Clapping downunder

I managed to smuggle the needles on to the plane no problem and did three repeats on the flight from London to HK. I made even more progress during the week. I was completely unadventurous and spent evenings in the hotel having room service and knitting away to BBC world.

I haven't done much this week in Brissie but Mum is knitting a scarf so we have had a few companionable times sitting knitting and chatting.

When I was taking this photo Mum said "What Posie would do is.....". Alicia is Mum's favourite blogger (after me that is, but I don't post regulary enough apparently).

Its weird to have too much light for photos here but I'm certainly not complaining.

Ah good ole e-bay. My 2 balls of the elusive Magenta mix were tucked into the mailbox today (I only ordered them Friday!) waiting for me to finish!

Except now I have started a very cute pair of red and black socks...and am on the toe of the first one - I know if I don't go ahead and make the second straight away they'll never be a matched pair - I do like Flib's way of making them both at the same time - but I don't have the needles, hmm.

So - watch this space for - hopefully - v gorgeous v heavy clap :)

My poor wee clapotis

Hello from Maryland!

The good Flibbertygibbet turned me on to this whole "clapotis" thing at Purl Soho last June, and when I read the enticing description on knitty.com I was intrigued. Not a day later one of the local Michael's (there are 3 within 10 miles of here, plus the biggest Joann's in the country, and 2 awesome lys. Am very spoiled.) had some lovely Caron Black Magic yarn in Magenta mix on sale. Two strands woven together, one black and the other alternating pink and green, my current favourite colour mix. And seven balls of it, $2 a ball?! Sure you couldn't beat it with a big stick. I bought it, brought it home, introduced it to its brothers and sisters in the stash, and didn't pick it up again till a couple of weeks ago.

It was at this point I picked up the pattern again. "Hmm, Lorna's lace recommended, don't have that...sure this worsted weight stuff will do fine. And 7 balls is loads. Size 8 needles...nope...ah these size 10s will be fine, sure I am a tight knitter anyway."

And off I go. Very excited. Saw Flib's beautiful creation, and all the others you've been working on. Yay can't wait to wear mine and attain that aura of French chicness.

Brought it, still on first ball, along to the local Borders (book store), to join the Wednesday night knitting group. Great fun, so nice to knit without dogs (2) children (1) and men (1) demanding attention. When I got home, however, and remembered to take a picture - here was the result...

See that? That's not the lighting/camera-angle/glaucoma. That's what happens when you don't check your dye lots...

I dislike frogging carefully (ahem) crafted knitting as much as the next tense-shouldered girl and so upon reflection I decided to carry on. It turns out I had bought 3 dye-lot 74, and 4 dye -lot 68. So I would alternate them, in a "yea I know the colours are a little odd its meant to be like that" kind of way. Come on now, you'd have done the same.

So, having a trip to West Virginia (that's what I love about my job, the glamour) I took the clapotis along with me, intending to unveil it upon my return. Well. Again, so here's what I'm working with...

Kind of blurry - but see how the pink and green are unravelling?? Grr...Could be why the stuff was on such a great sale...

And here's as far as I got...

(Note lovely hotel-room bedspread.) This is a little over halfway done. Why stop there? you ask. Because (and I know you saw this coming) I. ran. out. of. yarn.

AAAAAAAAhhhh

So back I went to Michaels. Hey I am nothing if not hopeful. And would you believe - they had one ball left. It was one of those sad little balls with no label on it, collecting dustbunnies in the clearance bin. probably another dye-lot, but who cares.

I decided to cut my losses, and "turn" the clapotis at this point, rationalizing that as it's worsted weight yarn instead of the (wisely) suggested lace weight, it'll be plenty warm, anything bigger could rightly be called a blanket, etc.

And I still ran out.

God bless e-bay, I bought 2 balls of it (the fourth dye-lot thank you very much) and when they get here I will finally finish it.

What have I got myself into!?

And she's coming round the straight

Haven't been able to do much of my clap for a while because I lost a ball of the Colinette yarn. It was hiding in the bag of yarn which I keep next to my side of the bed. Why, I hear you ask... To stand guard over me and protect me whilst I sleep of course! And I like gazing at some of my favourite yarn as my eyelids droop shut. So! Here's a photo of the yummy clap for your delectation...



I also have to confess that I had a Clapotis-related dream... in it, I stumbled upon a bookshop which was having a sale and I found a basket of DB pure silk for £1.60 a skein. I was so chuffed with my little find and was happily counting the number of skeins in a single color so that I could make a clap... then I woke up. Boo,... and yes, I am a little yarn nerd but most of you know that already...

One down...

I finished the Pure Silk one, got my head around the pattern, and I'm back on the angora. Hurrah for Christmas present knitting in September! These will take care of one grandmother and my aunt. Photos of the angora one soon.

Slow hand clap...

Sigh, I am falling behind seriously here with my clap. I've only done 2.5 repeats of the straights so far, and yes, it's my first one. At least it's turning out big.

I'm enjoying it but my available knitting time on the clap has been limited these last few weeks, even though I've been doing it whilst on the phone to my mum, whilst drunk going home on the tube the other night (not a bad idea as I didn't spot the annoying knot in my Noro three-quarters of the way along the row, which I'd have got really irritated about and ripped back had I spotted it at the time, but now I just don't care and it's not that visible anyway). And now I am about to cease to clap for over a week as I'm going somewhere far too hot for shawl knitting.

So, progress will be suspended, much like London's transport network, for the immediate future... Back in a week and a bit!

Clap-a-gone

Yes, the rumours are true.

I left my silver clap-in-progress on the bus, never to be seen again. The yarn is discontinued, so it's not going to happen at all. I'm trying to be grown-up about this but IT"S NOT FAIR!