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Saturday, May 26, 2007

Luna Moth Shawl - blocking



C'est presque fini!!! My Luna Moth shawl is finally blocking, not elegantly, but it is blocking. It's probably not an exact triangle (with straight edges where they should be straight or evenly distributed pointy edges where they should be pointy) cuz I eyeballed it while I pinned it down. I still haven't found time to stop by Toys R Us to pick up those puzzle mats. I'm hoping this will dry overnight so I can remove it from the floor before M does any damage...

The pattern instructions say to soak the shawl for 20 minutes. Why for such a long time? I'm just wondering what difference 5 minutes would make vs 20 minutes...

--<>--

On Wednesday, I mentioned trying to decide between an 8 GB iPod Nano or a 30 GB iPod. I'm leaning towards the iPod Nano, thinking it'll definitely survive being abused inside my purse or diaper bag. And there's also the plus of choosing from more colors. You can never go wrong with white, but the pink looks nice too. I just wish they had a purple one!

I guess the question is ... will I ever use an iPod to view video???

--<>--

Works in mind ....

-- Vest for my Mom.
I had mentioned 3 possible vest patterns here, and I'm really leaning towards that Patchwork Vest.

-- Jayne Cobb Hat for T.
I need to find the right shades of red, orange, yellow for this one. Also need to learn how to make a pom pom!!!

-- Luna Moth Shawl for MIL.
I really enjoyed knitting my first shawl, I can see myself knitting another. I think I'll have to do a few in worsted weight yarn before I can work my way down to DK or fingerling.

-- Cable Hats!!!!
I've got the cable bug and I'm thinking of a cable hat. I want to get back into the chemo hats. I seem to get more inspired to do them in the fall/winter, but I need to start thinking about them now.

-- Doctor Who Scarf
A long term project. I'm still trying to find a line of sport weight yarn that comes in all the colours I need.

Knits I need to work on before Christmas, but have no specific pattern in mind ...

-- Scarf for my SIL

-- Scarf for my Aunt

-- Scarf for my Cousin

-- Scarf for my FIL

Patterns I want to knit ...

-- Grace Yasokic's Diamonds and Lace Scarf
I want to try knitting this from chart. I've always been intimidated by charts, but I think her chart might be doable since the WS rows are worked as you see them (instead of that counter-intuitive method that throws me off)

-- Shui Kuen Kozinki's Moonlight Sonata Shawl
This would be an ambitious project for me, especially with the Baby Silk fingerling weight yarn.

Pattern still needing to post ...

-- Miranda Cable Scarf
You've already seen this here, but probably didn't realize it; I just didn't mention what it was in that post. I'm just so lazy when it comes to typing up pattern text, especially when I need to jump through a few more hoops to get it into PDF format and then upload it here and there.




.

11 stitch(es):

Joan said...

That's beautiful Marie & I see it's given you incentive and confidence for more lacey knitting.
I can really see the color of the Red Maple in this photo.

My undertanding is that wool fibers (SK's original pattern is written for wool) do not relax properly for blocking quickly and that at least 20 min is needed. I often leave wool to be blocked soaking for a few hours in the sink. I'm some real fiberista will check in here.

junior_goddess said...

Joan's on the right track. If you left it in the sink for 5 minutes, one area might not be as saturated as another, and so it would stress the drier area of the shawl to pin it out even with the saturated. How big did your Luna finish, and how much did you use? It looks beautiful!

V. said...

How about a knit for the bff?

Having a Knit Fitt said...

The shawl looks gorgeous.
Libby has a cable hat design on her blog. It's in my knitting queue.
I have an iPod nano and wish I had been able to afford the regular iPod. It is amazing how quickly the nano gets full. I wouldn't have believed I owned 1000 songs and it turns out I have way more than that. By the time you add in part of an audio book - whoosh, all the space is gone.
Cate

Unknown said...

Marie,

Your shawl turned out great!!! I didn't know that about the wool/ animal fibers either. I just usually forget about it and then remember that I'm blocking something a couple hours later when I have to go to the bathroom again.

The cable hat on my blog was done by the lady that you sent the pic of. I emailed her and she said that she didnt have any problems knitting it up. It took me about 1 week off and on to finish it.

Libby

LisaW. said...

Oh Marie it's stunning! Yay..can't wait to see it dried and modeled...now...how big? and thanks for asking about the soaking time thing...I'm very inconsistent (although usually leave it for hours...sometimes forgetting and leaving overnight..whoops) and had wondered the same thing!
I love my 30g Ipod. It's just the ticket for listening to whatever/whenever...as well as watching programs/videos on airplane flights ...or during long drawn out first time mom labors.., listening to audio books...storing photo albums...you get the drift. However, I would actually like to have 2...a small 8g for just knockin around the gymbag and purse. I have to take extra care with this...and I'm really not good about being careful with my toys....I knitted and thickly felted a sweet little case for mine with a long felted icord handle that goes over my shoulder/cross the body sort of thing...works for me. See ya soon!

hakucho said...

Your luna shawl is gorgeous!! Very delicate looking. Wow, you have quite the to do list! I really like the patchwork vest pattern.

AR said...

Very pretty!

Anonymous said...

The shawl is gorgeous. I block like you do, by eye, because I figure you won't be able to see the difference as the shawl moves with wear.

For the iPod question. I have both a video iPod and the Nano. I bought the Nano for the Nike Plus running tools, but find I am even using the Video iPod for running. I haven't had any problems with skippin or damage from running (which I've been doing with this current one 15 miles a week for the last year). The Video will hold photos and computer files-- which is great when visiting grandparents -- and can be used to entertain a child (or boyfriend acting like a child) in an emergency.

Just my thoughts...

Pam said...

Your, to do look is about like mine, but I don't have it down on paper. I don't think I'd actually have enough paper for that, I love your Luna shawl and would just like to let you know that your blog has inspired me to come out of my knitting shell and explore bigger and more fun knitting. so I have decided to tag you. Please go to my blog for more information and game rules.
http://knittingmomofaSIDchild.blogspot.com

g-girl said...

i'm by far no lace expert but in all the lace patterns I have come across, they all stress blocking for at least 20 minutes-I couldn't tell you why though. Certain fibers don't take well to the soaking though so there are alternative ways to block said items. Eunny Jang has a tutorial on blocking lace. here's the link:
http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2006/
12/how_to_be_happy.html