Quite A Rug

Listen to what Anne Williamson, the designer of my Waterloo County Fairisle, says about her inspiration for the sweater.

"This sweater was based on a carpet which was hanging on the wall of a meeting room. I was attending a very dull meeting that day, and after much doodling on my notepad and many hours of playing with colours, this design emerged. The colours are not true to the original carpet, rather they are reflective of Waterloo County in the late fall..."

Is this what she saw?

This is my post-steeked, Waterloo County, knit EZ style- in the round, in it's best rug pose. It does indeed look like a rug. A Kilm rug, I would say. (Rug knitting- now that opens up new knitting possibilities.)

Yesterday, my Waterloo underwent the amazing transformation of steeks. From tube, to rug, to a one-sleeved sweater. A picture's worth a thousand words, so take a look.

I'm happy.

Green's The Thing

Being spring, when everything is greening up for the new season, it seems appropriate that I finished this long-suffering, green shawl (oh, it's me - the knitter - that is long-suffering, not the shawl) in time to wear this season.

Wilma and I both purchased these shawl kits at the Waterloo Knitters Fair last September. It was only days later - as in a couple of rows later - when we both realized that we were probably beaten. Very,very fine, lace-weight, alpaca yarn coupled with a pattern that was written by the shop owner herself. Sadly, her first language was not English and the pattern lost something in the translation.

Wilma gave up. Instead, she took the pattern and used sock yarn - tons heavier than our kit yarn - thinking she might be able to figure out the instructions. Only days later - as in a couple of rows later - she gave that up too and knit a lovely, sock yarn shawl of a different pattern. The Weavers Shawl, I believe.

Me, however, I decided not to let the *^%* think get the best of me and I persevered. I knit on it only once a week, at knit group, because most of it is stockinet stitch and I could handle that while chatting and taking pictures at the same time. The two bands of Dropped Stitches and Yarn Overs, I did in my isolation cell at home.

To add injury to insult, the pattern calls for 6 inches of stockinet between the two decorative bands. Before I realized it, I had 7 inches. Be darned if I was going to take it out. As a result, I knit to a breath-holding finish being certain I would run out of yarn. In fact, I had to cheat on the garter stitch border by two rows in order to have enough yarn. Despite the language barrier, this part of the pattern is clear. When it said 6 inches, it meant 6 inches.

It's done now

and except for blog readers, the world is none the wiser. Unless, that is, I launch into a tirade of complaints about how hard it was to knit every time someone shows interest in the shawl. It's quite conceivable that I might just do that.

Easter Monday

Lots of chocolate was sampled, lots of scalloped potatoes consumed. Yet there was even time for some knitting related activities on my weekend.

Waterloo's sleeves have been blocked.

You might notice that I block them inside out. That is a lesson learned from my 'Home Ec' days. Wool can get shiny when it comes into contact with heat. Have you ever seen a pair of wool trousers that have been 'pressed'? Not likely - who does that anymore? Trust me though, heat applied to trousers results in some seriously, shiny seats. So - since I block with a steam iron, I always turn the knitting inside out.

It was the turning that made me notice all these ends that need to be woven in.

Mostly, I wove in the ends as I knit along. But, to weave in the start-end of a new colour, you must remember to pick it up about 10 stitches before you actually need it for knitting. Weave it in for those ten stitches, then begin to knit with it. If you do that, there are no ends to weave in at all. Of course, I often forgot - as you can see.

Despite that little job ahead of me, the sleeves look great. All the lumps and bumps have disappeared. The stitches are even. The motifs looks wonderful.

The wonders of blocking. Now I'm off to read what Elizabeth Zimmermann has to say about sleeve steeking for this style of sweater and I-Cord borders.