging about ....

FO Friday: Summer MKAL Wild Flowers Shawl

Animals Divine Tarot

I thought the 6 of Wands for the unusual Animals Divine Tarot would be a good choice for today, as I have completed the Wild Flower Shawl MKAL.


I'm quite pleased with how it turned out; I'm glad I didn't bother with the 1700 or so beads that were part of the original - the sparkle of the metallic strand that runs through the Rico Design Creative Reflection yarn I used was more than enough.

I kind of wish I hadn't bothered with the nupps in the pattern - for the hassle involved, I'm not sure the results were worth it, as this yarn doesn't really show them up. However, looking at other people's projects, I noticed in many of them the same lack of ... not definition exactly ... but the 3D aspect that nupps ought to provide.

The sharp decreases near the end of the shawl may create a sort of gathered effect, and this may require careful blocking to avoid. You don't have to ask me how I know, cuz I know you know how I know already.

I did particularly like the bobble in the first amazingly long row - when blocked, they create a really lovely edging.

I know, I know, you're itching to see it. Wa-Lah !

The pattern itself is well-written and clear, and the designer is readily accessible through the Ravelry group if there are questions.

I hope you have as enjoyable a weekend as I am hoping for ....

WIP Wednesday 199: Cold Molasses

Spiral Tarot

Grey and overcast today, and the only thing that will ease me at the moment is a blitz of the house. I know, that just shows you how bad things are. But before I whizz off, I can tell you I've completed clue 3 in the Wild Flowers MKAL:

There are nupps in there. Although I quickly gave up with needles and used a crochet hook (on the purl row, to drag the yarn through the loops), I have no love for them whatsoever. I should have gone and bought some nice big sparkly beads and used them instead of the nupps, which are kind of lost in this yarn anyway. You live and learn, sometimes more slowly and painfully than one would wish - the crochet hook method in that link looks a breeze.

I've chosen to use the 'large lace' option on the Yalinka Shawl, and now stand at Row 45 out of 96. It still looks tiny:

I thought I had fished out all the dog hair, but the camera tells the truth: I failed. And it proves that I really, really do need to get the vacuum out. While I do that, why not pop over to Tami's Amis and see what else is going on .....

Random Roundup

Fantastic Menagerie Tarot

I'm feeling a little low today, mainly because the half-term holiday is over - Mini Diva is back at school, Titch is back at work. I have only Destructo Boy to console me, and he is welded to his tablet and 'Clash of Clans'.

Wilhelmina passed her MOT, the kids' cousin D. came to stay, we went to the beach, the kids went swimming a couple of times (different leisure centres), there was a sleepover, they went to the funfair with my friend K. - it was Destructo Boy's first time as he is finally old/tall enough, and it turns out he is as fearless as Mini Diva. There has been cricket and tennis.

It was a week of weatherly contrasts, too. There was this:

And there was this:

Noah, Noah - what is a cubit ??

 But there was no football. The team Destructo Boy played for has fallen apart owing to adults behaving like toddlers - I am told there has been lots of stirring and back-biting, resulting in the main coach flouncing off resigning having cherry-picked the boys from his clique of favored parents. The squad has collapsed: what is left is being run by a couple of fathers who have some innovative ideas for training, but who lack experience and the ability to impose any kind of discipline. 

If I sound annoyed, it is because I am - Titch and I, as openly confessed non-football types, were not amongst the clique, and so Destructo Boy now has no team - we withdrew him from the ruins of the squad as he will have no opportunity to grow his skills.

I think what has amazed me the most is the behavior of the adults involved: parents of kids on the A team sneering at parents of kids on the B team, committee politics, lack of support from the main club - I am hoping that it is a football thing as opposed to a sport thing. On the plus side, now we have Friday evenings and Saturday mornings free to try other things which might actually set a good example for their youth sections.

Sorry about that - I am apparently not as over the whole thing as I thought I was.

So anyway. Our potatoes are planted, along with some peas, beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries and one solitary pumpkin plant. There had been 6 pepper plants, but snails reduced them to 0 overnight. I am awaiting delivery on 48 lavender plants ( a deal where they were free if you paid for delivery) which will form a nice scented hedgey thing in the front garden. All that I am on the look-out for now is a plum tree for planting in autumn. I need to mention that Titch has done most of the planting, nearly all of the watering, and all of the weeding. Yes, I know !

There has been knitting - I am taking part in a new MKAL by Kitman Figueroa, which should be even more interesting since I got the name muddled in my head, so I've been thinking of it as 'Summer Flowers'. When it should be, 'Wild Flowers'. So I may have chosen a totally inappropriate yarn .... but I am looking at that as part of the mystery: will it work, or not.

