Swallowtail Shawl

Swallowtail Shawl

Posh Yarn, Eva 2 ply lace weight, 1 skein 50g 400 yds, (13g left), Captain.

size 3.5mm needles

blocked size 48" x 24"

Blocking Swallowtail

As a good number of the Ravelry KAL people are doing swallowtail as their first lace project I thought it might be helpful to do a blocking run through. Once you know how to do something it seems very easy (and it is) but the first time can be a little mystifying. Remember your first time? Ah hem coughs moving right along ;)

First sew in any ends but do not trim them yet. Soak your finished lace in a cool water with wool wash added if the lace is dirty from handling. Soak for at least 20 minutes, an hour is better if you can make yourself wait. I usually use plain tepid water but this time I presoaked overnight in a 10% vinegar water mix as the yarn had bled a little during knitting. This morning I rinsed with several changes of water until the rinse water was (almost) clear. I am impatient :)

Next squeeze out as much water as you can by hand without rubbing or agitating the lace - we don't want it to felt! Wrap the damp lace in a clean towel and then squash the towel (I stand on mine) to remove the last of the excess water. If you are blocking a large shawl you might want to leave it a little damper than this as it will start to dry whilst you are blocking.

I use foam mats from ELC as my blocking surface but you can pin out on a bed or on a clean sheet on your carpet (Or you could hoover!)

I like the mats because once pinned out the lace can be stood on it's side, the mats are interlocking so you can add more for a larger surface and when using heavier yarns being able to move the blocking to another room is a big advantage as it may take many hours to dry. This project is in a 2ply laceweight Posh Yarn Eva so it'll dry quickly.

For blocking you also need some pins (T shape are easier but any rust proof pins will do), blocking wires (not essential but make life a lot easier) and a tape measure.

Thread the wires through a suitable place in the lace. Shawls often have a nice series of holes along the neck edge, in fact if the pattern doesn't have them I now add them as it makes inserting the wires much easier. The other wires run down the points of this design an the YO holes make it easy to line up those points, the blocking wires mean the points are easy to stretch to the same length. Without wires you pin the points out to the desired stretch. For the neck edge you can thread a length of yarn or fishing wire along the top edge or you can pin it out with a million pins.

After the initial stretch and pin by eye the tape measure helps to finish the job.

Starting at the centre work along the edges pinning as you go, use the tape measure to ensure both sides are symmetrical. Let the yarn stretch a little and you can move the pins out again until you are happy with the dimensions.

Try to get the centre spine to lie straight by smoothing the yarn with your hand and adjusting the pins again. Look at the spacing of the points, are any of them closer to each other than the others? Are they balanced on each side? You can get really obsessive with the tape measure here or you can do it by eye until you are happy. When you wear it no one will notice a millimeter here or there :)

When you are happy with the size and/or fear it will snap if you stretch it any more then you need to leave it to dry. If you can't wait, set a fan to blow across the surface to speed up the drying time. Provided the yarn was damp and you have a good proportion of natural fibres in the yarn, the shawl will block and hold it's shape (a little shrinking back when you take out the wires is to be expected) and will be considerably bigger after blocking. The lace pattern opens up nicely and is revealed in all it's glory.

I love blocking :)

Pre blocking size on this shawl a tiny 34" x 15" during blocking it pins out to 48" x 24". Now we wait ...

The Kindness of Strangers

Sometimes a casual word here or, in this case, on Ravelry brings a very unexpected response.

I mentioned last week that some scum er naughty boys had nicked the lead off our roof at the back of the house and the lovely Yarn Collector has sent me a replacement :) LOL

These precious mini skeins are from Natalie at the Yarn Yard and I need to thank her too, not only for dying them in the first place and for thinking of the miniskein idea, but also for telephoning Annette when I happened to order the same mini skeins later the same day (I guess we can safely say that Annette and I both have very good taste) :) but also that Natalie takes her customer service very seriously - she changed some of Annette's order (with her consent) so that I got no duplicates. Isn't that lovely?

This brings me to thinking about internet friendships and the value to me of people like Annette. Having someone at the end of an email or who responds to a blog post is a special thing. I am very lucky to know people like Annette. It also reminds me to wave to Belle whom I have neglected but who is also special to me. But today is big up Annette day, so pop over and share the love. Thankyousoverymuch, honey, you made my day :) I have no idea what I will make with them but I am enjoying their yarny goodness and stroking and petting them and drinking in their lovely toning colours.

A week or so ago when I was being naughty with the credit card I ordered this lovely shawl ring from Rocki Dee over at Posh Yarn mentioned a shawl ring she'd received a while ago and I coveted it :) so I treated myself before I even needed a treat.

Rocki also sent me some much needed Arizona sunshine and the sun is shining here this morning. Amazing how a little sun can lift your spirits and the postman helps too. :) But the unexpected gifts of a stranger who has become a friend are beyond price.

The animals went in two by two...

well actually they didn't but that's a whole other topic. Today is MONKEE DAY!



