Monday, July 24, 2006

Weekend of Activities

I must be a homebody. I am still pooped from the weekend's activities. Is it because of the heat? Boy, it's been hot and muggy. High temperature is one thing. The humidity is harder to deal with. We have what they call "monsoonal moisture". Sounds nasty, huh? This made learning spinning a little more difficult. I went to the guild meeting on Saturday. It was a lot of fun and I met lots of very friendly and very special people. I tried spinning with the spindles. But the heat and sweat made it impossible to handle the fiber to make it work for me. I also tried spinning with a wheel, and that worked out pretty well.

Sunday was the spinning class at A Mano, with John Pitblado. What a wonderful teacher. Very clear instructions from beginning to end. We learned how to spin singles and how to ply yarn. Air conditioning was on so no sweating problem there. Lots of people showed up for the class. He will be teaching at the Fabulous Fiber Fest. I think I want to sign up for the spinning wheel session.

Now the "Violets" update, and the last update. It's done! Complete! And given to my friend!

I have to give a lot of thanks to Ted for guiding me through every step of knitting this shawl. I was very lucky that I chose a pattern that he had already knitted. He even made modification so that it was easier to knit, and prettier to look at. Sylvia mentioned how nice the transition between the violets and the river was. All Ted's idea! :-)

Below is a picture of "Violets" being blocked. I didn't even notice that the wrong side was facing up. LOL

Here's a picture showing each design element in the pattern.

I knew I would be too embarassed to ask my friend to pose for a photo in the coffeeshop where I presented the shawl. So earlier in the morning I forced my partner to put the shawl on for a snapshot. LOL Here it is.


Additional Info, 7.25.06:
Pattern: Violets by the River, by Hazel Carter
Yarn: KnitPicks' Shadow in Sunset
Needle: INOX circular US Size 6

37 comments:

Dave said...

It's absolutely beautiful. You should be very proud of yourself -- well done!

Knit Picking said...

Gorgeous! I really like the Violets and the River part of it, and Sylvia's right: nice transition :)

beadlizard said...

Now *that* is drape. Lovely on as well as off. What a glorious accomplishment!

Every time I look at the shawl, Jason, I am struck by the perfection of your gauge.

I'm in love with the bees. --Syl

Lacefreak said...

Jason,

You do beautiful work. Your friend is very fortunate indeed and your partner is a gem for modeling!

FiberQat said...

Very nice work! Congratulations!

Charles said...
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Larry said...

Terrific job, Jason! I'm so impressed with how even and smooth your knitting is.

Anonymous said...

This looks amazing! How beautiful is that! Lucky, lucky recipient. Anne - knitsyb

Jennie said...

That is lovely. Well done! What's next?

Jason said...

Thank you all for the kind words! :-) I really feel like things just came together on this project. The yarn really worked well. All I had to do was follow the pattern and Ted's guidance. :-)

Lotus Blossom Shawl is next!

Jason said...

Oh, hi to all the knitsibs! I am still just lurking on the list. But am thinking maybe Ted is trying to de-lurk me. LOL

Anonymous said...

You made a great job of 'Violets' Jason, you should be very proud of it. The OF makes a good model....

aija said...

Beautiful!! Congratulations, I really enjoyed watching it grow :)

Agnes said...

Well done, Jason! It's a beautiful shawl! Your partner is a good sport too. :)

Jason said...

Thanks Kerry, Aija and Agnes! :-)

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your fabulous shawl! And congrats on finding such a willing model, too. :)

Jason said...

Thank you Alice! :-) Oh, and this model works for free. hehehe

Laritza said...

Your shawl is beautiful! Love the color and the annotaded picture!

Susan said...

What a lovely piece!!!! Really, yarn shops/pattern folks should use other people's knitted examples - when I looked at the original website for this shawl I was *not* at all interested in knitting it myself. But now seeing yours I'm starting to hear little wheels clicking & turning inside my head, saying "hmmmm....maybe in a deep blue or green......" But honestly - a picture of your shawl would be much more motivational for folks than the one that the Blackberry Ridge folks currently have shown!

And as for the bees, I've always been a fan of the little buzzers, but yours just make me swoon!
;>

Jason said...

Thank you Laritza and Susan! :-)

Sandra Sallin said...

Beautiful! U'm new to knitting Lace so I appreicate all of the beautiful work I see.

Jason said...

Thank you Sandy! :-D

Anonymous said...

Your shawl is so lovely - I had not seen this pattern before and now I want to knit it! I'd love to hear more about the transition between violets and river. :-) Congratulations on making such a beautiful piece!
Sherri

Jason said...

Thank you Sherri! I will compose a new post about how Ted modified the transition soon so that you can have it when you knit the "Violets". :-)

Anonymous said...

It's fab that you actually completely finished the shawl. Hurray.
Cheers Ann

Anonymous said...

Your shawl is lovely! Sometime back I was temporarily insane and ordered the pattern and the laceweight yarn, in a violet sort of colorway with lavenders and soft yellows. I just finished my very first lace shawl, Kiri, in a sportweight cotton; I still have a few steps to go but I am moving toward making this lovely Violets by the River. I will save your comments, with my thanks for sharing them. You have a very lucky friend!

Franklin said...

Fantastic job. That is really inspiring. You should be so proud! And isn't your partner a fetching model?

Jason said...

Ann, thanks! Yes, kind of hard to believe that I was able to knit the whole thing. Great experience.

CatbookMom, thanks! I'll try to organize the modifications that Ted gave me and make a post. Maybe you'll want to give it some consideration when you are ready to start "Violets". :-)

Franklin, thanks for the encouragements! :-) Oh, I just know that he's read your comment. I'll never hear the end of it. LOL

Anonymous said...

great job! keep up the good work. - Sande in Fresno, CA

Clyde said...
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Clyde said...

Fetching? Isn't that what I do with the dog. :-)

Tonni said...

What a lovely shawl! Great modeling :)

Anonymous said...

I love the border on this! It's beautiful. The color is really sweet, too. Great work!

Amy Boogie said...

Your shawl is absolutely gorgeous.

Jason said...

Thanks for all the kind words, everyone! :-)

Anonymous said...

Great job! That is beautiful.

Unknown said...

The shawl is absolutely beautiful. I love the color and pattern and it is so neatly done. WOW!

Mary Lynn