Harmonize - Two Skeins Done

This was the third project that I took along on our trip south.  I finished up the body of Facets on the first day down there, so I pulled this out for day two of the visit and got through most of the second skein.

Pattern:  Harmonize Special Edition by Rosemary Hill
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Pashmi - Peacock and Amber
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Harmonize - One Skein Done

This project has not been languishing as much as I thought it would, mostly because at this point it is pretty simple, so I took it to work with me.  Thanks to a couple of telecons and a day of online training yesterday I've managed to get a lot done.  I am almost done with Section 2 and the Chart B work.

Pattern:  Harmonize Special Edition by Rosemary Hill
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Pashmi - Peacock and Amber
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Harmonize - Cast On

I need another project on the needles about as much as I need more yarn in my stash.  But that doesn't stop me, on either front.  This is one I've been wanting to make for a while.  I have several Unique Sheep sets created for this pattern, but this is the first set that I bought.  It is on Pashmi.  The gradiance is Peacock and the main color is Amber.  I've been looking at the Harmonize pattern for a while now, trying to figure out how to translate it into something that would be easier to work from.  The pattern is densely laid out, and I'm not a big fan of how the charts are done - the shading and the colors are not so good for using in knitCompanion - and the charts are also "what you see is what you knit", which on the surface is not a bad idea, but it is not how most charts are done (always showing the right side of the pattern) so to work them requires a change in mind set.

I finally decided to tackle the pattern last week and decided to work from the written instead of the charts - the actual patterning is not that complex - so I went with my trusty Excel spreadsheet.  In the first tab I laid out every row of the pattern, all of the chart repeats, all of the color changes, the stitch counts, everything.  Then I created separate tabs to capture condensed versions of the directions.  For example, chart B is repeated 5 times with the first contrast color, so I captured that as one table, with 5 columns for the different stitch counts at the end of each row.  I did a similar thing with the next set of 5 repeats of chart B, except I added columns with the color changes.  I did that for the rest of the pattern and created tables for each section.  I pasted the tables into a Word document, turned it into a PDF and pulled it into KC.  Last night I set up the pattern and created all of my text objects and set up all of my row repeats, so I couldn't resist casting on and working through the first repeat of Chart B.

This project will probably go on a back burner for a bit while I work on some others that are further along, but with KC I can have multiple projects going and never worry about losing my place.

Pattern:  Harmonize Special Edition by Rosemary Hill
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Pashmi - Peacock and Amber
Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Fiori Di Sole - Finished!

I finally finished Thursday night. Charts F, G, H and I are the hardest. The crochet bind off is also a bit tricky. It is all chains and slip stitches, but slip stitching 5 live stitches from the shawl together can be challenging, especially when you are working with a 2.25mm crochet hook and lace weight yarn - I don’t think I would try this with silk.

For the bind off I held the working yarn in my left hand, and had the end of the knitting needle with the live stitches also in my left hand - sort of as if I were knitting continental. When chaining the live stitches together I would slip the bunch onto the crochet hook, wrap the yarn around the hook, rotate the hook so that it faced down towards the bottom of the stitches and gently pull the yarn through. I generally did not pull through the live border stitches and the stitch on the crochet hook all in a single move, but instead did it in two steps. It can be a bit tricksy, especially when you have stitches that were yarn overs on the next to the last row, and a couple of times I did lose the yarn, or the live stitches leaped off the crochet hook.   They were a pain to pick up, and swearing was involved.

When pulling the yarn through the live border stitches I would gently hold that bunch of stitches with my thumb and middle finger, keeping a slight tension on them so they stretched out a little. That seemed to make it easier.

It took me an hour to pin because of all of those crochet chain stitch loops.  I ran blocking wires through the two outermost loops and then went back and pinned out each loop, removing the blocking wires as I went.

Here is a beauty shot.  The shawl is an absolute dream to wear, soft, light, wonderful drape.

Pattern - Fiori di Sole by Rosemary (Romi) Hill
Yarn - Serenity Lace, by Zen Yarn Garden, color - On Fire
 
While I have been focusing on this shawl, it isn't the only thing I've been up to.  I have two more Fiesta Yarns pullovers on the needles, Barcelona and Caribbean.  I am almost done with the body on the Barcelona pullover, but have only just started the Caribbean pullover, which is my third Camp Loopy project.  I will get lots of knitting done on those two pullovers today as we are taking Stephen back to Virginia Tech - 8 hours of knitting in the car.  I have also been continuing to organize and catalog my yarn stash, and have made great progress.  Of course, organizing the yarn is only one small step in getting my studio organized, there is also the fabric stash and all of the sewing patterns, not to mention the books and magazines...but I will get there.

Fiori Di Sole - Chart E

After finishing up my first Camp Loopy Project, well under the deadline, I returned to the knitting I think that I love best - lace.  I love how lace is a squidgy mess until it is blocked and then it is transformed into something amazing.  This photo shows about two repeats of Chart E.  I have since completed another two repeats, bringing the count up to four out of the five repeats called for.  I cast on for this shawl on New Year's Day, but it has been taking a back seat to some of my other projects.  I am very happy to be getting back to it.  My works in progress pile is steadily shrinking...I may have to cast on something new...

Fiori Di Sole - Chart A

I fell in love with this pattern the moment I saw it and knew that I had to knit this in Zen Yarn Garden's Serenity Lace.  This is Chart A, and I know that it doesn't look like much yet, but it will.  The colorway is On Fire.  The designer is Rosemary (Romi) Hill of Designs by Romi and I have recently become a fan of hers.  She has done a series of seven small shawls inspired by the Seven Sisters, also known as the Pleiades's, which I shall also be knitting.