May 03, 2007
Well, I am pleased to let you all know that the first ball went further than I thought it would. I sat and knitted, wanting to finish up the ball, and see just how far it went.
It went on and on and on and on. All the way to the end of row 59 of the border.
There are 90 rows in the border, and they are decreasing in length. That's good news. Here's what the shawl currently looks like. (This is roughly one repeat.)
Looking pretty good, huh?
The bad news is that I definitely do not have enough yarn. Well, according to my rather sad mathematical skill. There are around 200,000 stitches in the entire shawl, and I've done around 27,000. I think I need around 7 and a half balls, and I have six.
When I ordered the yarn, around two years ago, I got it pretty cheap becasue it was advertised on the Jamieson & Smith website as a discontinued colour. But the ballband just says "White".
So I called them up and ordered two more balls of white. Let's hope it's a half decent match. If not, I think I'll finish the shawl and throw the whole lot into the dyepot.
I've changed from my Inox needle to a KnitPicks circular needle that I ordered from Donni. (BTW, it's Donni's brthday tomorrow, pop on over and wish her a Happy one!)
I love this needle! I'm not finding it too slippery at all, the cord is fantastically flexible and the join is nice and smooth. I've also ordered an Addi lace needle from the US for comparison purposes, but taking into consideration how much more expensive the Addi is, it'd have to be really good to be any comparison.
I've been working on my other projects, too. The Sirdar cardi is growing, but I'll save that for another day. The Opal sock is growing too.
I'm really liking this pattern with this yarn. (It's the Garter Rib pattern from Sensational Knitted Socks)
Twinkie's feeling undignified.
No wonder she hates to be picked up!
Posted by Donna at May 3, 2007 09:30 PMComments
Its looking good hope the next ball get you a good mileage too.
Posted by: metal and knit at May 3, 2007 11:43 PMPerhaps we should all knit with 'too little yarn' anxiety! We might get to the end that much quicker. Your shawl is looking absolutely fantastic!
Posted by: amanda j at May 3, 2007 11:53 PMGee-any lady knows that you pose for pictures to look your best-that position is just too unforgiving!
Re the yarn-how about alternating rows with the new yarn when you get it, so they blend? Or would that be too tangly with the cobweb yarn?
Wow Donna you do amazing lace work! I have had the same thing happen to me with an off white that I ran out and the new skein didn’t match. I ended up tea dyeing it. It turned out wonderful! I recommend Earl Gray nice shade off of it!
Posted by: Stacy at May 4, 2007 12:24 AMYour shawl is looking very good. Aren't they a joy to knit?
Posted by: Chery at May 4, 2007 12:33 AMYour shawl is gorgeous...even though you didn't pick the Dragone one to knit first. [wink]
Posted by: Michelle at May 4, 2007 02:19 AMThe shawl is looking great; good plan on dyeing if you can't match the yarns. I'm doing a pair of garter rib socks in the exact same shade of Opal. Great minds must think alike!
Posted by: Mary at May 4, 2007 03:06 AMOh that is looking lovely, and the socks too.
Posted by: angie at May 4, 2007 05:43 AMYour shawl is stunning!
How old is Twinkie? I know it's not polite to ask a lady her age, but hopefully she will excuse me. I'm sorry I don't know very much about rabbits, but maybe she will teach me. :)
Posted by: Debby at May 4, 2007 06:33 AMThe shawl is gorgeous. I love the pattern. And of course, Twinkie is a cutie!
Posted by: Diana at May 4, 2007 07:09 AMThe shawl is looking great - good idea re dying it if the colours don't quite match (who knew there could be so many shades of "white"!). Will be interested to see what you think of the Addi lace needles - I really like the Knitpicks too.
Posted by: Rose Red at May 4, 2007 09:06 AMThe shawl is coming along so well, and looks just stunning!
I got my Knit Picks set this week, and am really loving them too. The points are really - well - pointy. :)
Posted by: Jejune at May 4, 2007 10:16 AMWhat a beautiful shawl. I can tell you love knitting lace as you do it so quickly and it looks so good too. I hope the color matches. I like the sock as well, it looks great.
Posted by: Sue at May 4, 2007 10:41 AMHi Donna,
I don't know about the price differential and our dollar is currently high against the american dollar, but did you know you can get Addis from Katie here at http://live2knit.com.au/store/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=23&zenid=b095e9c96dc14ef6920c69031dc75a56
(Do you need HTML in your comments for a link? Sorry if you do. Try cut and paste. ) Katie has lovely lace yarn too and gorgeous sock wool.
I tried out the Knitpicks needles in that big Sydney shop. I was very, very tempted as they looked so good. I really liked the look of them and tips etc felt great. But like all metal needles, they were just so unyielding. LOL. I know that's their nature, but I also know my fingers.
I think I'll stick to bamboo or my old anodised metal neeedles with the slight curve to them. I know I can use them.
Jan
Posted by: Jan Bishop at May 4, 2007 10:59 AMThat shawl is looking fabulous and the socks are very nice too.
I'm glad you have a "Plan B" - we should all be so relaxed with our knitting! :-)
Glad you got more yarn, that definitely looked like you were going to run short. It's a very pretty pattern and is coming along nicely.
Posted by: Wanda at May 5, 2007 07:08 AMThe shawl's looking good! Very pretty. And Twinkie's such a sweetheart.
Posted by: shirley at May 5, 2007 10:48 AMThanks for dropping by my blog and leaving a comment, Donna! Now I can come visit you. Your patience in knitting with lace yarn amazes me.
Posted by: Shirley at May 5, 2007 03:00 PM
Good plan for the shawl...anything not to have to rip out an start over.
Posted by: wool winder at May 3, 2007 11:41 PM