The Loop Stitch

Happy New Year to you all

Below is a video of how to do The Loop Stitch. You need this for the SSS.

I hope everybody in the Spring Shawl Surprise will enjoy starting 2008 with this surprise knit. I I also hope you will like what it turns into!

Sun

This time of the year you can never get too many suns!

Winter sunshine

I finished something secret and suddenly found myself with nothing to knit! No project on the go! (well, apart from the zillion things that have gone from WIP to UFO. The list is much longer now)

Anyway, no lace projects on the needles ;-) I have knitted SSS several times -but not in one piece and figured I, like everybody else, will start Jan 1st. Well, honestly, I would have started all ready if only I had some lace weight yarn. I got a big cone of merino for christmas, but of course in the only colour that doesn't work with the theme -black. I have a lot of kidmohair too, but the shawl would turn out huge with that.

So while waiting for my order from Sarah's Yarn I was inspired by another christmas present, three books by Barbara Walker -and started a new project that I still don't know what will look like in the end.

And this is how far I've gotten in between teaching (ahem) my children to play on their new Nintedo NS Lites.

So far I just call it "Sun"

It sure feels good finally to have something to blog about!

Addiction

Watch out you addicted lace knitters!

Merry christmas

Merry Christmas to all of you. May all your wishes come true.

One week left to Spring Shawl Surprise so go ahead and sign up

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Release of clue 1

On the image below you can see what time the first clue of the SSS is released.

Click for larger version. Man= monday 1st. Tir= tuesday 2nd.

SSS swatch 2

A second swatch was recently released in the Spring Shawl Surprise group. It was designed by Purplejen and included a surprise. -The letters SSS :-)

I know a few have been struggeling with it but don't worry, the both sided patterns used in SSS are simpler and faster to get a hang of than this one.

My swatch is knit with Jaggerspun Zephyr, Basil colourway. I used 2.75mm needles and it measures 12.5 by 5.5 cm (4.9" by 2.2")

If you haven't signed up for the group yet go ahead. The group will be closed to new members jan 8th 2008.

Yarn Garland Scarf

Look at this wonderful scarf. You can get the pattern for free at Red Corset Designs

Santa came by

Santa came by dressed up like Purplejen with a wonderful christmas surprise.

Thank you Jen!

You are the best. Look at all these goodies she send me

Yummy delicate mohair. I have never seen kidmohair at this weight before 400m/25 g. And the colour is gorgeous!

And not only has she dyes her own yarn she also SPUN it!! It will be so fun to use! And the colours are great too!

A body care kit, perfect for the cold frosty whether we have these days.

My favourite scent and look at that calendar. Isn't it just SO much fun!? And a box of beautiful green pearls and delicious chocolate (already ate half of it, am working on my xmas belly)

Thanks Jen. I didn't even open all of them. Will save some for tomorrow night.

I luuuuv getting spoiled :-D

SSS ploo re no. of clues

A total 447 persons placed a vote regarding the number of clues in Spring Shawl Surprise. The result is

12 weeks

Which is just perfect for the pattern. This will give people time to other things than knitting SSS and hopefully the newbies can keep up too.

Hey, there's only a few weeks left before the first clue is out! I hope you like it!

Oh so soft

For a long time I have been wanting to make a big soft scarf of the kidmohair/silk yarn Purplejen gave me in the final SP10 parcel. Now was the time, while listening to the final cds of Dean Koontz' The Face. Plain and simple which bring out the best of the variegated yarn. And it is SO soft!

Swatch One -again

One more swatch in Zephyr, this time with 2,75 mm needles. I also tried to knit a little tighter.

Measurements: 12,5 by 10,5 cm (4.9" by 4.1")

Book 'n Needles

My knitPicks circular 2,75 and 2,5mm arrived the other day from Get Knitted. Now I can make swatch one for Spring Shawl Surprise on smaller needles and hopefully get a more appropriate gauge. And a book arrived too-'cos one can never get too many books about lace knitting right?

Which reminds me...which books should I put on my wish list for christmas? Any suggestions? Foreign books are welcome too as long as they are charted!