The monkees spent the weekend in the sorting office :( but they were very good and they didn't eat the sweeties




But I did.



Whilst my back was turned they escaped!

HP 41 was smart, she headed for the high ground.


HP45 was not so lucky. She was grabbed by the small person, forcably introduced to the rest of the gang (what is the collective noun for monkees? Troop?). And I can personally vouch for the security of the arm/body attachment, it has been well tested :)

NB Small people cannot stand still when they are excited about monkeys :)

Once HP45 (henceforth to be known as Mummy Monkee) had been abducted and confined in the small person's bedroom to 'look after' the baby monkees, HP41 agreed to a photoshoot to more perfectly display her beauty, well, I think she's beautiful!Small person will not be placated. A little background here. I was 'volunteered' to knit Miss McManus a monkey for the end of term 'going up to the next class' present, Small person also wanted one for herself, it's only fair (fare?) I bought the yarn and then stashed it, and stashed it has remained Kerry's monkee sale seemed the perfect way to exit with dignity intact and monkeey provided without actually having to sew up all those seems! But oh no! Small person says HP41 will not 'do'. Apparantly Miss McManus' favourite colour is pink and she needs a pink monkee. Hmmm! May have to knit monkee after all :)

Thank you Kerry, it was worth a try :) Small person is happy, Mummy Monkee is happy (whether she likes it or not!) and I love HP41 even though (or perhaps because) she is not pink. Sigh! Better go make a monkey.

Thank You Mum.

A while ago I said I'd show you my Mum's knitting. My Mum always apologises for her knitting and points out any errors. Please don't, it is excellent. When she visited recently she brought the yellow cardi with her and asked me if it was alright for her to continue making little things for my foster baby! Of course it is! If the baby waited for me to knit her something she might have to wait a long time and she'd probably get a nice lacy scarf! Ha. Thank goodness for Grandmas, especially foster Grandmas.

Thank you Mum.

It's great having a Mum who knits, unfortunately she lives a long way away so I don't get to go to the LYS with her very often, or to chat knitting. But the very best reason for having a Mum who knits is that it was she who taught me to knit.

I was 6.

When we did knitting at school I remember being the only one who could already do it and I helped the teacher to cast on for the other kids :) That's a good memory to have. Thank you Mum.

As I have got older knitting has become a very important creative outlet for me. I have never been any good at drawing or painting or anything 'arty' but now I know that I can do knitting. i enjoy knitting, it stimulates parts of my imagination that nothing else touches. It makes me happy, contented, successful. I love knitting, thank you Mum.

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Whilst Mum was here I was able to give her a copy of Yarn Forward which has my first 'in print' article in. I had an article in CQOnline (waves to Belle who edited me :) for that) and this feels like another good knitting thing.

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I bought some extremely squooshy yarn for the Anne Hanson snow shawl. I'd like to recommend this yarn seller, the yarn is gorgeous the packing was excellent the postage was quick and the communication by email was very speedy and friendly. Now do I do a triangle or a square? Such a dilemma hehehe, my life is full of such happy decisions, aren't I lucky?

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Garden Party is stalled just past the corner of the border. I have been captivated by the Swallowtail Shawl KAL on Ravelry. Just finished the buds pattern repeats and now I begin the nupps. Hah! My first nupps.

Nothing to see here, move along, move along...

More GP border, just about ready to turn the corner Yay!

Yarn Yard

This week I have mainly been knitting this

adding this

like this

and buying this

whilst surfing this.

The Garden Party is coming along fine, just adding the border, I may be some time....

The yarn is Natalie's bamboo 4 ply which she custom dyed for me, isn't it lovely I think it may become my Simurgh. I liked it so much I wound it straight away. Natalie was brilliant to work with (ok she did all the work) and kept me in touch with what was happening with friendly emails all the way, if you've ever thought of asking for some custom dyed yarn, I'd say 'do it!'

Update

Nearly finished the body of the GP shawl, just the edging to add, I say just ... it may take some time.

Meanwhile a few yarn photos to keep you busy, first Yarn Yard bamboo




last weeks Posh



and this weeks Posh with Dee's lovely photos







now I must go on a diet :) and I must knit faster

Oh apart from the lovely purple Natalie is dying for me :) and the hite I have ordered for the shawl from Knitspot. I think that's it, for now. But I am going to a show on Friday which might have something, I am intnding to look for needles, last time I was there I was interested in quilting so I don't remember how many knitting stands they had. i'll let you know :)

Hambley's Hand Painted Yarns

Remember this post http://allstitchedup.blogspot.com/2007/10/first-baby-hat-for-ages.html

if you are the indie dyer who left a comment yesterday, please leave me a message with some contact details as a search on Ravelry and Esty didn't give me any hits for your yarn and I would like to buy more and sing it's praises to others as it has washed really well and still gets positive comments. Baby has out grown the hat and mitts now and I'd love to make her a BSJ in your yarn, always happy to support local dyers :)

A Piece of Pi? or, it took a while but it's finally cooked (groan)

Did you ever wonder what happens if you can't wet block?

