Hap-py Easter everyone

Happy Hap-py Easter to everyone. xxxxxxx K

Firstly, go and check out if you would, what I was doing exactly two years ago to the day



Blogger is playing me up terribly and eats my pix every time I try to re-order them or adjust the spacing so for now I'll have to leave the photos to do the talking, in a somewhat random order at that.

In brief-
Various views of me wearing my experimental Shetland Hap-like shawl made from Shilasdair Luxury DK yarn from the stash.
Unblocked size: Small village.
Location: Cliffs
Mood: Euphoric "I believe I can fly!"
Photographer: Thank-you Birthday Boy.

xxxxx K

All out of green

I can't ever remember making so many posts about the same project before, but then again, it is a bit of a magnum opus.
Well, the bad news is that I've run out of green at 16 rows. There should've been 20 rows at this stage. I guess these are the perils of stashing and making decisions on the hoof. I wouldn't have it any other way though!
The problem is that yes, I did leave more than half of the green yarn after the first big green section to take into account that the rows get bigger all the time, but I didn't leave *enough*.
No biggie - I have a plan! If anyone comments that the second green stripe looks thinner, I'll imply it's an optical illusion- maybe it looks thinner because it's longer? That should flummox 'em! If it was the difference between eight rows and twenty rows or whatever, I'd sweat it more but the difference between 20 and 16 rows will hopefully not be too offensive to the eye.
Also the tone and saturation of the green and blue are very similar, hopefully the eye won't read a big difference if those two are fuzzing together.
I'm not about to send to Shilasdair for more green and even if I did there would be colour variance because they use natural dyes, many of which are foraged locally. Who's to say 2009's pigment's like 2005's pigment.
One thing I have sent for right enough, is the pink cable you see peeking through in some of the shots. It's the 100cm supplementary needle for the Denise Interchangeable pink set. This baby's going to be about the size of a small village by the time it's blocked.
Don't panic if you think my ends are really scrappy, they're only tucked under out the wind for the time being.
Now, off to knit lots and lots of lovely blue.
Happy crafting. x K

Slow and steady

Firstly, thank-you for all your kind birthday greetings.

I had a lovely birthday overall and it was nice and restful compared to the work days before and after, so an oasis in the middle of two hectic weeks.

I received some beautiful cards and nice gifts and they are still trickling in, so maybe in a few days I can show you the crafty related ones.


So, slow and steady?

Yes, the Hap Shawl.



It's going to be beautiful and I'm going to love it, (repeat ad lib) but I'm getting into the hard work stage. The stage where every 450+ st row takes 5g of yarn and ages to finish. Weighing the oatmeal coloured yarn frequently in the hope that the Skye fairy has flown down and added a few grammes so I'll have enough for the edging, but it hasn't happened yet.

I never have been and I never will be a monogamous knitter, but even I know I have too much on the needles at the moment and thanks to our Crochet Special at Glasgow Knit and Stitch this Tuesday, on the hooks as well. I'm spreading myself too thinly and not really seeing massive progress on anything. I think I'll try and buckle down to the Hap Shawl this week and make discernable progress. (Even as I'm typing this Girasole is calling my name!!!)


Here are some progress shots of the soft, lovely and quite likely massive, Hap-like shawl. x K

Halfway to Paradise

Half-way through the stripe sequence on my Hap-like shawl.
I now repeat these stripes in mirror image all the while getting increasingly concerned about whether or not I'll have enough of the Oatmeal yarn for the sideways edging.
It's a strangely short leap from ecstasy to despair.
In the meantime I am still loving this beautiful variation on the Shetland Hap shawl and thinking it's going to be one of the loveliest, snuggliest things I've ever knitted.

ETA: I'm now up to 401 sts per row. x K

Happy with progress on the shawl

Here are some shots of a week's almost monogamous progress on my Hap-inspired shawl.

They come complete with marking threads and loose strands and everything.

I'm really enjoying making this and am pleased with the lovely fabric and stitch definition I'm getting from this beautiful simple yarn.

I've noticed that lots of the Hap shawls I've seen have a bright or dark section of colour scallops then in the middle there's a neutral or light section and then the bright or dark section repeats in mirror-image. I'm on the first bright section as you can see. The blue and green are very close in tone, but I'm loving the effect.

I'm well over half-way in terms of finished size, but I'm only at about 30/35% completion of the actual knitting as each row gets bigger and then there's a sideways border.

Sorry to show you it against such a "busy" carpet, but there was no way on earth I could have gone out into the daylight to take the photos. I'd have been chasing my shawl-to-be over the Solway Firth!

Recently I've been making plenty of things from self-striping and space-dyed yarns, so the contrast of this simple yarn with such a lovely handle is a really pleasant change.

More progress shots next week?
Happy knitting, x K

Feeling "Happy"

I feel Hap-py, that is I feel in the mood to make something a little bit like a Hap shawl.
A Hap shawl with a twist, if you will.

Here's a link to see what a Hap shawl **should** look like.
Shetland Hap Shawls Then and Now
Quite interesting and I love their blocking frames.

Mine won't look like those because I only have so much yarn and I will not be doing the big square centre. I'll be doing a triangular main section, which hopefully won't look a million miles away from the proper patterns because the big squares are usually folded in two on the diagonal for wear.

I'm making mine in the Cashmere, Angora and Lambswool plant-dyed yarn I got from Shilasdair in 2005 during some island adventures. It has been living in the spare room waiting for a worthy project to be involved in. It feels absolutely marvelous, and I'm hoping it has the potential to become a lovely somewhat Hap-shawl. The clincher is that I have twice as much of the neutral oatmeal shade as any other colour, so it can be the main triangular section. It knits like a dream but two observations: it smells like plants and when you stand up you look as if you have been snuggling a giant bunny.



Here's a photo from a previous, less hi-res digital camera. x K