They even included a pen and some sweets (eaten :-)). I luv surprises ;-)

Crownprincess Mary

Yesterday Crownprincess Mary visited sons kindgarten. He had a blast and managed to get himself on national news asking the princess funny questions that only 5 yo can come up with!

Secret of the Stole -dyed and blocked.

I was just about to moan about my felted (!) uneven dyed (!) SotS when Purplejen saved my day! She wrote : "I won't worry about the uneven colour, I think that's the appeal of hand dyeing"

Thanks Jen!!

I don't mind the felting this time as it was enourmous -but it will be a while before I felt anything after it has been knitted!!!

Sorry about the lousy pictures. I'll take some outside on a sunny day asap (who am I kidding, it's winter!)

More surprises

Yesterday there was a slip in my mailbox about a package waiting for me at the postofice. I was very surprised and puzzled because I wasn't expecting anything!

At the postoffice today I ripped the box up right away (by then I could see it was from Amazon and admitted, I was out of patience). Gosh. Reb has spoiled me again and sent me a copy of her favourite indian cooking book! We are both very fond of indian cooking :-)

Reb, thanks a million! I am totally overwhelmed and in lack of words. It is so sweet of you!!

Swatch One again in Zephyr

Here is a picture of my Zephyr swatch. It ended out measuring 12,5 by 12 cm (4,9" by 4,7") which is a little too large, so if I had smaller needles I would use 2,75mm instead of 3mm. From this swatch you can also see how much you are able to change the width and height just by blocking.

Purplejen has posted pictures of her Swatch One in her blog. Please remember the yarn estimate is based on her swatch (which is smaller than mine), so if you decide for a bigger swatch than hers you will need more yarn (estimate so far is 1650m). With her gauge the shawl will be app. 65 cm wide.

SotS all finished!!

I was hardly awake when i started knitting this morning :-) Now I just have to dye it (no felting this time please) and block it (it's going to be huge).

Apart from that it's Spring Shawl Surprise time!! Still have some swatching to do.

SotS 7

Just in time for clue 8 -the final one.

More Melon

Now that I finally have something to show I sure am doing it all the way! :-) My 5 yo took the pictures so they might be a bit out of focus.

Pattern: The Melon Shawl from Victorian Lace Today

Yarn: Fonty Laines Kidopale (70% Superkid mohair, 30% polyamide)225m/25g. 80 g used.

Needles: Addi Lace needles 4mm

Started: August 24, 2007. Finished: November 21, 2007.

Size: 70 by 200 cm

Swatching and blocking

Blocking is essential in lace knitting and it's always amazing to see the huge change it causes.

Ofcourse some people like to block their lace more than others just as some patterns call for a lot of blocking and some less.

The Spring Shawl Surprise needs quite a bit of blocking and you will actually use it to mould parts of the pattern. Once you start knitting you will all see what I mean.

Below is my Swatch One before and after blocking. Notice how the blocking has flattened the knitting and opened and streched the yarn overs to different sizes. This is what you should aim for when you block your swatch. If you find the swatch gets too big with this much blocking you may consider going down in needle size -or accept a bigger shawl (you will then need more yarn).

Dimensions after blocking: 14 x 12 cm (4,7" x 5,5"). Yarn: Knit Picks bare merino 800m/100g (880yards/100g). Needles: 3½mm. I am a pretty loose knitter.

The end of The Melon -finally

Finally I have a FO to show!! Now that see it on the pictures I realise the blocking could have been better though :-) Guess I need something with straight lines or squares on to put underneath.

I ended out pretty big. 70 by 200 cm. Partly because I like to block it as much as possible without breaking it.

More pictures to come.

Today..

Today is the day where I should be showing SotS clue 7.

But I can't...am too busy with SSS.

Instead a couple of pictures from this very funny site

Leafy scarf

A couple of repeats of the pattern "Leafy scarf" that members of the Spring Shawl Surprise gets for free. It's easy lace and is good for those who has never tried lace knitting before -or if you want a quick project. You need no more than 200 meter of yarn no matter the weight.

I think it will look better in a a colour not as dark as mine.

Have you made it/are you making it? Then put a link to a picture under comments.

Secrets of the Stole

With husband in Boston and kids at grandparents I had plenty of time for knitting today.

