The lace bug is still with me.
The Lovely Lace Shawl (a.k.a. Heirloom Shawl) is starting to look like something.
I am a bit further than this now (5 full sets of leaves), but it looks quite similar.
Did I mention there is a Ravelry KAL group for the Lovely Lace Shawl (Ravelry link)? Quite helpful considering the pattern is known to have errors and it is written (and charted) in an unusual way.
Patons has now made the charted version available for free on their website. You need to register (free and easy from what I hear). A big thank you to them for doing this. I'd like to think that our KAL helped spur this decision.
My Goddess Knits Anniversary Mystery Shawl is coming along. (yes, my pinning is wonky) The blue is clue 2 and the dark purple is clue three. For those of you playing along, I used charts 1A, 2C, and 3C.
Based on the size it is now, I will probably do the optional 48 round clue 5 after the 48 round clue 4 due out on Saturday. That means I have some color choices to make.
Here are the colors I plan to use (pardon the shadows). My 5 clue plan is to do the blue again for clue 4 and the green for clue 5. There isn't enough of either one based on my calculations. I plan on putting a bit of the dark teal in to extend the yardage of each one. I'll decide how once I see the clues.
My original plan was to do the 4 clue version and use the green. If I had known I'd be using 5 clues, I wouldn't have saved a contrast color for the end clue. Oh well. It will still be nice and it is a fun stash buster.
Speaking of stash busting, I had to order another skein in order to finish my Amaryllis. It arrived and it is so WRONG!
See what I mean? Sigh. Back to the stash.
Here are the options I have. I think I will go for the orange(ish) one. Again, if I had known, I probably would have knit the colors in a different order.
My hope is that the color changes won't distract from the lace pattern too much. Here is the grayscale test, cousin of the squint test, as my justification.
The orange looks okay in grayscale and in real life. Not as good as the red and brown together, but . . . We shall see. I'll spit-splice it in and start today.
Lest you think it is all lace all the time around here, there is progress on my BFL handspun socks. Remember them? It has been a while.
The yarn turned out nicely except that I got a little zealous about putting extra twist into the singles. The resulting yarn is not as soft as it should be. Live and learn. The upside is that the socks should wear well and my feet are not especially sensitive.
The first sock is mostly done and waiting for the second sock (just a toe) to catch up. I like to knit about 40-45% of the yarn (by weight), put that on hold, and knit the second sock. I can maximize sock length that way. The is a travel/waiting room project so progress is sporadic.
Speaking of OP patterns (well I will be speaking about OP patterns below - the price I pay for writing a post out of order), I found a creative designer via a link on luneray's blog. I never knew that I needed a knitting pattern for a dissected lab rat or a dissected frog. Sounds kinda gross, but they are really cute. In a morbid kind of way. The designer is Crafty Hedgehog. She has lots of sweet patterns for stuffed animals and dolls on her Etsy site.
After buying the lab rat pattern on Etsy, I discovered that I could have bought it through Ravelry and saved it in my pattern library there. A reminder to always go to Ravelry first.
I am feeling a lot of love for Ravelry (as can probably tell). Today is my one year anniversary on Ravelry. I can't begin to imagine knitting without it any more. It is such a tremendous resource and a wonderful way to find knitting community, far and near. Blogs have connected me with fabulous and interesting spinners and knitters around the world. Ravelry gives me tools to meet fabulous and interesting spinners and knitters in my area and my travel destinations.
And the pattern database! How great is that? I might never have learned about Herbert Niebling otherwise. Most of the OP (other people's) patterns I knit now are found using the experimental search function (Ravelry link).
Ravelry is changing the knitting world. At Black Sheep I heard so many people referring to it or wearing Rav buttons. A Ravelry meet-up is a given now at all fibery events.
Viva Ravelry!!! Big love to Casey, Jess, and Mary-Heather for all they do to make it so wonderful.
Contest:
To celebrate my Ravelry love, I am having a contest for some of my unloved stash. There is so much in my stash, for spinning and knitting, that I won't get around to using. I'll let the winner pick from a selection of yumminess to be determined. I promise it will be good.
To enter, tell me your favorite Ravelry feature. If you aren't on Ravelry (gasp!), tell me why not. Actually, I'm easy (in this respect - get your mind out of the gutter!). Leave a comment on this post about anything (your favorite beer, your next travel locale, why bald men shouldn't wear toupees, you get the idea, bonus points for non sequiturs) and you'll be entered to win. Contest ends July 7th at 7pm Pacific Daylight Time. Maybe 7:07.
