Brandywine Shawl Done

Tena's Brandywine shawl is now fully completed. She had some concerns that it might not stretch to the size she wanted it to be, but after the blocking was complete, she's satisfied with the results. And I believe she should be very, very happy with it.

As a reminder this shawl has no spine running from the bottom to the top. Additionally Brandywine is started at the bottom peak unlike Ashton which begins at the top of the shawl. The results, however, are equally stunning.

Brandywine all stretched out and showing off

This really shows the pretty variation in blues and browns

Tena had shown me her start of Brandywine about 2.5 years ago when we first met. It's potential to wow was already apparent even with the relatively small amount she had knit back then. It was an 8 year old WIP when we started the shawl class adventure in October. Thinking about it that long can be a kind of aggravation so I know Tena is more than happy to finally get this one off her knitting to do list and well she should be.

We visited our LYS last week where Tena purchased more yarn to do another shawl. She too is looking forward to at least a second shawl. So there, the three of us have documented proof the class made a real difference for each of us in terms of lace shawl knitting and IMHO was well worth the time and energy put into it. The lesson to learn in all of this: Take a class, get help and never limit yourself when it comes to being creative with needles and wool. There's always a way to get to the next level.

Comments

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time. One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock. So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep. Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot. And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms. (BTW

Ode to the Cat

It has been six months since Mike, the cat's, passing. I think of him every day and miss him especially when Paul is away. Mike was a being in the house with me and we were close. Grieving his death has been muddled with my Dad's passing and sometimes I feel guilty about that happening. As time passes the ache becomes less hurtful for both and I am starting to get mostly good memories in its place. Recently I helped celebrate Pablo Neruda's birthday with Jami, my poet and overall very creative friend. Guests were asked to select one poem written by Neruda to read to the small group who gathered for the celebration. I picked this one: Ode To The Cat -- Pablo Neruda There was something wrong with the animals: their tails were too long, and they had unfortunate heads. Then they started coming together, little by little fitting together to make a landscape, developing birthmarks, grace, flight. But the cat, only the cat turned out finished, and

Knitting-Related Guinness World Records

I had to share some of the Guinness World Records connected with knitting. It is amazing to me the type of skill, stamina and unique characteristics these record holders have in common. How about trying to knit with these SPNs?? Ingrid Wagner and her large needles and knitted swatch The largest knitting needles measured 3.5 m (11 ft 5.8 in) long and had a diameter of 8 cm (3.15 in). Ingrid Wagner, a rug and art creation artist, from the UK used the needles to knit a tension square of ten stitches by ten rows at the Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, on March, 10 2008. (And I complained about getting certain SPNs stuck in my clothes.) See how this swatch was done with merely 5 people managing the needles. And what about the yarn? It is truly ex-bulky. It looks like they're knitting in a warehouse, but with a wingspan of almost 24 feet or 7 m, you'd need all that space. Or how about the longest piece of finger knitting that measured 4,321.4 m

Flagel Knitting Files

Search This Blog