Triinu

Pattern: Triinu by Nancy Bush
Needles: 5
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace (merino wool) just over 1 skein
Began: September 13 2011
Finished: October 19 2011

I fell in love with many of the shawls featured in Nancy Bush's book Knitted Lace of Estonia. So when my knitting group here in Paris decided to do a shawl-along and picked Triinu, I was happy to jump on board. This was my first time knitting nupps, but otherwise it wasn't too challenging. This is a very late birthday gift for Celine!

Summer Shawl Knitting

This has been the summer of the shawl. I started two: Anthemion, pictured above in progress, which I have since abandoned but not yet frogged (I like the pattern but don't care for how it looks with this yarn) and Clapotis, which I was knitting in a gorgeous emerald green silk/bamboo/rayon yarn from La Droguerie which they seem to have discontinued now, and which I lost before I could finish or document. I spent months on these two failed projects. Then I knit up a speedy little version of Abyssal (finished in a couple weeks, thank goodness, but no picture yet.) Then, since the Clapotis was to be a belated birthday present for my roommate, and I was too discouraged to reknit it and plus I couldn't picture it in any other yarn than that which I had already used and which I could no longer buy, I started another shawl for her, this time the Triinu, seen below, which I had already started in the spring in a sock yarn and again, liked the pattern but hated how it looked with the yarn. But it looks pretty good in this Malabrigo lace:

And finally, tiring of plowing through Triinu (I'm a little over halfway there) yesterday I started a scarf for a certain gentleman who is wary of, if not downright frightened by, my knitting habit but, being French, will not refuse an opportunity to wear a scarf around his neck. (Actually, he rarely wears a scarf, which is odd because he is French AND a singer. So that's doubly anomalous. But he did request a scarf, for some mysterious reason.)

The world's most tedious scarf

fo: Maisie's Dress

Pattern: Clara by Karin Vestergaard Mathiesen
Needles: size 3
Yarn: La Droguerie linen/bamboo, 175 grams

Began: April 1
Finished: May 1

Gauge: 22sts per 4 inches

I co 200 stitches instead of 220 for the small size since my gauge was a little off. I had to modify the number of stitches picked up for the sleeves, and I split for the head opening earlier than the pattern calls for, but otherwise no modifications.

I still need to sew on my buttons, but this is otherwise done and will head to its recipient across the ocean next week with my parents.

This yarn was super splitty and the color is very bright, but I'm still pretty happy with the finished product. I can't wait to see my niece wearing it this summer!

fo: Half-Pi Shawl

Yarn: Classic Elite Fresco, 4 skeins
Needles: size 10

There was something funky with one of my skeins of yarn. The angora content seemed to be missing and the color seemed darker. It makes a marked strip along the bottom part of the shawl. I almost tore the whole thing apart because of this. But I was convinced by my knitting group that this stripe looks cool, so I kept it.

I'm not actually as unhappy about it as I look in these photos. I can't quite tell if I like the shawl or not. As usual, it doesn't measure up to the garment which inspired me to knit it--my friend Jenny's version of this shawl (she was wearing it the first time I met her after not seeing her in about 10 years, and in fact it's what made me want to start knitting again after a hiatus of about the same amount of time....) Anyway, it's done, and since spring is sprung in Paris I guess I'll have to wait til fall to see if I wear it.

Here's my current wip, inspired by French Press Knit's blog post about this pattern named Clara....I had to order this kit on the internet from an American shop and my dad scanned and emailed me the pattern, and I bought yarn (a bamboo/linen blend) from the Droguerie here in Paris. Started just about 1 week ago.

This is not a newly finished object, but I wore my summer shawlette for the first time today (at church) so when I got home I finally took some decent pictures of it.I got lots of compliments on it and think I'll actually wear it (unlike most of the sweaters I've made. I think I'm swearing off sweaters forever...)I have ALMOST finished my half-pi shawl. This is sad. Do you see how many stitches remain to be bound off?Only about 20 of almost 500 stitches on the finished edge. And I'm out of yarn. I already cut off the ends from my joins and used those scraps, which accounts for the last 40 or so bound-off stitches. So this will languish til I can find some yarn which is a close enough match to finish.I have some new yarn purchases though. After about a year-long yarn-diet, I finally broke down and bought some yarn in Paris. I went to the Droguerie near St. Eustache on Friday and finally had enough time to wait in the hour-long line to buy yarn. I got this bamboo and linen blend to make Clara (which I ordered online and will have to have my parents send to me from the US) for my new niece! I also bought a gift there for my dearest knitting friend in the US and it will be making its way to her soon....Then I went to the L'oisivethé today in the Butte aux Cailles and bought some more yarn for me. These will be shawls. It's hard to figure out what I want to make when all of my knitting books are in my parents' house across the ocean, but I guess I'll be poring over ravelry this week to get inspired!

fo: Cobwebby Shawl

After knitting a worsted weight version of Ishbel, I decided I wanted to make a lace-weight one, too. This shawl has been a long time in the making--I bought the yarn about a year and a half ago, I believe. I cast off about a month ago, and finally got around to blocking it last week. I didn't do the greatest job of blocking (since I only have two towels here in Paris, I had to make do with one and when I wasn't able to pin the ends of the shawl, I just let them hang.) I'm a little disappointed in my blocking job. The stitches aren't nearly as even as I'd like and there are some flaws (caused by I don't know what) that are still super obvious to me.Yarn: Fiesta ballerina (alpaca and tencel), 1 skein (925 yards) with some left.
Needles: 6 (I think, anyway. I have the worst time remembering what needles I used only a matter of minutes after finishing projects.)