Clapotis is finally done (please correct my french if it's wrong; I think I can safely say that those 9 years of french classes probably didn't do too much for me in the end =P)! Boy, that felt like a long haul, all that stockinette. But it was oh so worth it in the end. This scarf/shawl is one of the softest things I've ever had the pleasure of draping over myself. The merino is absolutely to die for. Here are some pictures, first a no-flash picture of Clapotis being worn (and my messy room in the background):
Then a with-flash picture of her draped over a chair:
In addition to being very soft, she is also terrifically warm. I might just have to borrow her occasionally before I get a chance to give her to my mom. And incidentally, I had just enough yarn to finish off the decreases. I had about 8 feet of yarn left over at the end, so it's a very good thing I did all that math beforehand! Hooray for math! =)
So I was looking back on my expenditures for the month of February, and I realized that a very unusual thing had occurred. No yarn purchases! Not a penny spent on yarn during the entire month of February! That hasn't happened since....May 2004 (why yes, I am anal about tracking my expenses!). Hm. I guess I have just burnt myself for now out in terms of frivolous yarn acquisitions. After buying the yarn for Clapotis, there just wasn't anything I really wanted out there anymore. Lord knows I have enough stash yarn now to keep me busy for quite some time. I wonder how long this accidental yarn fast will last?
In other knitting news, I am chugging along on Clapotis. I've reached the decreasing part, so the end is definitely in sight. I just hope I have enough yarn; I measured the circumference of my first ball before and after the increasing part and then did some fancy elementary school math to calculate the volume of yarn consumed by the increases, so I should have enough left for the decreases (which should theoretically take the same amount of yarn, right? Am I doing this all wrong?), but we shall see. I can definitely see how my math skills are rapidly disappearing with time. =)
So, my knitting has been less than stellar this past while. I've hardly gotten anywhere with anything! I guess one bad thing, if you could even call it that, about living so close to where you work is that there is no knitting time on transit. And lately I've hardly had time to sit down for 20 minutes.
Anyway, I digress....as promised, a picture of the 3x3 rib scarf I've started.
I don't think the ribbed effect comes out in the picture very well, but you can definitely see/feel it when you touch the scarf. The mohair makes it nice and soft. I finished most of this while watching the Oscar's last night, which I wasn't planning to do, but somehow got sucked into.
In other news, I think I'm going to try that Kidsilk shawl again soon. With any luck, I'll be able to finish it by Mother's Day. Hmm...actually, now that I've 'written' it there, I'm already wondering if I'll be able to do it...Ah, what the heck. What's life without some goals, right?! Not like my mom really needs a shawl or anything, but it's not about needing an item anyway, right?
Happy President's Day! Apologies for the serious lack of posting, my knitting has slowed down somewhat as of late. Clapotis is coming along though, however slowly. Here is a pic of her corner, with some of the dropped stitches: 
I am still rather enamoured of this yarn, can you see the subtle greens and browns in with the pink? The only problem I have with the yarn is that it's rather clingy, so dropping stitches becomes somewhat of an ordeal. And that was supposed to be the fun part! No matter, this stuff is wonderfully soft and the end result should keep even the chilliest of shoulders warm.
Okay...so, I frogged that bit of a scarf that I showed last time. I decided to go with a 3x3 rib, 33 stitches. I've knit it a small bit of it (pictures to come), and I think I like it. At first I wasn't so thrilled with it, but as it got a bit longer, I started to like it more and more.
Sheesh...took me long enough to pick a scarf pattern...and now I probably won't finish it until winter's over!! >_<
Okay...so here is that pic I promised of the scarf that I started.
You'll notice that I've gotten pretty much nowhere with it. And the reason is, I'm not really sure what to make of the pattern. The pseudo-rib doesn't show up very well with it. Think I should 'ribbit' and go for a 2x2 rib instead? Maybe 20 stitches wide? The sample shown in the pic has 17 stitches in it. Or maybe something with drop-stitches in it? Or maybe even try the multi-directional scarf pattern?
*sigh* back to square one with this scarf thing...
EDIT: Thanks for the Valentine and Lick-m-aid!!! I was so surprised when I got it in the mail!! *tacklehugz you*
So Charlotte is finally done and blocked! She has a crochet edging as per the instructions (it's not perfect, I tried my best), but I'm going to hold off on the fringe for now. I don't think I'm really a fringe-y kind of girl. Here is a picture of her being blocked, if you look down at the last colour you can see the lace pattern that emerged. Blocking really does do magical things to lace!
She was a lot of fun to knit and I can't wait for warmer weather and an appropriate occasion at which to wear her. What that is I have no idea, I'll have to manufacture something. =)
Now that Charlotte is done, I can move on to Clapotis. I have finished all the increases, and am almost at the part where I get to drop some stitches! Very exciting. I don't have a recent photo, but here's something to give you an idea of how the Malabrigo knits up. What the picture doesn't convey is just how soft and yummy this yarn is.
I've also discovered something about this yarn. Malabrigo yarns, the eBay seller sanfelipeysantiago, and handpaintedyarn.com all appear to be the exact same thing in slightly different incarnations. I am very tempted to buy more yarn from handpaintedyarn.com for another Clapotis simply because their prices are so good. Must....resist....soft....yarn....
