Maybe if there was a pony

I can see now that in terms of blog material, this shawl is going to be a problem. There’s precious little I can do to make it interesting, short of it catching fire or me making a huge mistake (both totally possible, but haven’t happened yet – at least to this project) and all I can really say about it is white. Bigger. More beads.

biggermorebeads 2016-05-20

See? White. Bigger. More beads. In the next 24 hours I’ll bust out the second ball of yarn and have to make a decision about how to join it in – I suppose I can try to make that exciting. Russian join? Spit splice? The drama! The intrigue! Which will I choose! Tune in Monday to see how I did it. (Yeah. I know. I didn’t excite me either.)  Well, here. Let me show you something big and purple to distract you from something big and white.

purplething 2016-05-20

Voila. The worlds top knitwear model came home long enough to hoist my finished Purless.

purpledet 2016-05-20

In the end it turned out that I wasn’t two skeins sad about Prince, but I was about 1.5 skeins of bereft. (The yarn was Shalimar Yarn’s Breathless in Byzantium, and it was delicious) I embiggened the pattern a little bit, doing one more repeat of the fetching triangles before (more or less) going back to the pattern as Romi wrote it. (Towards the end I sort of did my own thing when it came to the short rows, because I had my own unique number of stitches, but It looks like hers.)

purplethingwhole 2016-05-20

It’s soft and so cozy and now that it’s blocked and photographed, the weather has finally warmed up here in Toronto, and there’s absolutely no need for it what so ever. (My apologies to the rest of the city, I forgot that’s how it worked. I would have finished it ages ago if I thought it could have done something about the snow.) I’ll tuck it away for the fall, or maybe even for Christmas, since now that I’m over the terrible shock of Prince’s death, I remember that I don’t really wear purple. (The world’s top knitwear model looks great in it though. Thanks Sam.)

Thanks too for your warm welcome to fundraising season over here… the lot of you are amazing, as always, and Team Knit is well on its way. Let’s celebrate early, with the first round of Karmic Balancing Gifts- there’s so many I’m going to have to really stay on it. (Don’t know how it works? Well, you can read yesterdays post, and that should help. Essentially, you help Team Knit (That’s me, Ken, Pato and Cameron – with honourable mention to Val and Heather) reach our goals for PWA, and then the other knitters send you a present maybe, because you’re awesome and so are they.) Ready to start with the presents? Sure you are.

Melissa is generously sending out four sets of snagless stitch markers from Prairie Dye Studio. One set each for Debra, Jennifer K, Helen G and Andrea D, and they’ll each be allowed to chose from all her beauties.

Prairiedyesnagless 2016-05-20

Ann has a wonderful gift that will be going from her stash to Leanne W’s.

tiliyarn 2016-05-20

It’s three skeins of Tilli Tomas Fil de la Mer yarn.  It’s DK weight, 70% silk 30% plant fiber, 140 yards/ 50 gram skein.  The colorway is Gloximia – a perfect present for spring. Thanks for parting with it Ann.

Jaala from Knitcircus has Over the Rainbow Gradient Stripes! Each “matching socks set” includes two cakes dyed to match exactly – down to the stitch. Her gift  includes a Medium Matching Socks Set (300yds total) in Greatest of Ease fingering, 75% Superwash Merino wool, 25% nylon, and she’s including Amy’s Favorite Top-Down Socks pattern pdf.

overtherainbow 2016-05-20

Jaala will be sending that to the very lucky Sue G.  (I almost ordered everything when I clicked on that link. Careful.)
Dani, longtime friend of the show and proprietress over at KSC Designs has two beautiful pieces. A box bag that will be making its way to Tracey H.

danilarge 2016-05-20

and a beautiful needle roll that I really hope Chris I loves.

danineedleroll 2016-05-20

There we go – eight gifts, I’ve emailed all the lucky knitters,  and we’re just getting started. Please take a few moments over the weekend to think of us. Team Knit will be out in force – Cameron and I are the assigned sweeps for the Sunday ride. Wish us fair weather and a tailwind. We could use it.

47 thoughts on “Maybe if there was a pony

  1. If the shawl isn’t done in time – no, don’t dry it in the oven – Megan can wear the purple one.

  2. Don’t worry about boring the blog with the whiteness. Bigger and beadier is good. Keep going; we’re rooting for you.

    PS: I had to touch the sunglasses for verification. In homage to all that whiteness, I presume.

  3. Hope I’m not jinxing anything. Someone I once met (a funeral director!) told me that, if a person can wear green, that person can also look good in purple, and vice versa. Unfortunately, I look horrid in either color…but enjoy your purple shawl. Maybe over a light sage-green shirt…

    Sam, as always, looks great. As the world’s top knitwear model, she should! (Disclaimer: Millie’s the top flat knits model; I had to touch the “cat” for verification.) And, no, the white shawl isn’t boring. As long as there’s a chance it might pop up out of the toaster…;-)!

  4. Wishing tailwinds and happy sunshine to Team Knit on the weekend. It DOES look promising. I’ll take care of my donation over the weekend too. Let’s keep those pledges coming, Knitters. Perhaps one less 2-4 this weekend, and donate the money saved to this worthy cause. Just a thought.

