Happy design

PR 01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

Sometimes there are patterns that make you happy. You’ve seen the result of someone who has knit it before, you’ve got the yarn at home and it looks rather easy to knit.
I have that with this pattern. I really like the designer Birgit Freyer and have knit a scarf of hers before. I have no idea what the result is of the pattern, I did have plenty of yarn at home. During my lunchbreak I went out to buy the beads. Just the combination yarn and beads make me happy. Pity I didn’t have enough time the last few days to finish the first clue. Thursday I went to a concert, I got really sick on Friday and on Saturday my grandma broke her hip. Because my parents were still on vacation when it happened I’ve been busy with that the whole weekend.
This week I’m going to sit down and be happy. Results will follow.

New shawl

ML done
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I finished Mystic Light. The pattern was easy to follow and I managed to keep up with the clues. There were a few rows that gave me some trouble and led to mild frustration. Saturday night the cable on my circular needles suddenly gave way, right on the second to last row. I had a needle in my right hand, a needle in my left hand and noticed the purple wire escaping to the right of me. Mild feeling of panic. Slowly moved the right needle to my left hand and saw the cable moving even more to the right. Noooo!! Grabbed the wire with my right hand so not to lose anymore stitches. Now what? Carefully tread the wire through the stitches (not an easy feat when you’re holding two needles in your left hand). Hoping you’ve saved all the stitches, stuff the wire back into the end of the needle and start counting. Not really a fun thing to do if you have almost 400 stitches on the needle.
I carefully knitted the res of the shawl. I also reported the broken wire to the webstore where I bought it.

Pink light

ML clue1
Originally uploaded by isis1207

A day after the first clue appeared on MysticLight I took my pink wool, needles and printed out pattern to my couch and started knitting. Of course I had knitted a swatch first to see if the holes and cables look fine. All I need now is plenty of time to actually finish the first clue. I like the pattern. So far there are no strange things that make knitting more time consuming.
Clue 1 is in the picture, you can’t really see the pattern clearly. I’ve finished clue 2 also. Let’s see what clue 3 brings us.

A bit too pink

ML color
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I was offered help from this and this lady to dye my yarn, but I decided to go ahead and do it by myself. I found a KoolAid lookalike (FlavorAid) and had a whopping choice between pink and pink. I guess I’m gonna make this shawl pink. I wanted more color in my wardrobe and pink goes just fine with jeans.
I put out the wool, made the lemonade (without the sugar) and started to wet the wool. That actually takes some time. Wool does not readily take up water. I put the wool in microwave bowls and zapped them. In the picture the lightest part is on top, it doesn’t look as pink as it finally turned out.
After rinsing I was pleasantly impressed with myself. It turned out a nice pink. It reminds me of the color the sky has at sunrise. The following day it looked really pink. This time I was a bit unsure of myself.
I’ll swatch this week, maybe it’s not too bad. And otherwise I have a huge pink shawl at the end of the KAL.

Which colors?

new wool
Originally uploaded by isis1207

After searching for quite some time to find the right yarn for the Mystic Light, I finally found something. It’s thicker than the yarn the designer uses but I don’t mind. I figure it’ll be great to use as a substitute for a sweater on a chilly summer night (I’m a complete woos about the cold). The only problem I have is that this isn’t the color I had in mind. I don’t actually have a color in mind yet. I want to dye the yarn (100% wool) in colors that have to do with light and that make me happy.
Once I decide on the colors I have to figure out how to dye my yarn. There’s enough information on the internet. I haven’t gotten any dye yet, so picking a method is a bit tricky.
Any suggestions on the colors I should use?

Stash knit down 2008

shawls
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I signed up for the stash knit down 2008 group on Ravelry. The challenge for January is to knit a mile. I can do it if I finish my Myrtle Leaf and finish all the clues for SpringShawlSurpise (yes, I started a new project). Hmm, not sure if I reach that goal. The end date for the challenge is the 19th of February but Myrtle isn’t even halfway done and I’m well over 2 clues behind on SSS. I need more hours in the day. Or longer weekends.

New Year Resolutions?

VLT myrtle 01
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I hope everybody will have an awesome 2008. Is there anybody who has resolutions for this year? I’m not one to make New Year resolutions. It works for about two days and then I go back to my old habits.
What I will try this year is to finish more WIP’s before I start with another one. Being able to switch between projects is fun, but it takes ages for anything to actually finish. So . . . I started the Myrtle leaf shawl from VLT and I still need to finish 1 sock to make a pair. All the other projects are pretty much hibernating. The idea is to finish 2 projects before starting another one. Theoretically it should work.
Oh and I need to use up some of my stash. I bought some stuff right up to the end of 2007, I should be able to make it to July without buying anything new. I think.

Knit alongs

winding kal
Originally uploaded by isis1207

I have 3 KAL’s that start on January 1st. Of course that’ll never work. The Spring Shawl Surprise and the Bad Nauheim are mystery KAL’s, no idea how they will turn out. So I decided to participate in the Victorian Lace Today KAL. I already have yarn for this one, I know what it will look like and it’s been on my to do list.
I’ll just collect the clues from the other two and make them some other time.