ok, let’s get the obligatory snow pictures out of the way. yes, we have had the blizzard of ‘06 and it looks a little something like this…
snow on my temp gauge
i’m just excited that i didn’t have to go out in it. i’m not a snow person despite growing up in michigan (or maybe because.. hmmm..)
snow on the cars
anyway, before the big blizzard hit, friday evening was my usual spiders night at the point where i got a chance to cast on for my new knitting olympics project.
i think that the biggest challenges on this project are going to be following the chart and keeping my place when i set it down and pick it back up again. i’ve already made one teeny tiny mistake and, though i can barely tell it’s there myself, i think that it brings down my artistic score by at least half a point.
mess of stitches
anyway, it was great to start this project at the point with the spiders cheering me on. the cast-on was a little rough but lovely veronique and virginia both helped me get it right. from there on in, it’s all chart chart chart. as of this shot…
after two chart repeats
i’ve finished the upper basket chart and two repeats of the lower basket chart (i’m going to shoot for 8 total repeats since i have so much of this yarn) while watching veronica mars on DVD (love this show! thank god for netflix..) i do love the yarn, by the way. it’s a bit thicker than the alpaca that’s called for but it’s so soft and the color just glows. oh, and i’ve also followed veronique’s recommendation and am using a different double decrease than what’s called for in the pattern. we both like the centered decreases better so i’m using the dd that’s in the jaywalkers socks: slip two together knitwise, k1, and psso. it’s making a nice vein down the center of all the leaves.
leaf
when i’m tired of reading a chart at the end of the night, but not too tired to go to bed, i switch over to knitting the somewhat cowl. i have, since the last update, bound off the body, picked up sitiches on one sleeve and knit that down to the ribbing. here you can see my waist shaping…
waist shaping
and here you can see the decreases i did under the arm to make the sleeve a little more slender.
arm decreases
i’m so happy with how this has been knitting along. i’m taking my time on it but still really loving every minute of the project. a few more pictures in the gallery. ok, i’m off to knit some more before calling it a night.
in closing, i’d just like to point out two things non-knitting related: 1) dick cheney shot someone today. yes, the leaders of our country like to take guns and hunt poor defenseless little birds. they don’t seem to be good shots either. 2) this is a spectacular shot of the sombrero galaxy. why is is that we have to put the hubble out of commission again? (p.s. how many other galaxies can you see in this picture? amazing, no?)
lisa
Love the color on that Flower Basket Shawl. You’re doing a great job – you’ll definitely have that done by Olympics-end! And if you lose one point in artistic value for the tiny dropped stitch, you gain one for brilliant pattern altering on the dd change. Way to go!!
[am i being a great cheerleader, or what?]
Feb 13, 2006 @ 9:46 AM
kaitlyn
I am definitely losing in points for artistry, but maybe gaining in creative problem-solving? haha. They probably should let tired pregnant people knit lace competitively. It makes us yell at our husbands.
Feb 13, 2006 @ 10:02 AM
Katie
Yea Team Spider, Flower Basket Division! Thanks tons for your help casting on Friday. I’ve been booking it quite along since. Your pattern change is very nice, and it looks quite different from mine. SC is smashing as well (hmmm…we’re knitting the same things…)
Feb 13, 2006 @ 10:25 AM
Skylar
So yeah, I’ve lost a couple of points for artistic impression as well. I also had to scrub my first run because I lost count. As lovely as this black cashmere is to knit with, it’s, well, uh…black and a BIATCH to see.
As God as my witness, I will never knit black again! **with fist held high in the air**
Seriously though, love your progress and color. I will post pics of my progress tonight. I am such a freak too, as I am putting in a lifeline after each chart repeat (at least for now).
Goooo Team Spiders!
Feb 13, 2006 @ 11:30 AM
iraida
Go team spider! I had some probs with my project also. The shawl looks great.
Feb 13, 2006 @ 11:53 AM
carrie m
your shawl looks great! love the color. i think i’ve made a few errors, too, but the ella shawl seems to be a very forgiving pattern.
Feb 13, 2006 @ 12:07 PM
Sandra
Very nice progress, steph. can’t wait to see more pics!
Feb 13, 2006 @ 12:37 PM
Marie
Wow your FBS looks just great! I’m impressed with your progress…mine had been languishing in the pile for a while but I got some done this weekend. Oh and I know I’ve got a ton of errors in mine! Next time I do lace I’m going to take a cue form you and use a slightly thicker yarn.
Feb 13, 2006 @ 2:06 PM