Monday 19 July 2010

Pink and White and Blue

Knitting

Some finishing and some starting here. I did the tricky bit of the summer pudding Looped Bracelet,

and then I finished it. I made the tabs a bit longer this time.

I've started another one, with 10 stitches instead of 12. It's Koigu so 10 stitches should be a little daintier. Lynne has added some more bracelet patterns on her website. I've started Waves twice and am having a which-is-the-back problem, but someone on Ravelry has done it. There's a new Lynne Barr Ravelry group here.

I finished the latest Pinwheel blanket, the stripy green one, but I keep forgetting to photograph it. I finished the white Swallowtail and it looks like a piece of ectoplasm. I'll block it soon.

I've been swatching for some lace but I haven't blocked those yet so they'll have to wait.

And, before I knew it, I'd started this. It's another Swallowtail Shawl.

It's Ella Rae Merino Lace in a very beachy blue. Wendy of Wendy Knits made her Exonumist's Shawl from this yarn and I fell instantly and heavily for the colour. There are patches of a sort of pebbley colour, which I think is why it makes me think of beaches. I tried to wind the wool with my nostepinne but between my inexperience and the incredible bounciness of the yarn, I ended up with an enormous fankle which I had to rewind twice. I still love it though.

I found this knitting clock on John Naughton's blog. It's the work of Siren Elise Wilhelmsen and it takes a year to knit a two-metre scarf. I think we've all done that.

If you want to know more about it, look here.

Staring
I got the set of Yves St-Laurent docos, His Life and Times and 5 Avenue Marceau - thanks very much for the recommendation, Gretchen.
The first has a lot of talking, which is good, and the second has lots of fabric and talking and smoking, which is even better. I had no idea that being a muse was such hard work: it involves lots of cajoling and suggesting and enthusing, and long hours.

By chance a few days later I came across some more YSL visual goodies. When I'm not looking at knitting on Tinternet, one of my other vices is reading the Real Estalker, a real estate blog which concerns itself with the 'homes', never 'houses', of actors and other celebs. It's funny and well written. Just after I'd watched the YSL docos, what should I find but a post about YSL's properties. It starts by describing his pad in the 7eme (where else?) but also has links to the house in Tangiers, and the jaw-dropping Chateau Gabriel in Deauville, where the helipad has been disguised as a landscape feature.

And there's a post about the pied-a-terre in 5th Avenue, NYC. It all adds up to an awful lot of frocks. And maquillage. And scent. And shoes.

9 comments:

FUZZARELLY said...

Thank you! I seriously love the knitting clock. Love the entire concept, even though I usually never take a year to knit 72 inches.

Mary Lou said...

Oh, dear, another way for me to waste time on the net. I love looking at real estate. Paired with gossip, it could be deadly.

And aren't you the shawl knitting machine, never mind the clock?

Ambermoggie, a fragrant soul said...

Great knitting but I'm going to have to stop reading your blog Helen(VBG)
I downloaded the bracelet patterns, I've started and nearly finished a circular blanket(Vortex)
Where will it end?
I'll be doing the swallowtail next;)

Mette said...

Your Ella Rae lace is very lovely, And you practise your nostepinne :) So do I. The other day I was reading about the old tools, that it was only used in the beginning of the winding. Phew. 600 m of lace in one small pinne. It was a day´s work. Could use the Siren clock.

Sea said...

The shawl is beautiful without being blocked, will look better afterwards. I agree with Amber, every time I read your blog I mentally add more projects to the never decreasing list in my head

Anonymous said...

"That helipad is beautiful"-- there's a sentence I never expected to type. Thanks for the scoop on the YSL properties.

I'm glad you liked the YSL fashion docs. I knew they would find an appreciative audience in you and your readers.
-- Gretchen

Knitting Linguist said...

That *is* an unexpectedly cool helipad! And thanks again for the bracelet mention; my young knitting friend took to them like a duck to water. Now she's starting her very own pinwheel blanket, which I also found through you -- thanks!

Anonymous said...

Prettiest ectoplasm I've ever seen!

I want one of those knitting clocks; too bad they're not for sale (although I probably couldn't afford one).

I think I'll have one of those helipads landscaped into my backyard. It will be the focal point of the yard, and the large helicopter manufacturer just 3 miles away could practice their takeoffs and landings during their test flights right over my yard. (Of course, I would charge the company a large fee for this service. Gotta pay for that high-cost landscaping somehow!)

Mary G. in Texas

Susan said...

The clock is a hoot. My dear man was worried for a minute that I would be shopping online for one.
Love the Swallowtail shawl! Just wait till you see it blocked out. Love mine, I substituted beads for nupps. Simply can not do those little buggars. I bow to your expertise.