  5. That is a beautiful shawl….but I gotta say, if you could show it on a nice black pony next time, that would be pretty cool too….any ponies in the wedding party?

  6. Lovely work, good weather for Sunday ride and stay safe. Purple shawl is gorgeous and white shawl will be a masterpiece.

  7. My 2 year old son looked over my shoulder at your Purless and said “Now THAT is cool. It’s a pretty purple shawl!”

  8. Wow, I’m so thrilled and honoured to win one of the prizes and it’s such a perfect prize for me (it’s a project bag that will fit my always-on-the-needles sock projects). Thanks to Stephanie & Dani at KSC Designs!

  9. Every photo of this shawl just makes me purr inside. It doesn’t have to be exciting or have a funny story or even look any different from the last photo. It’s just that beautiful. Since I have to touch the Music Note to post, I will just say this shawl makes my heart SING!

  10. I hate to say it, but the real fascination (for me at least – everyone else might be a fundamentally better person) is not so much watching the progress of the knitting – as exquisite as it undoubtedly is – but watching the progress of the knitter’s psyche. I can’t handle complex knitting under time-pressure, so watching you do it is like watching someone juggle balls of fire – eerily fascinating.

  11. um…I got quite distracted by the link to Knit Circus, but I got ahold of myself and got back to Harlot Land. I already spent a goodly amount at my LYS today, so more stash shopping is not in my plan. I love the shawl updates, for the same reason as Deborah – I want to know how you’re handling the pressure. So far so good!

  12. Thank you so much for the wonderful karmic balancing gift! I am so excited to get stitch markers! (I’m Andrea D but my friends all call me Andi). Melissa really does have the most beautiful stitch markers in her Etsy shop so I have a feeling I’ll be doing a little shopping over there in the very near future to find a companion for the soon-to-be-mine stitch markers. 🙂

  13. Keep knitting! Keep beading! And blow it out on the bicycle (riding sweeps should clear your mind in between long stretches of knitting beaded lace)!

  14. As someone who’s forever having issues joining yarn well I’m quite looking forward to hearing about what you picked and why. Happy ridding!

    • second that: yarn joins are the hardest. I don’t even try in non-wool (why I never knit cotton or linen). Donation coming soon, ride on!

  15. I haven’t tried knitting with beads, I bought the beads and yarn once and they are all safely tucked in my stash. Your shawl looks so good maybe it is time to give it a try. Thank you for the inspiration.

    • Let’s see, I bought yarn & beads for the Ice Queen in Knitty when it was first published. It’s still tucked away, waiting for the day I clear my WIPs and set my mind to it.

  16. I’m happy to see a big, allegedly boring white shawl. With the speed at which you knit, I’m sure it’ll be done very soon, and I can’t wait to see it!

  17. Megan has done the ride. I do not know the happy couple, but I wish them all the best. As a token of those good wishes, my donation is to honour Megan and Alex.

  18. I just can’t wait to see the finished product! I just know it is going to be more beautiful thank I can imagine. Good luck!
    Hopefully you won’t need to have any large bird encounters. 🙂

  19. Steph, whatever you do, don’t put that white shawl out in the backyard where that darn grey squirrel can get to it! He’s got to be dead by now, right? Those beads might attract crows – you have crows in Canada, I assume?

    And while I’m at it, thank you SO MUCH for writing your books. I have a very stressful life (bi-vocational pastor and elementary school teacher) and your books make me laugh and relax. I just started reading them a few weeks ago. (I’ve been in seminary for the last 4 years and graduated a year ago but am just now getting to read for pleasure again). I am reading The Secret Life of a Knitter and have the others on standby for when I finish it.

    Oh, and thank you for making me feel normal for having so much yarn and so many projects started . . .
    😀

  20. I often end up with my own unique number of stitches too! That’s so funny! You crack me up Stephanie. So glad the weather is warming up for you as you prepare for your HUGE upcoming cycling marathon! I hail from Detroit so we were neighbors, sort of, once upon a time. How come you don’t have a You Tube channel? (I’m you get asked this ALL the time!)

  21. That Knit Circus yarn *drools*, I lust after it so much. Matching socks make me so happy and her colors are soooo pretty. Watching your shawl progress makes me happy, and at the same time jealous, as I cannot knit lace as fast as you. How do you do it!

  22. I think a pony would be fabulous.
    A white pony.
    With beads.

    I’m also working on a beaded shawl, but orange. I hope it will be done in time to wear to dd’s wedding. She’s 13. I might have time? 🙂

  23. We are knitters, not adrenalin junkies. Keep knitting. Muttering under your breath. Whatever. We’re OK with it.

  24. I vote with the others to knit 4 rows a day to compensate for cycling and the retreat and wedding things. Not sure if anyone has suggested yet, but 6 birthdays this month?? Just celebrate all birthdays and fathers day on June 20 to sort of keep your sanity. (Also..Did I see you at the Eaton Center yesterday 530pm? If not it was your twin!)

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