And She Knits Too!

Sparkle Tangerine

If you asked me, I wouldn't recommend lace knitting in the face of grief or distraction, but this time, it worked for me.  The last few weeks I found I couldn't write or concentrate, so I spent a lot of time in front of the tv (watching Star Trek TNG, geek that I am) working on my diamond fantasy shawl.

I planned on making the scarf size, using one ball of Seasilk.  When I was done the required repeats, I had enough left over, so I strung a life line and kept going.  After half a repeat (which is another diamond) I decided to bind off.  The bindoff (which is lovely) takes up a lot of yarn, but in the end, I had enough to do the whole repeat.  I wasn't in the mood to rip back, so I have a little ball of seasilk left--that's how it goes.

The shawl is beautiful.  But is shy around the camera.  The oranges and greens shine and the beads are subtle but add a little extra something.  My boss (who knits) noticed them right away.

Here's a shot of it on the bed--my attempt to show off the lace:

A close up:

Now for the glamour shots--Emma wants a shawl big time, but she isn't getting this one.

 

Ketchup

My internet is back and I feel a lot less discombobulated (undo pericombobulations is a phrase we use around the house, but I couldn't work it in here--see Blackadder III). Life is still unsettled, but since I feel like blogging today, doing some catch-up is a fine place to start.

The diamond fantasy shawl is coming along nicely.  The sea silk is yummy, the beads are sparkly and the pattern is lacey--very captivating.

We've also been experiencing some weirdness around that ball of red Canadiana acrylICK that Emma was knitting her scarf with.  Apparently it compels people to knit with it:

Yup, that's Craig knitting.  He just picked up the yarn and needles Emma left out and started.  He did a backward loop cast on (that he just figured out) and then got knitting.  He watched me a bit and then started purling.  Sometimes he twisted stitches, but in the end his square had a nice even tension.

In the end he ripped it all back and put it away.  I've casually asked if he wants to knit something (while I was mwah ha hahahahahing in my head), but so far he hasn't said yes.  I should start leaving out nicer yarn.

Sunshine

The weather in Toronto has finally turned gorgeous meaning it was time to start some summer knitting.  I'm still working on Sherbie (which I'll save for another post) but knitting lovely thick warm Iro doesn't seem right for this time of year. 

So I took my gorgeous Sea Silk and started a Diamond Fantasy. 

It's really fun and I love the addition of the beads.  My only concern is that the orangey/pink beads don't show too well. 

Since the colour is not subtle, that should be okay.  But I will consider more contrast in future beaded knitting.  Yes, there will be more--it's fun!