And now I must away, today's chore is to order Mini Diva's high school sweater and blouses so I can collect them at her 'Transition Day' in a month's time .... and hope they might still fit come September.

FO Friday 175: It Ain't Easy ....

Victorian Flower Oracle

Well, all bar a few tiny grams of the Abstract Cat BFL Lace in 'Spring Greens' that Auntie Fashion gave me for my birthday is gone. But we have two nice crescent shawls to show for it; firstly, the SusannaIC Spring Fling MKAL, the actual name of the pattern is 'Fialka':

 There are seriously hundreds of beads, but you cannot see even one. Neither does the sunny day help in making the picture truly representative of the marvellous combination of blue- and lime- greens in this yarn.

And then, because I thought I would have enough yarn, a little crescent with the leftovers, 'Promise Me' from Boo Knits. I learned my lesson, and didn't bother with beads on this one:

I'm not 100% sure about the Boo Knits patterns - they look fabulous, in other people's projects. Mine ? Not so much. The lace looks like lots of holes, I find it difficult to see the pattern. But they are very light, delicate and airy looking shawls; ethereal might be the educated word to use.





Pop over to Tami's Amis to see more seasonal works ....

Boidies

Prairie Tarot

                                     I'm baaaa - cckk !

Didja miss me ? Didja ? Didja ? 

I wouldn't have survived if Belo and my MIL hadn't hurled themselves into the melee, and two gorgeous SILs had come to clean up the old house after our personal hurricane wafted through .... thank you.

I have more boxes wilting on the patio than in the house now; the kids have about 2 boxes of their stuff to unpack, I have 2 boxes that apparently came from my desk, according to the labels: and they are not small boxes, so I guess it must have Tardis-like qualities. I'm going to give it a month, and if I haven't  needed anything out of them, I shall condemn them sight-unseen, to the tip.

Plus, I got tricked by the recent mild and sunny weather, into thinking that Spring might be almost here, so I dug out the two flower beds in the front garden. Then last night we had a hard and heavy frost. Of course.

Well, yes, I did actually dig one, but only supervised Titch digging out the other one: loads of dead heather, long grass, and thistles. Our result:

No, I didn't think about Before pictures until After. Yeah.

I am going with white/silver/blues in the left-hand bed, and reds/oranges/yellows in the right-hand bed. I pruned the three neglected roses, and will see what they deliver over the summer as to whether they are permitted to remain.

And in addition, I have knitted nothing, nothing, I tell you, since the move - can you believe it ?? A mere lonely singular row in the Spring Fling MKAL, for which the latest clue has just been sent. I toyed with a bit of crochet - one that has a rather important deadline - but it's not doing as I want, so I am sulking.

Anyway, this house faces east/west, and the sun has reached the front, so I am off to the trenches with my trusty steed rusty tools .....

FO Friday 163: Umm ....

Fantastic Menagerie Tarot

So I seemed to have been really efficient this week - I have caught up on NaKniSweMo by completing the left front of the Blackberry Cabled Cardigan, which leaves me only the right front and a million miles of border to finish by next weekend.

I have also finished the last clue of the SusannaIC MKAL. Then for no reason whatsoever apart from an empty head, left it in a heap for two days before washing and blocking it. Not only did it take forever or nearly 3 hours to bind off (70 squillion stitches. Yes, I counted.) you can  imagine that blocking it this morning took quite a while as well; and now I have no sensation in my fingertips apart from pain.

I have mucked out Mini Diva's sty in anticipation of her return from her residential school trip later - but only reaped the rewards of one full black bag. I have even had some lunch. 

Then I sat around wondering why I felt like I had forgotten to do something - I had paid the bills and spoken to the landlady about the wet walls in Destructo Boy's room, so the ooky stuff was out of the way. 

And then, with only an hour left before Mini Diva's return, I remembered: I had planned to blog. So here it is. Worth the wait, wasn't it ?

No ?

OK, here, look at some pretty pictures of the Romanesque Shawl (Emily Ross) that I finished a while ago, and gifted (I'm sorry, Jill, truly I am, but the sound of your teeth on edge is kinda oddly appealing) the day I unpinned it to a lovely friend of mine who has been having a tough time recently, but still keeps smiling. I wonder if she might share with me those drugs she must be taking ?

If you remember, the yarn was Lanas Stop Baby Wool which I bought from one of my LYS', Jenny Wren's, which is well-stocked with a variety of good yarns at all price points, and is warm, welcoming and friendly too. No, she didn't pay me to say that - though if a ball or two of free yarn fell my way, that would be a lovely coincidence, wouldn't it ?

Now, pop on over to Tami's Amis to see who else has finished things ....