Dear Ann,
All kinds of heck has been busting loose at Casa Kay. Mostly good, or at least To Be Expected In The Arc of a Fulfilling Life. Right now I have the flu-like symptoms, which is more pleasant to think of as Extra Knitting Time.
The final 2013 FO that I have to show is this striped shawl/full-body stole from the book Wear With All. I’ve been knitting on this since last summer, off and on. I picked it as my WIP date for our annual Christmas trip to Omaha. Project fidelity does wonders for productivity.
I look askance when a knitter complains that a project is “too much knitting.” That makes no sense to me. We like to knit. Knitting is the whole point of this particular hobby; it is why we call this hobby “knitting.” But in the case of this shawl, which is 400 stitches across, in 9 shades of fine Isager 2 ply wool, knit loosely on US 3 needles, I will own that I found it rather a lot of knitting. By the time I was onto the 4th or 5th stripe, it felt a bit more Icarus than Isager. I was honestly curious: would it end? But I loved the colors, and it was a labor of love, as the friend who had her eye on it is one of those friends who will wear it all the time and make helpful Public Service Announcements that “Kay made this for me.” So it was really not a lot of knitting when viewed in the proper perspective. And you can’t argue with the FO. It’s epic. Despite the scale, it’s light, and despite the lightness, it drapes. One of those genius simple knits we adore.
In other news, the pattern for the Biggie Cowls is available on Ravelry. All due to the steady friendship, not to mention Illustrator and styling skills, of our pal Belinda Boaden, who made the charts and did the tech editing and knit the the second sample. Biggie may be the first step-in cowl. The weather we are having right now is pretty much the only weather in which this cowl is not muy caliente. It takes about 3 Polar Vortex evenings to knit.
It has a reversible cable (one of my favorite inventions for feeling clever), and the two non-cable sections are knitted in the round without the dreaded “join without twisting” instruction, since those sections are picked up from the edges of the cabled piece. (So only the most determined of knitters could manage to twist it.) It’s in Purl Soho Super Soft Merino. Other good yarns would be Cascade Magnum, Malabrigo Rasta or Brown Sheep Brawny. (I know it’s not called Brawny. What is it called? Brown Sheep Buxom? Oh, now I remember: Brown Sheep Burly Spun. Use in a sentence: “At the end of the holidays, what with all the cookies and gin, I was feeling a little Burly Spun.”)
I now return to my hot gingery citrus beveraging and lopi-knitting (I’m approaching the armpits of Riddari the Third, aka Lopapeysa the Fourth).
Heads up: my next post will make Modern Daily Knitting history. Our first blog post promoting a forthcoming album release by a Major Recording Artist (who is also a knitter). Can you guess? Hint: it’s a lady. Hint number 2: she spent a lot of her childhood in Tennessee. We’ve never promoted a record before! Whee!
Love,
Kay
Holy lot of knitting, Batman! I love that striped shawl. And the biggy cowl. I have to say that I’m more likely to make the cowl.
So glad to see this FO! I’ve had this on my mental ToDo list since the book came out, but the colors are not ‘me’. Love another visual. Slightly concerned when I see you hint that it might be a lot of knitting.
I don’t think that was just a hint, I think it’s truly a lot of knitting. It seems to be a two-person shawl!
Even though that wasn’t just a hint (probably more like a rhetorical question) I can’t resist saying the answer — Rosanne Cash. 😉
““At the end of the holidays, what with all the cookies and gin, I was feeling a little Burly Spun.” Pure genius. But I do feel bad, I did the cookies but forgot about the gin. Drat. Well, if I’m lucky, I’ll get to do it next year. Or, as my father put it in his annual Christmas toast, “God willing, we’ll be here next year.” Great guy but no much for the ho-ho-hoing.
Good luck with gingery citrus thing beating back those flu symptoms. Go to bed early! Well, almost too late for that.
Icarus? Or Sisyphus?
Yes Sisyphus! Not melting wings; big rock!
Oh tish pshaw nonsense, I did no styling. A bit of knitting and faffing (I admit I make a very good chart in Illustrator), but no styling. And really the Resident Supermodel needs very little styling anyway, darling gorgeous girl that she is.
Feel better. Or suffer lentils for dinner tomorrow night… (Bwah ha haaaa).
What a great photograph capturing that lovely shawl in all its glory – then to read its vital statistics and realise it is the end of an epic knitting journey, so upgrade lovely to amazing!
Feeling a touch guilty Downunder as our summer is now kicking in for real with 30 degree Celsius days and lots of tennis tournaments and cricket matches underway – not a polar vortex in sight. Will go make a g&t and then to Rav to start a Biggie Cowl as a show of solidarity for the colder climes.
Is that the 55 inch size of cowl on the chic model?
Yes!
Oooh, I was thinking when you mentioned singer, that you might mean Stephanie Dosen (of Tiny Owl/Beekeeper’s Quilt fame), formerly a knitter at Angel Hair Yarn Co. in Nashville, TN, but she didn’t spend her childhood here. Ah well. 🙂 She does make fabulous albums though, and she’s on iTunes. It’s good knitting music….
alotta knitting is generally a very good thing. Great for things like road trips, snow days, and flu-like symptoms (get well sooon! but enjoy your knitting or slogging).
Rosanne Cash? I’m an insta-follower, and she’s made an appearance. And she has an album coming out. !!!
So, what’s with the teaser about the yarn label?????
The cowl’s construction is very interesting. I’d like to see you and other designers make use of this idea to relieve the (relative) boredom of cowls with instructions like “repeat row 2 umpteen-zillion times”.
And your cowl model could make a flour sack look good. Just sayin’.
Wishing you well. I would share my homemade chicken& rice soup if you were closer.
LOVE the shawl and need that big cozy cowl – NOW! I don’t think I’ll thaw out until spring! Thanks for a wonderful new pattern! Hope you feel better soon! Can you please share the “recipe” for the “hot citrus gingery beverage? I would be very grateful!
HOT GINGERY CITRUS BEVERAGE
1 bag Sleepytime tea
Juice of 1 lemon
Grated fresh ginger (a tablespoon is nice)
Honey or agave syrup or sugar to taste
Put all these in a tub-like mug and cover with boiling water.
Lovely shawl! Wonderful cowl! Thank you for sharing their photos. I’ve been wondering how the vertical lines in he shawl were reated. Anyway, Kay, I am hoping that you feeling better by now.
Knit on!
LoveDiane
P.S.– Could that singer/knitter have the initials A. S.?
Epic and glorious shawl. Just the sort of thing I love to wear. I might not mind a lot of knitting for something so coveted…
Sign me up for a pallet of M-D Buxom, in say, the Gin and Tonic colorway.
“More Icarus than Isager”. LOVE. Classic Kay. You should stay home pre-flu and blog more often 🙂
Hope it passes swiftly.
The stole is stunning.