Jam

While preparing for the onset of the Garden Shawl, I have hesitated to start another large project. I have therefore been "messing about" with smaller stuff. I have finished a sock for 'im indoors:



I took this yesterday morning, when there was quite a frost. It looks pretty against the lavender, no?

I've also been casting about for something to make with the Rowan tweed 4ply that UKnitty sent me. I came upon these Nutcracker Slippers from Melanie Falick's Handknit Holidays and thought they might be rather nice. Needle size is 3mm. Well, of course, it's not for me - loose woman that I am. I started with 2.5mm needles. Hopeless. I tried again with 2mm needles:



The gauge given in the pattern is 27sts/40rows = 10cm. My gauge with the 2mm needles is 30sts/46rows = 10cm. It's near, but it's not it and in any case the fabric is far too floppy (technical term). Not only is it floppy, it is also flimsy and I imagine that walking around (even on the knee-deep pile carpet that I don't have) would be like walking on hot coals. I will have to think again.

Mother (not a knitter but oh, so cool!) said, "You need something like this." (waving the moss stitch hat in Louisa Harding Fauve). They know a bit, these mothers. Fauve looks like this:



and has a bit of body to it. Knitted up it looks like this:



This is the top of the moss stitch hat and while I didn't do a swatch at the time, I can now reveal that the gauge on 4mm needles is 24sts/32rows = 10cm. I wonder if I could get the gauge a little nearer by changing needle size and then just winging it? Or indeed, sticking with the 4mm needles and winging it? I need more Fauve to have a play because there was precious little left after the moss stitch hat. Naturally, that doesn't solve the problem of what to make with the Rowan 4ply but I think I might revert to Plan A and make Capone from Rowan 38. (A girl can never have too many hats, after all.)

I have also been playing with the Romance Shawl pattern. I promise I have not started it (not really), I have merely been playing. Some people might call this swatching, but I call it playing. I started with some of the recommended yarn (Margaret Stove Artisan Merino Lace, as for the Garden Shawl) in the Hyacinth colourway which had been left after the first Mystery Shawl. Hopeless, the pattern was completely lost in the colour changes. This helped me to make my mind up about the choice of colour for the GS, at any rate. I didn't take a picture of that - it really wasn't worth looking at. I thought about using the soysilk Kiki sent me. It's about the same weight and would do rather well, I think. The only thing that gave me pause was that I would probably want to dye the finished article, as the soysilk is a bit "none" (as Mother would say) and the construction of the edging of the Romance shawl would probably make this difficult. So then I thought about using some Patons 2ply 100% wool baby yarn in white and doing the border in the Hyacinth. To that end I am playing. Here's the beginning:



This is one of those nifty triangular shawls that starts at the centre back with 3 stitches cast on and increases 4 times on every right side row. I like the way this makes a very defined line down the centre of the back. Here's a close-up of the rosebud:



That's enough jam for now, we don't want you feeling sick, do we?

Oh, I've just put a nifty little map at the bottom of the page. Go and stick a pin in, why don't you. Who'll be first? Who'll be furthest away? Who'll be most exotic? Can't wait.