Post Mortem and Life after the Frog Pond

Here lie the remains of a lot of knitting.  Knitting in the round.  Colorwork.  Challenging colorwork. Marie Wallin colorwork. As you can see, a lot of it is quite lovely. Some of it is indiscernible. For that reason, I made the decision to cast off with a three needle bind-off, thereby creating a pouch/bag. More on that later.

So, what did I do wrong? What have we (I) learned here? 

1. Swatch

2. Swatch

3. Swatch, wash, block and measure

4. Swatch.

Marie Wallin is my design hero(ine).  She creates beautiful colorwork, lace, and cabled knitwear and crochet. This pattern (Lily)is from her Springtime Collection Six book - an amazing work of art in my humble opinion.  The recommended yarn for this pattern is a fingering weight from Rowan - Felted Tweed, a beautiful yarn to which I do not have access for geographic, financial, and other reasons. This meant that I had to figure out what yarns I had in stash (and I have many) that could work together. 

I should have swatched.  I sorta did.  This (above) and my first attempt here:

I call it the Ghastly Cowl. But hey, it keeps my neck warm in very strong air-conditioning. Here the colors were not great and the size was on the huge side. 

With colorwork, you really have to swatch to observe whether your colors and fibers play well together. Is there enough contrast and is that balanced with a harmonious blend?  Ms. Wallin's patterns often use pastels and neutrals, yet in her color choices, she manages to ensure that there is enough contrast to actually SEE the pattern.  Imagine that! My two examples seem to me to be the two opposite extremes - so much contrast that the item looks a bit garish to me versus lovely blending pastels that obscure the beauty of the pattern.

So... in the late hours of last night, I bound off, and took another stash dive - not an altogether unpleasant experience!

As for the knitting I spent weeks on, it's going to be a felted bag.  The felting is done:

It needs to dry a little bit, and boy, is the ribbing part wobbly! (I think that's because lighter colors tend to felt less.) My plan is to fold the ribbing over to use as a channel for pull ties, fold in the corners to create a more stable base, possibly lining it, and using it for a small project bag.  I will also iron it. Will update in future posts (hopefully!).

Soooooo now that I have a new bunch of yarn for another colorwork project, I'm going to back off Lily and take a look at some other Marie Wallin designs in my Rowan magazine stash.

Speaking of Ms. Wallin, I am also knitting this from her Springtime Collection:

called Daffodil. Here's how it looks in her book:

I will not look like that - and that's Ohhh Kayy.... [WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGE TO FOLLOW]

I have recently ordered Ms. Wallin's new book, Shetland, and hope to get my copy sometime in September.  She is very good about getting her books out to you and as one who lives clear across the Atlantic from her, I am grateful. Another recent acquisition was Ms. Wallin's North Sea book.  In the words of Mr. Comey, "Oh Lordy!"  Some of my favorites:

I honestly want to knit EVERY one of her designs in this book! That has never happened to me before! Shetland should be another level of challenge.  Can't wait!

Recently, I inherited yarns from the stashes of two women.  One is someone I do not know  - the mother of a colleague of a high school friend. The other was from the amazing Ms. Annece P. I will not be buying much yarn in the near future.

As a result, I've started some new projects:

Another Nina Shawl, this time in wool.  Am loving these vibrant colors!

I finished Acorn

and Greenwood, too!

As for life, that has been moving on.  John and I recently went to Florida to visit my dad and stepmom.  We had a lovely time. Work is still very rewarding and fulfilling in many ways.  The family is well. John made it through a knee replacement and is in better shape than ever.  The grandkids are growing, the adult kids are growing too, in different ways:).

Until next time, God be with you 'til we meet again+