Skip to main content

Blue's a Finished Product

Yesterday while watching the final two episodes of Mad Men, with a friend, I cast off the last row of Blue.  It seems to take about an hour and one-half.  (BTW, thanks, Nancy for watching the last two episodes a second time for my sake.)  What a satisfying act, putting closure on something started in November 2014.  The blocked size is 61 inches across the longest edge and 30.5 inches down the spine, putting it at almost exactly the same size as my first Ashton.

With all the complaining I did about poor Blue you might think I am not very fond of it, but that is not true.  It seems I was doing so much complaining because I really, really like Blue and perhaps that's the way it is sometimes.  We show affection by pointing out areas of imperfection or where improvements could be made, that if only they were changed things could be perfect.  And Blue is wonderful.  The yarn, Fantastic Knitting's Zephyr Lace, is feathery light; remember the entire skein is only 2 ounces.  When Blue and I went outside today to get a good photo there was a light breeze and as I placed the shawl its tips fluttered in the breeze and would bump into my hand like a butterfly's wing.  Yes, the shawl has me breaking into metaphors.

I showed it to someone who doesn't know knitting or lace work and the beads are so non-intrusive I had to point them out to her.  When she saw them she was amazed at Blue one more time.
It seemed appropriate to give you a look of Blue before it was blocked, a second during the blocking process and then a couple others to find the perfect photo to show it off.

Unblocked, waiting for its bath
All stretched into shape

Hero Shot I sticking to the rough raw wood fence
Hero Shot II draped on my gray couch

In about a month Blue will be going to its new owner so we will be parting ways.  I am going to miss her (note Blue moved from "it" to "her" in only two short paragraphs) but perhaps I can now move on with a clear conscience to other things currently on needles.  Bye, bye, Blue.  Enjoy Jami!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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 ou...

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 h...