Pattern: Ishbel from Whimsical Little Knits by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Squoosh Alpaca Silk and Cashmere (Fingering)
Size: Small
Yardage: ~ 275 m (300 yards) or 3/4 of the skein
Needles: 4.00 mm bamboo circular


Here we have another case of procrastination - not of finishing but of posting - I finished this shawl in time to wear it to my staff Christmas party in mid December. It took me a little while to get a nice sunny, uncluttered day when I could get some nice pictures of it but really it was the writing that was taking me ages.

A whole post of "it's just so wonderful" didn't seem like a very useful review but it's really all I've got to say:


The pattern is lovely and well written. Ysolda offers both text and charts (my preferred method for lace) and two sizes to accommodate your wishes and available yardage. The cast-on is the cleverest thing in the world and completely disappears into the top border.

This yarn is sublime - so soft - a little more prone to slipping along your needle than plain wool but it's a compromise I'm very willing to make. The colour is warm and shifts ever so slightly between lighter and darker shades - just enough to make the stocking stitch interesting but not enough to distract from the lace pattern. Perfect for this project.


I love wearing this shawl. It tucks around my neck like a scarf and keeps me just the right temperature. It's  fantastic at making an otherwise plain t-shirt look a little bit dressy and pushes whatever I'm wearing into the "outfit" catagory.

I started this sock ages ago but stalled out part way through October when I couldn't settle on a good colour work design ... and then I left my knitting around too close to floor level and Abby made a mess of it (fortunately my needles survived). The ball of grey wasn't too bad to untangle but the blue is so dark and difficult to see that I kept putting it off.

I finally got around to it over the Christmas break and was able to test the pattern I'd worked out in November (don't let it be thought that my knitting languishes because I never think about it). I'd originally been thinking of stars for these socks but snowflakes seemed more appropriate. It went surprisingly quickly - I finished the colour work and picot edge all in one sitting - but I think for the next sock I'll carry the blue in my left hand instead of my right and see if it pops a little better.


The picot edge is giving me a bit of trouble too. I love the dainty look of it but am not sure what to do to stop it from rolling. These are the options I've thought of so far: 1) knit a deeper border of the main colour before doing the edge in order to control the flaring caused by the colour work, 2) do a few quick decreases after the colour work to achieve the same result without making a taller sock, 3) knit the edge deeper so that it holds itself in place better, or 4) block it and pretend that will work. Thoughts and suggestions would be most welcome; this is the first time I've worked a picot edge.

I thought this year I'd post my daily pictures over here as well as on flickr. Just once a week. It will be a nice way to sum up each week and keep track of things at the same time. I didn't think of this until just now so I'm posting week 1 and week 2 together and from here on I'll try to post every Sunday night.

2010: Week 1


New Years Day. We were invited out to dinner at my sister's and I finally finished the blouse I'd been working on since November. It turned out it was too cold to wear it anyway but I'm glad I've got it done.


Rob put up a shelf for our cookbooks to live on. Somehow it makes our kitchen feel nicer and more ours just having that shelf there. It's also a handy spot for a few of my plants and one of my favourite photos.


Green, green, green. I spent part of Sunday cutting strips of green (and yellow and white and brown) fabric for a new quilt for our bed. I feel cheerful just looking at them.

2010: Week 2


Sunshine on frosty trees is hard for me to resist when I've got my camera in my pocket (even if I'm late getting back to work). Everything was so crisp and clear. The crystalline trees with their strings of frosty lights were beautiful.


We spent half of our lunch hour on Tuesday dealing with a mostly flat tire. Well, actually, Rob dealt with the tire and I walked around the parking lot and took pictures.


I met my friend's new kitten. This is as close to an in-focus clear shot as I got (that's my camera strap he's chewing on by the way). My camera needs a lot more light to catch something as fast as Angus.


This is the sun coming through our new door and hitting the corner of the living room. I don't know how long it was there for but it didn't last long after I noticed it. I grabbed my camera from my coat, took a few pictures, and turned away to put my camera back. When I looked again it was gone. The sun had moved that tiny bit.


I got a parcel in the mail - one I was not expecting until next week - and was tickled pink by the lovely wrapping and the sprig of rosemary scenting everything (some new clothes if you're curious).


A lovely little lunch: hot tea, warm muffins, cold butter, and a good book (in this case Yarn Harlot: the secret life of a knitter).


I spent a Christmas gift certificate today and got myself a much coveted Martha Stewart craft punch. I can now make pretty hydrangea groupings to decorate scrapbook pages and cards. I discovered you need to hold it against the table when you use it even though it's designed to stand up (I guess that's mostly for storage); my first flowers went flying across the desk and I have still not found one of them.