Christmas(-ish) Shawl!

Every year, I get myself an Advent calendar.  It's a tradition I've hung onto since I was a kid.  I don't always eat the chocolate each day -- sometimes I'll leave it for a few days, then eat five or six or twelve at a time to catch up.  One year, I got the calendar on Christmas Eve, so I just ate the whole thing at once...but I digress.

Anyways, I decided to get myself a different kind of Advent calendar this year (in addition to the chocolate Avengers one I already got).  It's a knit-along Advent KALendar.  Basically, each day leading up to Christmas, they release another little chunk of the pattern, so that by Christmas, you have a finished project.  I thought this was a super cute idea.

Day 1

You don't get to see the finished design until the end, so there's a bit of trust involved when getting into one of these.  Anna Dalvi, who designed the shawl, has some very lovely designs, so it was a leap of faith I was more than willing willing to take.  Plus, the inspiration for the designs comes from two of the Slavic goddesses, and I'm a sucker for mythology.

With all of the other projects I've had on the go, plus all the regular Christmas preparations like shopping and wrapping, plus the baby...well, I knew that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the pattern releases and be finished by Christmas, and it takes considerably longer to knit up even a few rows than to eat a dozen or so little chocolates.  Still, starting late is better than not starting at all.

Day 2

I've managed to avoid the Ravelry forums for the KALendar so far, since I don't want to ruin the surprise for myself as everyone shows off their work, but from what I've managed to get finished, it's going to look fantastic.  There's little picots along the edge, which is a new skill for me, and I'm working it in red and black, to go with most of my fancier outfits.  I'm also thinking of adding some beadwork to it when I'm done, but I'll figure that part out later.

Day 3

Wishing you all the best for whatever holidays you're celebrating this time of year, and I hope you have had a chance to relax and enjoy yourselves!

Moonlight Shawl: Part 2!

Getting through the main body of the shawl was just fine, and once past the initial intimidation factor, reading the lace charts wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.  Granted, I specifically chose a simple repeat pattern to start with, but it certainly helped to build up my confidence for the next project.  Besides, once you learn to decipher ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and Norse runes, knitting charts are a breeze by comparison.

I brought in an extra set of stitch markers (super glad I decided to make the second set!) to help myself keep track of where the pattern repeats started and ended, but that's mainly for my own personal OCD reasons and not absolutely necessary.  Also on that note, the original pattern required you to switch to the lace charts in the middle of a four-row repeat...which required me to do some quick math and add on an additional six rows, in order to keep both the pattern and my sanity.  Switching mid-repeat literally makes my brain itchy, and I go out of my way to avoid it whenever possible.  (The pattern must be completed!  That's why it's called a pattern, not a random!)

Zigzag edging

If I had followed the pattern exactly as written, the whole thing would have been finished on a single ball of yarn...as it was, I had to dip into a second for the last four rows and the bind-off.  Not bad, though, and I still have enough of this gloriously soft yarn left to make another two shawls, with a bit left over.  Honestly, this stuff feels so wonderful, I would knit myself a full body-suit out of the stuff and wear it all the time.  Maybe a onesie.  With feeties.  Oh Gods, now I need to invent a pattern for that!

Anyways, with the exception of a good soak and blocking (laying the piece out and pinning the edges to dry in its desired shape), my shawl is now finished, and just in time for fall.  I can certainly see it coming in handy as the nights get cooler.

It's a wooly-soft stingray!

Moonlight Shawl: Part 1!

This shawl is my first attempt at a pattern that uses a chart, which comes in for the lacy bits around the edges.  Up till now, I've followed written instructions for my projects, or color charts, which are fairly straight-forward.  But, no progress ever comes unless you're willing to try something new, so here I go.

The yarn I've chosen was literally begging to be used in this pattern.  It's a fine, light-weight baby yarn with a lovely sheen and a super soft touch.  The shimmery silver color reminds me of moonbeams, and it's so soft I imagine it's what moonlight would feel like, in yarn form.  Yes, that's right, I just got that poetical.

So soft, it feels like it's made from unicorns and angels.

Given that I'm used to working with thicker yarns, it's taken a bit of getting used to...you can hardly feel it sliding through your fingers.  The pattern I'm working with is Easy as Pie by MaidenBrooklyn.  It seemed a good one to start with, since it's my first attempt.

Starting out was probably the worst part.  Since I'm basically learning new skills as I go, I always allow for a bit of difficulty...but this one was crazy, and the fault was obviously with me, for the most part.  I re-knit the first ten rows -- literally, and without exaggeration -- about twenty times before undoing them and starting over.

My ball of yarn decided it wanted to turn into a giant spaghetti monster.

First off, the yarn was so fine that I would find myself snagging it in unexpected places as I tried to make my stitch, or else I would stick the needle between the threads of the yarn.  Second, I've never used stitch-markers before, so it took a few attempts to figure out how to not get them tangled in my stitches.  Third, I would set the piece down to deal with something else for a moment -- one of the hazards of having an infant, four cats, and a husband in the house, to be sure -- and completely lose track of where I was, and have to start over.  Next, I had to deal with the embarrassment of realizing my yarn-overs were really yarn-unders, and that I had forgotten how to do a fairly basic stitch.  But, after many, many re-starts, I was finally able to get the main pattern of the shawl started.

Once started, this pattern is -- as advertised -- easy as pie.  The main body is a four-row repeat, before the charts kick in.  This makes it perfect for taking with me on-the-go, like for those long waits at the doctor's office when you show up on time but they're still on lunch...yeah, it's perfect for times like that.

Folds up neatly into a little travel-pack!

From here, it's time to move onto the charts for the lace.  I think I've figured out what all the little symbols mean, and the stitches they stand for.  That adventure will have to wait for another post, though.  In the meantime, I might just take a break and declare a video-game day.

The main pattern done, onto the lace edges!