You have officially passed me on the Lovely Lace Shawl. Woo-hoo! now I feel I have some company in the Great Errata Search of '08.
You mystery shawl is coming along beautifully. It makes me wish I had signed up for it...
I am just past the 1 year mark on Ravelry and I can't imagine how I ever survived without it! My favorite feature has to be the pattern search. I use it all the time. My favorite beer is Newcastle, my favorite time of day is just after midnight, my favorite color is yellow, and bald is beautiful! Down with the toupee! (I am also easy)...
Posted by: Amanda | July 03, 2008 at 02:50 PM
My favorite thing about Ravelry is how I can look up a pattern to see what it looks like on 'real' people, and also to see what yarns others used to knit them. Conversely, if I have a yarn for which I haven't decided on a use, I can check out what others are doing with the same thing. I think I've avoided a few mistakes this way!
Dark beer, bald is hot/ rugs are tacky and pathetic, and I'll be in the East Bay for a bit this weekend (does that count as travel? Traffic could make it quite the trip).
Posted by: (formerly) no-blog-rachel | July 03, 2008 at 02:56 PM
I know you are a fantastic dyer, so why not overdye the orangish yarn to work better with the others? Just a thought!
I like to check out what other people have done with a pattern I am considering on Ravelry to see what modifications or caveats they have - some people do really ingenious things with a standard pattern, and I love to see the creativity!
Posted by: Julia | July 03, 2008 at 03:00 PM
I love your shawls, I was eyeing the goddess one on my friends feed the other day.
My favorite part of ravelry is the friends page and the forums. I have learned so much more about spinning from reading the forums.
Posted by: Emily | July 03, 2008 at 03:01 PM
I spend far too much time on Ravelry, and it's the forums that have done it to me. So many neat people to meet and talk about yarn and knitting! Plus the yarn shopping possibilities, right from my desk.
Posted by: Gladys | July 03, 2008 at 03:05 PM
The neatest thing about Ravelry is the searchable databases. If I'm not sure what kind of socks to make with a particular yarn, I can look to see what other people have had particular success with. Likewise, if I'm interested in a particular pattern, I can look at other people's projects, and, especially, their notes about fit and pattern difficulties. (Reading the above, I'm obviously a very particular person!) What I'm of two minds about, though, is the enabling; I have discovered so much yarn that I'm desparate to try, as soon as I whittle down my stash some. And pick lettuce.
Posted by: alice | July 03, 2008 at 03:15 PM
Along the lines of bald men shouldn't wear toupees, I think women who are going grey shouldn't dye their hair. We should just be who we are and celebrate age. Side note: if I win something could it just be sheep wool? I'm allergic to everything else, sad I know. Side note 2: you bought some of my yarn at Twisted last year! I'm hoping to do a booth at OFFF this fall. Will you be coming up for the show? Also, are you playing along with tour de fleece?
Posted by: Lorajean | July 03, 2008 at 03:30 PM
My favourite thing about etsy is being able to see the amendments to patterns that people have made.
Also, all the encouragement I've found in the forums.
Posted by: Spiraling | July 03, 2008 at 04:25 PM
My favourite feature is seeing what other people do with patterns. It's helped me decide on both patterns and yarn choices. (Second fave - the queue. Much easier than printing out patterns willy-nilly and trying to keep them organized) :-)
Posted by: Ellie | July 03, 2008 at 05:08 PM
I love the feature of checking on friends activity...they pick some great patterns & it gives me another place to search for ideas for knitting. Also seeing the work of those who have the books I don't & see their take on patterns and colors.
*This fruit salad is yummy, nectarines-bananas-orange juice.
Very interesting pattern...I have yet to make a shawl, but this is encouraging me! Mrs. C.
Posted by: Mrs.C. | July 03, 2008 at 06:27 PM
OK, this is gonna sound weird. :) I have a friend whom I follow around in the forums. I click on her recent posts and see if she's found any interesting discussions and then I go read them.
Posted by: Anne | July 03, 2008 at 07:33 PM
Like the most.. -Friends activity. Especially other friends activity since there are greater chances of seeing new things.
I hate when people eat green apples, chewing with an open mouth.
To beer or not to beer? -I drink (loads of) mostly good old black tea. And Coffee. Or perhaps a "Pripps Bla" on a sunny summerday.
I like to give handmade things to people that apprechiate the gift.
