Warmth in the North

percy shawl

    This shawl was finished towards the end of February and I've got to admit that I don't really like it.  There's nothing particular that I can put my finger on, all the stitches are in place and I still love the yarn, I think it's just a residual dislike of the pattern.  My problems with the pattern are probably unjustified and fulled by confusion.  I usually find lace knitting to be a fairly organic process, one pattern moving into another creating a finished piece that flows.

    For some reason I couldn't get into the groove with this shawl and I think a little part of that has to do with the transitions from one lace pattern to the next.  Well maybe lack of transition would be a better way of putting it.  Looking at the finished shawl the different patterns don't seem to relate well to one another and this made it really hard for me to read my knitting during those transitions.  It's strange to find out how much your brain struggles when things don't fit an established pattern.

just in case...

pattern ~ Percy Shawl by Sanne Kalkman (rav link)

yarn ~ Madelintosh Tosh Lace in Celadon, 0.5 skein

needles ~ 3.25 mm (US3)

disappearing nine patch in neptune

    There really isn't much to say about this simple little quilt.  It's a plain old disappearing nine patch made with three charm packs.  It's a bit on the small side for a lap quilt so I thought about putting it aside until it could be given as a baby gift.  That might be the most sensible option but I've decided to keep it despite it's tiny size.
    I like the back almost as much as the front although it's much simpler.  Once the top was finished I had two extra blocks and love the way they look floating in the larger swathes of fabric.  And now I've run out of steam... it's really a very boring little quilt no matter how much I like it.

    I should mention that I was not the quilter, all the lovely swirls were added by Julie, a local long arm quilter.  She was wonderful to work with and I can't wait to head back to her studio with my next batch of quilt tops.  My first time picking out patterns and thread was a bit overwhelming but she was great at guiding me towards the perfect choices.

a month of crafting

    I didn't intend to disappear again but one night I broke my computer and without it I was cut off from the internet.  It took me a long time to get around to getting a new laptop since I waited until I really missed having one.  Strangely it took quite a bit longer than I'd though for me to get frustrated with having no access to the internet.  However with such a long break my google reader is overflowing but I'm slowly reading everything and trying to comment. 

    Although I couldn't document anything I have been working away with yarn and fabric.  I tried to collect everything for a quick picture but didn't manage to find it all.  A few long standing projects are finished but almost everything was small and simple.  I'll bore you with the particulars later as I'd better get back to cleaning out my in-box and reading your blogs.