The Phoenix and the Carpet - Finished!

We were just serenaded by owls.  It was kind of creepy.  There were several calls going on, some kind of howling, some hooting, some almost cawing.  They were close behind the house in our woods.  It woke the kitty.  But it is quiet now.  Not sure what set them off.

Finished my Golden Phoenix early this evening.  I did a gentler block than I typically do on shawls, it just seemed right.  I started out with blocking wires down the sides, but they were pulling the sides in a way that I didn't really like, so I ended up using pins about every inch.

Pattern - The Phoenix and the Carpet by Janine Le Cras
Yarn - The Unique Sheep Luxe, in Gold Mustard, just over 200 grams.

And I received yarn today, two of my orders from The Unique Sheep.  Both Luxe.  Sunflower, for the Jungle Book KAL.  I know, not very jungle like, but I like the color.  I seem to be on a bit of a yellow kick lately.  Yellow used to be my favorite color when I was growing up, and I still love it.  In fact I painted my living room a bright yellow (the previous occupant had painted it Mental Institution Green, the first thing I did when I moved in was repaint it).

And Tart Berry, for the Through the Looking Glass Shawl.  Perfect timing, really.  I've already cast on.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 9

And a quick picture of Clue 9.  On to the last clue!  I still have to figure out how I want to do the bead placement and bind off, which means that I also have to frog my first attempt at this shawl.

So why is it that when you are stressed out about something you always wake up at 3am thinking about it?  Not that I would have been having this experience lately, but some housework did get done before dawn this past Thursday.  Thankfully I have slept better the past two nights.  Emotional and psychological resolution is a good thing, now I just have to get the reality to match.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 8

I finished Clue 8 yesterday, but only snapped a quick picture because I really wanted to keep going and start Clue 9, the penultimate clue.  I am hoping to finish this shawl up this weekend.

There was one nice thing that happened this past Wednesday, I came home to an unexpected package from The Unique Sheep.  I was quite puzzled, because although I do have several yarn orders in with them I had not received any shipping notices, and the envelope really didn't feel like it contained yarn (it wasn't squishy).  When I opened it I found a very nice Thank You card thanking me for being one of their top customers this past year and these goodies.

A little notebook and matching pen, a magnet, a tape measure, hand lotion, yummy tea and pattern tamers.  It did bring a smile to my face on a day I really needed one.  I will confess, however, that I have never really understood the point of pattern tamers.  Oh, I get the magnetic strip idea.  I use them when knitting anything with charts.  I just don't get the idea of putting a patterned ribbon on them to make them pretty.  It seems to me that it would detract from their functionality by distracting the eye from the very thing that it is marking.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 7

My brain recovered enough on Monday that I was able to finish Clue 7 of my Golden Phoenix.  Just 3 more clues to go!

But on Tuesday I came home from work so mad I was swearing like a sailor.  One of the managers where I work apparently considers the people who work for her to be furniture because she periodically likes to rearrange us.  This time she is even changing work assignments (alienating employees and sponsors and risking the success of the projects affected), and even though no one (except her) thinks this is a good idea, no one is willing to stand up to her and tell her.  I am so tired of the managers where I work being unwilling and/or afraid to do the right thing.

On a much brighter note, I finally received my first shipment in the Flavour series.  This is a joint venture of Roxanne of Zen Yarn Garden and Woolgirl.  The first offering was Pumpkin Spice.