(Like the least about Ravelry? The time I sometimes spend there, when I´m tangled in some new persons linked patterns..-when the SUN actually is shining outside! :o)
(Sorry about the spelling)
Posted by: Anna | July 04, 2008 at 01:47 AM
It's hard to narrow down a favorite Ravelry feature. The fact that a free site has so much accessible information is pretty awesome. But like most people, being able to research patterns & yarns as other people have knitted them, is truly invaluable.
I'm in the Anniversary KAL too. I love the colours you are using. I picked out something that I think is too busy for the pattern. But I will finish it & then make a more solid colour one too.
Guinness. Definitely Guinness.
Posted by: Issy | July 04, 2008 at 06:40 AM
I like a random assortment of favorites and show us your FOs! in the People area. I enjoy looking at what others like and what they've finished.
Forums is another favorite.
Posted by: LizzyK8 | July 04, 2008 at 06:53 AM
Being a techno dinosaur, it took me some time to register for Ravelry. Now, I'm hooked, but especially follow groups dedicated to designers that appeal to me. I like that I can view other folks projects, but also get more of an idea of what's going on in the design before I start/if I start. Browsing designers is a great function as well- inspiration to bust out of the trap of sticking with the familiar!
Posted by: knittingnudnik | July 04, 2008 at 07:04 AM
Your shawls are amazing!
My favourite thing about Ravelry is the pattern browser. I love being able to narrow it down by type of project and yarn weight without needing to know exactly which pattern I'm looking for.
Posted by: Nicole (ikkinlala) | July 04, 2008 at 08:48 AM
Your lace is coming along nicely. Thanks for the info on the Heirloom Shawl chart. Also, I didn't know there was an experimental search function in ravelry. I'll try to figure out how it works.
I love a lot of the ravelry features. One of my favorites is to look for random people by the places they live in, say a country in Africa, and see what they're knitting, as well as what is in their libraries.
Posted by: Katie K | July 04, 2008 at 09:55 AM
Love your pink and blue sock. Great job on the color.
My favorite thing about Ravelry is seeing the many different versions of a knitted pattern. Also, meeting all the knitters around the world.
Posted by: Phyllis | July 04, 2008 at 02:41 PM
My favorite things about Ravelry is seeing friend's activity and seeing what others have done with patterns I'm thinking about doing.
Biggest time-suck in my life right now is Ravelry -- specifically, the BID group.
I met a fiber artist selling crocheted and knitted goods at our local July 4th fair. I was shocked, SHOCKED I tell you, to learn she is not on Ravelry and doesn't seem particularly interested in it!
Posted by: AuntieAnn | July 04, 2008 at 03:17 PM
Well, so far my favorite Rav feature is finding other like-minded obsessives via the forums - I found your blog that way, for example!
Posted by: Lynn | July 04, 2008 at 04:52 PM
My favorite thing about ravelry is the pattern search feature... and being able to see other folks' projects for that pattern. My favorite beer is Russian River Damnation. Yum.
Posted by: helenl | July 04, 2008 at 09:12 PM
Hi, I've been admiring your Goddess Knits Anniversary Shawl! The color changing works really well for this project.
Ravelry has so many features that I love, from the inventory of one's needles and yarn that can be printed out at the click of a button, to the great search feature for patterns. It's always amazing to me to discover that there is a great pattern in an Interweave Knits magazine that is sitting on my shelf....that I didn't know was there!
:) Cathy
Posted by: Cathy | July 05, 2008 at 07:31 AM
Thanks for the tip on the Experimental Search feature, I hadn't discovered that yet.
I agree, how did we ever knit without Ravelry!
Posted by: CC | July 05, 2008 at 11:49 AM
I'm going this Friday to California (I live in Nebraska) for a wedding. AND for the two LYSs in the area!
Thanks for the opportunity to win some of your stash.
Posted by: amyknit40 | July 05, 2008 at 12:13 PM
Wow! It all looks amazing! I'm in a bit of a lace craze myself but I'm doing wee lace pieces :)
Has it been a year already? Time flies :) My favorite feature is all the stuff they have added to the friends activity tab. I can get lost with that little bit for days just looking at all the pretty things people of made, queued, and favorited.
Posted by: michelle | July 05, 2008 at 01:36 PM
I love seeing the ways people have creatively interpreted various patterns.
Posted by: Pork With Bones | July 06, 2008 at 12:54 AM
My favorite thing about Ravelry is favorites. I can just click that cute little heart on any of the thousands upon thousands of beautiful things people have made and then I get my very own customized gallery of inspiration (in the form of my favorited items). I love it!