So here we go, SotS clue 6. Only two to go.

There was quite a change in the pattern this time which was nice .

1000 members!

Yesterday member number 1000 signed up for the Spring Shawl Surprice! Pretty amazing! Most of the world is represented and so far there should be translations into German, French Spanish, Finnish, Dutch, danish and Italian.

So spread the word!!!

Nemesis and SotS

Here I was, happily knitting my way through Sots 5, listening to an audiobook and enjoying the easy going knit.

Shouldn't we have been warned about the change in the pattern ;-) ?

A little delayed I finished hint 5 after all.

Back to Spring Shawl Surprise. I think it time to try out that Zephyr on another swatch :-)

Spoiled rotten

Just have a look at this! All kind of goodies ....

AND....yes....it's Jaggerspun Zephyr!!!

My moanings in the Spring Shawl Surprice group about not having ever tried nor seen Zephyr was read by Reb and she asked if she could send me a little skein enough for a scarf so I could try it out. How could I resist???

And then what does she do! She spoils me with a wonderful surprise and skeins of Zephyr i three different colours! Do I like it? YES! Is it suitable for SSS? YES!

And it is so much fun and extremely interessting to get to know someone so far away!

Thanks a million Reb, you really made my day.

I already have plans for the yarn...but it's a secret ;-)

SSS testknitter

It's time to introduce my Spring Shawl Surprise testknitter Purplejen.

She has had the lace bug since childhood and it's all because of her I am infected too. I think it sneaked into one of the Secret Pal 10 surprises!!

Throughout the Spring Shawl Surprise (and afterwards aswell) you can find all kind of advice about lace knitting at her blog. What yarn to use, which cast on is best, how can you do the side edge, how to use a lifeline and so on.

Check her out (and her beautiful Thistle Shawl too)

http://purplejenknits.blogspot.com/

She might even drop a few hints about the SSS -she is a great teaser, belive me, I know!

Meet her cat Kenny :-)

All posts about SSS

SSS synopsis and a little Melon

The Spring Shawl Surprice group is still growing and there are now close to 800 members. I am very excited and honoured about so many joining.

I am trying to get as many nationalities as possible to join the group. It's all part of the theme but you will not know why until the of the knit-along when the theme and name of the shawl is revealed.

If you would like to translate the pattern and notes into another language it would be wonderful. Just send me a mail : lul1971 at yahoo dot com

Des modèles et les notes seront traduits en Français.

Muster und Anmerkungen werden ins Deutsche übersetzt.

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After a long break I continued on the Melon border last night while at a 95 yo birthday. Someone in the Victorain Lace Today group had finished hers and that made me want to finish mine too.

Spring Shawl Surprise theme poll

Spring Shawl Surprise Theme Poll

255 votes

and the winner is

Secret theme

who got 41% of the votes

A total of 29% would have liked to know the theme, I'm afraid you just have to wait :-)

And 8% don't really like secrets at all (you are welcome anyway)

Thanks to everybody for the help!

Want to sign up? Go ahead

SotS hint 4

In this clue you had the opportunity to shorten or lengthen the stole and I desided to shorten it as much as possible as it is already getting huge. So I only had around 16 rows to knit.

Someone in the group suggested Fireworks as the theme. I quite like the thought of that and even if it ends out to be something else Fireworks is way better than earwigs ;-) No matter what it motivated me and somewhere there will always be alittle bit of fireworks in it to me :-)

Pwew

Spring Shawl Surprise sure is keeping me busy. So far 250 have signed in, welcome to you all!

To get some knitting done (swatching a small detail on the shawl -now it looks just perfect) I had to close down my computer -I kept getting distracted by e-mails (and that is the best way to mess up your lace knitting)

So far it seems like you are all a bunch of secret loving knitters -and that I have to keep the theme to my self (he he he).

I came by this old tree the other day -the roots reminded me of lace knitting. But I guess right now I could see lace designs in a cat's behind!

Spring Shawl Surprise

I hereby officially announce the group:

Spring Shawl Surprise

open for sign ups.

You can find the Yahoo group

HERE

Don't forget to vote...right hand side :-)