Hanami Stole

 It is finally done, after 40 days of monogamous knitting. I am so happy that it is done. I did two extra repeats in each half of the shawl to lengthen it considerably. Pre-blocking, it measured 17 X 84 inches. After blocking, it is 20 X 92 inches.

 The yarn is Knit Picks Shadow. The blocking is a bit wonky, with somewhat scalloped edges, but I think I can live with it.

Lace Grows

 

Slow and steady knitting on the stole has made it grow to about one-third the finished length ( I intend to make it quite long).

In other happenings, we are having a very hot and dry spell, with the worst-yet load shedding and an acute water shortage. The past few days have been quite miserable. We are all praying for rain.

New Lace

So I did start a  lace project, one that has been in my queue for a long time. So far, I've just managed ten inches but with steady, daily knitting this stole ought to grow soon, inshaAllah. And to keep boredom at bay, I am thinking of starting a cardigan to work on, side by side with this stole.

Muir

I had a knitting marathon yesterday to help me finish the Muir shawl I had been working on for so long. I am happy to finish it before the weekend. The pattern is fun to do, easy and by the second half, I had it memorized. I especially love the picots around the edges. There were a few modifications I did to the pattern. Because the yarn is on the heavier side of lace weight, I used larger sized needles, i.e 4.5 mm then recommended and worked 2 pattern repeats across rather than three.I did 14 repeats instead of 13 to get a longer shawl.

So here it is in the unblocked state, about 24 x 76 inches:

Here it is blocking:

 It turned out to be approximately 31 X 96 inches after blocking. The post blocking glory:

Clap Splendor

The clapotis is finally done, alhamdolillah! It took one year to finish but turned out just the way I wanted it...light, airy and large. It is 31 inch (79cm) x 94 (218) after blocking. The yarn is Knit Picks Shimmer Hand Dyed Lace Yarn in Turquoise Splendor colorway. I used up about 2.8 hanks, single-stranded on 3.75 mm needles. The rule of fifths is an excellent guide to divide up your yarn for the increase, straight and decrease sections (1:3:1) of the pattern.

I have a feeling this stole will get a lot of wear as it is just the right size and color for me and I love it.

New Lace

So with my clapotis about 2/3rd knitted, I was itching to start a new project. And our warm weather does not encourage handling of heavier yarns, so i have picked another lace weight project. It is Muir and I have to say I am very pleased with it so far. It is easy, straight-forward and seems to knit up quite fast. The yarn I'm using is Shetland wool from a giveaway at the ravelry destash forum. It is much prettier in life than it appears in the photo.

I'm Back

The things are considerably more peaceful at home, but the construction works is not over yet. And my bane project is still not done though it has progressed quite a bit to outgrow its bane-ness.

I am hoping it will be done in the coming weeks. Confident in that, I have started another lace project. I will blog about it in a few days, inshaAllah.

Scheherezade Stole

I finally finished the Coatimundi KAL's Scheherazade Stole today. Took me a long time but then I worked on it only intermittently. It took me about 1050 yards of Knit Picks Shadow on 3.75 mm needles.

Being an novice at blocking, I had sore fingers by the time all the pins were in, but the blocked stole is so awesome! It's like an ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan. The warm, dry weather dried up the shawl in just half an hour, less than the time it took me to block the whole piece, LOL.

A Piece Of Cake

Right now, I am struggling to finish my coatimundi stole. I wanted to finish it this month but still have to knit the 33 rows of the last chart plus the edging which takes some time. So, it might take a couple more days. Can't wait to have it done and blocked!
I am still doing the potty training. Got some good suggestions from my readers and am trying to put them to practice. However, it still seems a loong road...sigh.

Other than that, I decided to put my rudimentary, rusting baking skills to practice and baked this cake. Loads of calories to wreck my weight-watching plans but the kids really enjoyed it. DD prevented us from taking a second serving as she wanted it all for herself, LOL.

New Cast Ons

Besides coping with a stomach upset and working on the second half of the coatimundi stole, I also managed to cast on for a few other projects.
The first one is the famous clapotis. The yarn is Knit Picks Shimmer and I tried out the pattern with various needle sizes and with single and double strands. Finally, I have settled for single strand on 3.75 mm needles. This should give me a very light and big stole with 3 skeins. I want it to be the size of a traditional Pakistani stole, i.e about 1 x 2.5 m length. So, it is going to take some time to finish :).

The second new project is CeCe. I am just past the ribbing on this one but the lace pattern seems simple and interesting. I hope to pursue it with full force after the stole is finished, inshaAllah. The yarn I'm using is Robin Double Knit. One foreign yarn available in my LYS.

Also, today I also started a doily/runner in filet crochet for my dressing table. Before my kids were born, I had my dresser laid out with my cosmetics and beauty stuff. I hope to do the same now, hopefully the kids won't touch my stuff. A tall order, I know, LOL but it's time I made an attempt.
As dor the stole, I'm nearly done with Chart 1 fot the second half (each half has 6 charts plus edging). Shells is currently blocking her finished stole and her sylvi is all done and worn..Gorgeous as you can see for yourself here.

Coatimundi KAL, week 5

The now-in-the-second-month KAL has suffered from neglect lately, but that is changing now as I push to get both projects done by the end of April, inshaAllah. I don't have any latest photos, but I'm done with the first half of the shawl, including the edging. And as for the coat, I'm right now working on the second sleeve.
Shells is well ahead now with her coat almost done and her shawl looks so pretty.

Coatimundi KAL, week 3

An update on the KAL has been long overdue. It's already third week into the KAL and I'm happy to report that I knitted enough on the stole to complete one half (border exepting). I hope to start the border today, inshaAllah.

I am halfway through the first front of sylvi but seed st can be so boring esp after the interesting and not-so-intricate cable pattern of the back. I think I'll have to knit this while watching TV. :)
And all this while, Shells has been speeding through the back cables. She already has both front panels done as well as half a sleeve. I love her coat's color!

Coatimundi KAL days 3-5, and more

Well, things slowed down during the week and I don't have any progress pictures on the coat and stole. however, am just about to finish sylvi's back and am in the midst of chart four for the stole.
In the meanwhile, I did manage to finish up my first sock of the march pair. Even if I say so myself, it is gorgeous. The pattern would have be a masterpiece if it were written in the right format and the few few mistakes corrected.

I also did some spinning over the week. I'm halfway through the purple roving I got from a friend lately.

And there is some exciting news, but that will require a separate post of its own.

Coatimundi KAL day 2

This was the day for knitting the stole. I finished the third chart for the first half of the stole. It is my first stole and I am enjoying the experience. It was difficult to take a photo because right now, the edges just keep curling up!

Here is the progress, Shells is making on her sylvi. I love how hers is turning out.

Coatimundi KAL day 1

Yesterday was the kick off day for Coatimundi KAL. Although we had already started the projects, now we get to work on them almost exclusively. I had skipped the sleeves and started with the fun part (back) first.
So, I did some more knitting on the back yesterday. Here is what it looks so far:

Today, I hope to work on the stole, inshaAllah. Shells ser progress on the stole, here.

Coatimundi KAL

This is the name of the great spring KAL about to start on March 15th. My friend Shells and I plan to knit a coat, sylvi and a stole during this. She blogs about the name of KAL and her warming up progress, here.
I did a bit of warming up myself over the last two days and managed to do quite a bit doen on the stole. This is my first big lace project and I am enjoying it already. This could easily get addictive.
As for sylvi, I started with the back simply because I could not wait to get to the fun part, :)
So, you see, this KAL has a lot of variety and promises to be so much fun, inshaAllah!