I was restrained and only purchased a single skein of Serenity 20 (70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon).  Each shipment comes with a coordinating stitch marker.  The current offering is Roasted Chestnut and Divinity, and you can order through the end of the month.  Once again I was restrained and ordered one of each color in Serenity 20.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 6

Spent all afternoon watching Turner Classic Movies and knitting on Clue 6.  It took about 3 hours to knit the clue.  A bit of marathon knitting, but now I feel a bit brain dead.  Time to take a break and make dinner.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 5

Half-way done.  I started the second skein of yarn almost at the end of Clue 5.  I spliced the new skein into the old.  As I was knitting I started thinking about what to do with the Luxe in Autumn for Ana and I think I may try a lace over-skirt variation on a circular shawl.  I thought I would start with an i-cord and then cast on to that, work back and forth until it was large enough to get over my hips or shoulders, then join.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 4

Finished Clue 4 this morning.  This shawl is knitting up so quickly, and I just love knitting it.  It is such a relaxing knit without being boring.  The yarn is lovely to work with and who wouldn't be cheered up by the color.  I am almost half way done.

I realized that I haven't posted beauty shots of the Teaberry shawl, so without further ado...

Although both pictures were taken in natural light without flash, the color in the bottom picture is actually closer to reality.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 3

Finished up Clue 3 this evening, watching a very funny movie called Matinee.  I am so loving this pattern, although I have made a couple of modifications for the sake of symmetry.  I was having problems getting the beads on the stitches for a while.  I was using the crochet hook, but I had to use a 0.6mm crochet hook to get through the size 8 beads, and getting the yarn through without splitting it was not easy.  But then I remembered a method that I used when I first started adding beads to knitting - a needle and thread.

That big silver spring thing is called a bead stopper and it keeps your beads from sliding off the end of the thread.  It is just a spring, with the outer loops bent out.  To get a bead onto your stitch you simply thread the sewing needle through the stitch, then loop the needle back through the bead, slide the bead down the thread and onto the stitch, put the stitch back on the knitting needle and then pull the sewing needle out of the stitch.  No splitting of yarn, and you are far less likely to lose beads in the cushions.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 2

I took a mental health day today.  I was getting my piano tuned and there has been some stuff going on at work that has me pretty stressed and I just needed a day off.  So I spent the day knitting.  It was exactly what I needed.  This pattern is especially soothing to me.  It isn't a difficult chart and the geometry and symmetry of the pattern is pleasing to the eye as well as the soul.  I have decided to call this shawl the Golden Phoenix.  Here's to rising from the ashes.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 1 - Take 2

My yarn has started talking to me, telling me what it wants to be, and what it doesn't want to be.  I distinctly remember when this happened with fabric, but that is a story for another post.  This weekend the Luxe yarn in Autumn for Ana that I was knitting Through the Looking Glass with informed me that it really didn't want to be Through the Looking Glass and that maybe I should design a fall themed shawl for it, perhaps a circular shawl.  So I frogged the first clue and went looking for another color to knit Through the Looking Glass in, and I think I may have found it, but will reserve judgement until I receive it.  In the meantime I decided to restart The Phoenix and the Carpet shawl in the Luxe yarn in Gold Mustard.  I happened to have size 8 beads that exactly match the megatamas that came with the original yarn that I purchased for the knit along.  So far I am happy with the combination of yarn, beads and pattern, and so far the yarn has not protested.

The Phoenix and the Carpet - Clue 1

I think I may be constitutionally unable to have fewer than 10 works in progress going at one time.  I am also hopelessly addicted to The Unique Sheep KALs and clubs.  This is their most recent Knit Along - The Phoenix and the Carpet.  Selecting yarn and colorways without knowing the finished design is never easy, and I don't think that I am very good at it.  Take this KAL, for example.  I order the Fall Goddess colorway because it reminded me of faded Persian carpets, but when I received my yarn there were two skeins, and their color changes did not appear to be spaced the same.  One seemed to have shorter color runs than the other.  It is a little hard to see when they are wound, but I didn't get a picture of the skeins.

And the beads that came with the yarn are orange, and I just wasn't sure they were going to match, but then I saw the first clue.  You see, carpets typically have a border, so I decided to use the skein that had the shorter color runs on the border and other skein for the center portion.  You can just see the difference in the first clue.  I don't know if I will have enough yarn for the center portion, but if I don't, I will figure something out.