Swallows: Part II

When I took part in the Mitten Swap last year/this year, my lovely partner Marcia not only sent me a pair of gorgeous Anemoi mittens (which I thought I had a photo of, but apparently not), she included in the package a skein of that most elusive yarn – Wollmeise Sock Yarn. Knowing that there is approximately a 0.0000000000001% chance that I will have the opportunity to buy any more Wollmeise, I figured that this skein was way too precious to waste on socks. Knit on 4mm needles, this Swallowtail is rather larger than the Leafy one, but that suits me down to the ground. The yarn is kind of weird to knit with – almost ropey in texture. And man, is it ever sproingy! I think it pretty much doubled in size when I blocked it. But it is lovely to look at and lovely to wear, and I can see why it is so in demand.

Specifications

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark

Yarn: Wollmeise Superwash Sock

Needles: 4mm Addi Turbo

Modifications: Knit in fingering weight yarn, as opposed to laceweight

Ravelled

Swallows: Part One

So, tomorrow is the birthday of my maid of honour, my best friend since the age of 15. The rest of my girls received hats or mitts for their birthdays, but my dear Heinz deserves more.

My first attempt at the Swallowtail Shawl, roughly around the same time last year, ended very poorly. With my usual attitude of “how hard can it be?”, I tried to knit it before I really had the skill or the patience for lace. A year later, and following the success of Garden Party, this pattern was a walk in the park.

I wasn’t fond of knitting those blimmin’ nupps though. But they look very lovely.

Statistics

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl, Interweave Knits Fall 2006 (although you can download it from the Knitting Daily site until May 14, as part of the Readers’ Favourites booklet)
Yarn: Posh Yarn Sophia Lace “Shoots”
Needles: 3.5mm Britanny Straights
Start date: 3 April 2008
End date: 17 April 2008

Ravelled

Wonderwool

A mere one week late. And you only have my word that we actually went, because guess which numpty forgot to charge the camera batteries the night before. But it was awesome – especially seeing the Posh Yarn stall in person. Sweet man alive, so much gorgeous yarn in one place. It fair made my head spin. In fact, I blame the fact that I was in the presence of such intoxicating yarn, and the resultant yarn fumes, on this -

I realise it’s a lot of yarn, probably more than I can knit up any time soon. And with the pending move to Aus, I am really supposed to be destashing. But my excuse is that I’m stockpiling – with the Posh sales being at 6pm UK, which translates to, what, 3am Eastern Australia time? While I love my Posh, I don’t think I’m that committed.

Anyway, some favourites:

Cecilia ‘Norwegian Wood’

Lei ‘Colombia’

Sophia ‘Clover Honey’