I decided, reluctantly, to knit this shawl in acrylic (argh!) The recipient is unknown to me and I do not know if she will have the time, energy or enthusiasm to pin out her baby's shawl every time she washes it. I like to think it will be used not put in a blanket box and never see the light of day. I do not know if she has any knowledge of natural fibres and if she might bung this in the machine and, were it to be merino or alpaca or some such, if she would then take out a soggy felted mass at the end of the wash and be consumed with guilt and regret at spoiling Aunty Nancy's present. I do know that sometimes it is good to be practical :) I did look at superwash merinos and I pondered on their durability, but, the blocking issue still reared it's ugly head, and as the photograph above shows the unblocked Pi can be a little wrinkled and somewhat small.



I can see that it is still a pretty thing even with it's wrinkles however I do not want the unknown recipient to be disappointed in her gift from Aunty Nancy and the acrylic option is not only machine washable and not only can it be dried in the tumble drier, both of which are very good attributes when items for small children are concerned. Not only these, dear reader, but it can also be ironed.



When it is ironed it not only lies a little flatter (I probably could have got it completely smooth, but more of that later) but it also grows. Same sofa, bigger Pi. How do you multiply Pi, why you iron it of course :)

Now ironing is not my strong suit. Have I told you the nursery and DD1 anecdote? I will some time, if you haven't heard it before. It involves DD1 finding the perfect way to let all nursery staff know that Mummy doesn't do ironing! Anyway, I crossed my fingers during washing. It says it can on the label, but do we believe the label? I double crossed them during tumble drying. It says it can on the label, but do we believe the label? I held my breath and double, double treble crossed everything during ironing. You see, I cannot iron, I do not iron. I have visions of melted plastic stuck to the bottom of an iron. When my little sister was born and my Mum was in hospital my Dad, being the helpful chap he is, decided he would do the ironing and he ironed a pair of my Mum's tights. I rest my case! Anyway, back to the shawl.



You have no idea how much I regretted the acrylic decision during ironing.



I really wanted to wet block and even out the steps at the end of each round.



I really wanted to pin out those points and make them super pointy.



I missed making the backs of my legs and knees ache, and my arms cry by crawling on the floor on all fours, stretching and pinning and measuring and repinning.



But in the end I think it was OK to do it like this :)
I am quite pleased with my Pi.



I think it turned out alright. I think Nancy will find it a good enough gift for her first great grandchild. I think the unknown recipient will find it easy enough to care for. I am sure she will be better at ironing than I am!



And I really like the border!

Pattern Elizabeth Zimmerman's Pi Shawl
Yarn Sirdar Snuggly 4 ply, 5 x 50g balls, white, Nylon/Acrylic mix (shudders!)
Needles KnitPicks Options 3.5mm
Blocked (sic) size 46" in diameter.

I did either the increase or YO k2tog round every 6 rounds from the centre out until I had 9 YO rounds, then knit straight ss until the next increase. K 40 rows, add 3 more Yo k2tog rounds and then add Godmother's Lace border. I really like the gs border it is easy to memorise and adds a plain but pleasing effect to the edge.

Hmmmm, I enjoyed that.
Now I can get back to the Garden Party.

ETA DH said "you can get one of those for £4.99" and my reply, "No you can't I made it up as I went along and it's the only one like that in the whole world",... even if it is acrylic! :)

popping in

just stopping by to wave hello :)

still busy with the Pi but I'm on the final section, knitting on the border.

just went to knitspot to download Anne Hanson's latest shawl pattern, yum!

Garden Party is in hibernation whilst I finish the Pi but it's loking wonderful, can't wait to get back to it.

can't believe it is the first day of Spring, threatening snow outside and a cold northerly wind cuts you like a knife if you venture outside. Perfect excuse to stay in and knit :)

I did do some knitting :o)

Whilst I haven't blogged much I do have an excuse ... RAVELRY! The Posh Yarn group is knitting the Garden Party shawl and I have been busy chatting er... I mean knitting :o) I did manage to start the right side although I felt like I was knitting it back to front and upside down and kept checking that it was the right side right side iykwim but it's going fine and all housework other WIP and children will not be abandoned whilst I knit this obsessively for the progress rush that a shawl with lots of parts gives me.

Anyone else joining the party? You can find us here

ooooh goodies!

Sorry, I've been busy, not sure what at... strange that how tha days drift or fly past and you don't seem to have achieved much but you haven't had a minute to yourself. Sigh! However the goodies above were a lovely boost, thank you to Michaela :o)

Spinning eta photo

Spinning? Yes, spinning, well nearly. This isn't a 'real' post just popping in to give you a wonderful link that Natalie from Yarn Yard directed me to. I ordered some pencil roving from her so I can finally get round to using the wheel I bought. Anyway, that's a different story LOL here's the link wonderfully clear.