Tuesday, January 7, 2014

Frost dragon

As it is in other parts of the country, and the U.S..... it's FREAKIN' COLD HERE!! How cold is it? So cold that my trusty little convertible, Stella, decided that she's just going to stay put until it warms up. The good news is, it's not the battery, Dave put a new one in last year (about this time...) and she's crankin' just fine.... nope... I've got frozen gas lines... which means I've got no choice to wait until it warms up a bit. So...that meant working from home today (I'm hoping I can get Dave to drive me in the rest of the week... the cats are crappy co-workers.)

Anyway, while Stella was too much of a suck to brave the cold asphalt, I am a true Canadian girl, and braved the crusty backyard to get some daylight pics of the Sweet Dreams Shawl.
They aren't the best pics ever (it's freakin' cold out there and I was moving fast), but they give you a good idea of how pretty it is.

As you can see, I didn't do the picot edge. I had to cut the last chart three rows short because I was running out of yarn, and I didn't think there'd be enough for the picot so I played it safe.

But I completed two of my three goals with this shawl. I beaded the crap out of it, using 60 grams of 6/0 beads in a beautiful peachy-copper that I think sets the green off perfectly. I'm dreaming of some green and copper yarn now.

I also made this one nice and big. It's almost 90 inches wide, but fairly shallow at about 24 inches. It's not blanket like, but it's perfect for wrapping up the shoulders as well as the neck
I knit this one in Twisted Slinky Cat - my first project with the base, and it did not disappoint. With 80% merino and 20% silk it knits and blocks like a dream.  There's only two skeins left in the shop (different colourway) - I'm going to have to get Mom to order some more.
All in all, it was a fantastic knit, and this shawl is going to get a lot of use.

11 comments:

Araignee said...

It's gorgeous! I still can't believe you managed to get it done so quickly. That looks like a year's project to me.

Araignee said...

PS: My little Mini has a hose break so she is sidelined until it warms up also. I am really hating this cold. How do you people up north stand it?

Debi said...

So flattering on you! Wow! A master piece of talented skill ! A treasure indeed! xoDebi







Unknown said...

It's gorgeous! Wear it with joy.

Minding My Own Stitches said...

Stunning! The beads are perfect. I simply cannot believe that my little KIA just keeps going and going. So far so good, no matter how cold :)

Unknown said...

Are you kidding?? These are beautiful shots of the shawl! That first one is especially artistic! Well done. And that is a BEAUTIFUL shawl. Gorgeous to wear a variety of ways!!!

Delusional Knitter said...

I love the contrasting beads, what a gorgeous shawl!! My friend had an emergency yesterday and asked me to pick up her kid from the after school program and bring her home with me until she could get her ... since I am unemployed, I was thinking, geesh - I hope my truck starts, its been sitting for two days. It did, but the doors were frozen and took A LOT of yanking to get open. Luckily being a truck, the handles are pretty sturdy, its easy to break things that way.

And I'm not sure why exactly you think cats are bad co-workers?!?! Just because they are LAZY and sleep all over the house, demanding of you when you're busy, walk across the keyboard or want to snuggle while you're trying to do something?!?!

Anonymous said...

Absolutely stunning!

kathy b said...

Well it is GORGEOUS and the snow efforts are greatly appreciated. I think the pictures are amazing

Rachelle said...

It is a lovely shawl, at the moment something like that would take me ages as I've got too many problems with my RSI, but I figure going slow now may lead to more knitting in the future. It doesn't stop me admiring other people's lovely knits though!

Can't really comprehend how cold it is there; really hope that doesn't happen here this coming winter as most of NZ's housing stock is not designed for those sort of temperatures. I won't tell you how warm it is here now though, you don't want to know.

elns said...

Your skills are magical. Very pretty shawl!