Here's my black Mondnacht which became... well, quite large. Used almost 7 balls of black KSH and a Japanese knitting pattern called 'Mondnacht' (which is actually based on traditional Shetland lace pattern, but hey, the book is in Japanese). Here the monster is being blocked, and in fact, I just haven't been able to take a photo of it in its full glory, it's just so large: about 280 cm x 90 cm (about 9 feet 2" by 3 feet) and I can totally wrap myself in it ;-) Mummy's cat wasn't too impressed, though.



And now that my SecretPal has finally received her last parcel, I can reveal what I made her. It's a circular shawl in dark brown Kidsilk (the shade is called 'Villain'). The total consumption was somewhere between five and six balls - I didn't weigh it before sending. And again, it's rather large. I took it to my office where the walls are magnetic. Attached it to the wall, reversed and tried to take a photo, but I just couldn't get far enough to fit it all in the picture. The same thing happens if I spread it on the floor and try to climb somewhere to take a photo. The room just isn't high enough.

Now, what next?

Hooray! My Kiri is done!



Boy, did this take a long time to complete! I was able to finish it because I was motivated to wear it to a friend's wedding. If it weren't for that, who knows when it would have been finished. I must say, I really disliked working with this yarn. It was just too sticky and hard to handle. That's sad, because I really love the shawl very much, and it came out beautifully. Perhaps it's just because I never found the right needles to work with. I would love to have a simple Kidsilk cardigan, but it's going to be a while before I try this yarn again.

Sandra lace cardigan finished.

Details on my blog:

http://sbutnarasu.blogspot.com/2007/05/sandra-lace-cardigan-finally-finished.html

how is everybody else doing ?

I need some advice...

My shawl is stalled because the Lantern Moon needles I'm using are too blunt. I really wanted to try the new lace Addis, but they don't go up to 4.5mm. So I'm trying to decide between Inox Greys (is the join and cord any good?) or Knitpicks options (too slippery?). Is there any other needle that would be good? I appreciate all your advice!

Michelle

Hey, where IS everybody? Is this a knit-along or Anne-knits-alone? Oh well, maybe if I add a couple of photos, somebody else will follow. Here's the progress so far:

March 12: The shawl is made in two identical parts. The first 91 rows are much more interesting than the part that follows (about 217 rows, if I remember correctly). Therefore I couldn't resist starting the second part even though the first wasn't finished yet. I reasoned that I could always make the easier part while commuting to work, but the more tricky part needed concentration so that's what I did when I got home.




March 16 - both parts were progressing nicely.


March 22. Just started the edging, and as always, the first rows feel surprisingly tricky. According to the Excel sheet I made, 65 % of the whole thing is finished, and the edging counts for 35 %. I'll have to knit like crazy in order to reach the target, but it is not impossible. Never accept defeat!

3-2-1-0 ... and we have liftoff!

Yesterday I grabbed the needles and one ball of black KSH, painfully aware of the task ahead of me. In just 24 days this



should miraculously turn into this:



It's a shawl called "Mondnacht" from a Japanese knitting book "New Style of Heirloom Knitting", ISBN 4-529-03992-7. I've set myself a target of finishing one challenging knitting project each month, which means that right now there are 24 days left to make this shawl's 616 ordinary rows plus 1634 edging rows. On top of that I'll be travelling for at least four days, maybe six, and don't expect much progress then. Phew! Doesn't look good, does it? So, ladies and gentlemen, place your bets now - will it be ready by the end of March?

Wanted to say hello! to all the Kidsilk Haze knitters and introduce myself.

I'm currently working on the Rowan Butterfly and have just about finished the first frill. This is my first lace type project though I've been hand knitting for about 4 years now and have a knitwear degree from FIT (though I don't work in the knitwear field). I tend to knit for shape rather than fabric, so this is quite a challenge for me. I don't think I knew how to do a proper YO until this project (though as I've been going through this, I'm still not sure if I do!).

KSH in this intricate pattern seems to be very difficult to knit but also, forgiving of mistakes :P . At the end of the row, I just make sure to count stitches and also make sure that if I need to add and subtract any stitches that I keep the middle one (which has a bead) where it should be. I'm knitting the frill all in one strip and will knit the body in the round - I'm using beads just in the front because I've owned dresses with beading in the back, and I just can't stand how the beads end up poking little indents in the butt area when you sit down. I'm still kind of wondering whether I should have attached beads just to the frill in the back area - but my beads are not that noticeable.

I read through the Crafster.org's rowan butterfly knit-a-long, and opted to use larger beads than the pattern specified. I'm using round 6/0 beads which I'm attaching at the point (rather than stringinging from the beginning) with a crochet hook. That's like a 4mm bead rather than the 3mm that they asked for. I have some 3mm ones for the body which are a completely differnt color.

I also am considering the possibility of Kool-Aid dyeing my Butterfly after I'm done with it. Although the Majestic color is very pretty in the romantic antique way, after I already knitted about 8 repeats of the frill - oh I don't know, 4 days of my knitting pastime - I think, it looks alot like a dust bunny. I'll probably use a dilute rasberry or black cherry color just to get it less dusty looking!