Posted by: Sarah | July 06, 2008 at 10:37 PM
My favorite Ravelry features are the Yarn and Pattern Browsers. Being able to narrow things down in so many ways is a great touch. Plus there's some number geek thing in me that gets a kick out of watching the number of patterns go down with every additional option selected.
Posted by: Lia | July 07, 2008 at 12:55 AM
I would say everything about the friends feature is my fave Rav thing. I get so many good ideas from other people's queues!
Posted by: elizabeth | July 07, 2008 at 07:58 AM
The linking of patterns, yarns and photos is indispensable in Ravelry. I also am enjoying the experimental search where I can specify that I want patterns calling for yarn already in my stash!
Posted by: abmatic | July 07, 2008 at 11:19 AM
My favorite Ravelry feature? I think it is the Groups/forums feature. I enjoy looking at the forums for spinning, fiber prep, and technical stuff. I benefit from the knowledge and experience of others. I stay away from all the frothy discussions on hot topics, though. I just like discussing knitting and spinning.
Posted by: Punkin | July 07, 2008 at 12:33 PM
I love the Rav forums, especially the "offtopic" ones, and meeting new people... especially in a town that you're moving to! I'm getting recommendations for realtors, neighborhoods, and even daycares, and I trust the people giving them to me - knitters won't steer you (too) wrong!
Posted by: Sarah | July 07, 2008 at 02:01 PM
Ack! you made me realize tha I missed my Ravelry anniversary! There is too much to love about ravelry... Lately I am a big fan of the Sell/trade feature. I have both bought and sold yarn this way. How awesome is it that they hook you up with other crafters that are trying to destash?!
Also, I think the "Ravel it" bookmarklet (bottom of the main pattern page) is an under appreciated feature. I have mine in my toolbar and when I am blog reading it lets me dump pattern directly into my queue.
Posted by: karrie | July 07, 2008 at 03:28 PM
My favorite thing about Ravelry? I think it's Ravelry itself. I try to describe it to my non-knitter friends, and they roll their eyes. But there are so many computer savvy knitters. People just don't understand. Ravelers do.
Posted by: Celia | July 07, 2008 at 05:01 PM
My favorite thing is seeing real people wearing the patterns I'd like to knit. It makes all the difference, showing knitwear on various bodies, and has made me both discard plans and pick up unexpected patterns.
Posted by: Lauren | July 07, 2008 at 05:03 PM
My favorite thing about ravelry is the links. When I see some has made something beautiful, I can immediately follow links to other things they have made, their designs, web page, and shop. It's a portal to the good stuff.
Posted by: Marcia | July 07, 2008 at 06:02 PM
What is not to love about Ravelry? And finally, finally, I can mention it here in VT and sometimes the knitter I'm talking to will know what Ravelry is.
Lately I find myself checking the newly added patterns section religiously, just in case something new comes along. And I also just discovered using gauge as a search term in the patterns section, which helped me find a pattern for some yarn I already had.
(Please don't enter me in the contest, I don't need any more in the stash. I just had to gush, as always, about Rav.)
I love your socks, btw. Do you think the BFL will hold up? I love spinning it.
Posted by: jessie | July 08, 2008 at 02:59 AM
Hmmmm....it is so hard to pick a favourite feature. There are so many. I am going to say that the queue is my most loved feature since it helps me to organize all of my ambitious projects. Currently, I have 200 items in my queue so I guess I am in need of some more stash...and perhaps a way of stopping time so I can generate a few FOs!
Posted by: Kimberly | July 08, 2008 at 10:03 PM
I just saw this post - love (1) you tussahfluffer! :)
Posted by: Mary-Heather | July 11, 2008 at 02:16 PM
I just spend a lovely week in Paris (again) and wondered once again that there are surprisingly few yarn shops around. Surely not all Parisiennes shop a La Droguerie, Bon Marche or Anni Blatt. Anymore adresses?
(That was the random part)
I love Ravelry (where I spend entirely too much time admiring other people's projects) because without them I wouldn't know how many dpns, circular and straight knitting needles I have (counting 1 unit per size: 37!). And, yes I do have a life beyond knitting AND it's worth living(xD).
Love your blog
MHS
Posted by: Monika | June 19, 2009 at 05:00 AM
Yes, I am aware that this thread dates from 2008.
Greetz
MHS
Posted by: Monika | June 19, 2009 at 05:02 AM