I’ve done a whole bunch of knitting (and lots of other stuff, too!) since my last knitting-related post in December. We’ve been in the midst of some school drama and trying to make a decision about whether to move the kids to another school or stick it out. We’re not on the same page yet, so I’ve been knitting feverishly to help alleviate the stress. I keep telling people that I really wish there was a Fidelity green line for me to follow regarding raising the kids, but evidently there is no such luxury.
Anyway, on to the knitting. There is much more than I’m posting here because you’d be here all night reading… If you’re truly interested, take a gander at my Ravelry projects pages and you’ll see just what I’ve been up to.
I didn’t even attempt to do any Christmas gift knitting before the holidays because I knew I’d go bonkers. Instead, I waited and sent out letters to the teachers and made some choices based on their replies. My proudest knit thus far is a result of those questionnaires. Our kindergarten assistant is super nice and helped us when our daughter was struggling with the idea of going to school. She also lost her brother unexpectedly this year which is just wrong. I wanted to make something super special for her and she requested a shawl. Unfortunately, she wanted black. Now, I’m all about giving to people and have no problem knitting everything for anyone but me, but a lace weight shawl in black? Yeah, I would like to retain use of my eyeballs, thank you. So I made a bold move. I knitted a shawl using some stash yarn (WOOHOO) and overdyed it when I was done. All in all, it turned out great. I would have preferred a truer black, but she was happy and so was I.
Before dyeing, this is what the shawl looked like:
After:
Pattern: Angel Lace by Evelyn Clark/Fiber Trends S-2018
Yarn: Knit Picks Shadow Kettle Dyed in Bordeaux 1.3 skeins or 2.30 ounces
Needle: US4
Mods: I made several changes…
I didn’t have a crochet hook handy, so I did the following to start the shawl:
CO 5; k two rows; k2, yo, pm k1 pm, yo, k2 (7sts)
Began lace as written… worked rows 1-30, then 21-30 an additional 14 times before starting edging.
On edge: added 8/0 black beads at the sk2p of rows 9, 11, & 13 and also at the yo, k1, yo of row 15A as written in the pattern.
Before blocking measured 35”w x 17”d
After blocking measured 58”w x 25.5”d
Prepared black dye solution as follows: mixed 100mL water with 2g of dye powder, then added 65mL of dye solution and 25mL vinegar to boiling water, turned to simmer and added shawl. Held my breath… And it turned out.
I’m planning to come back soon with more knitting posts… if only my kids weren’t playing soccer. 🙂
knitting elephant 