Malabrigo Lace Swallowtail

I had barely clicked on 'Post' for the last entry when I remembered the pattern that I abandoned because the Schaefer Anne yarn was too busy and realized that it was perfect for the Malabrigo. So I cast on for a Swallowtail Shawl.
Bottle of matching nail polish included for scale. This is Malabrigo Lace, Gretchen, 100% wool. The label in the photo in the previous post is 3.5 inches long, so the Malabrigo mouse must have been about 5 inches long. It is miraculously soft, but actually I think I prefer the weight I used for this scarf. In laceweight it doesn't have much spring or sproing. It's going to be beautifully soft to wear, but I like something that has bit of twang on the needles. I'm not having to check the charts any more (although that may be why the second last block of budding lace has an extra row in it) and it's satisfying to do. I have been making progress on this and not doing the Trellis, because the Trellis makes me feel stupid. I know I'll return to it, but it's nice to have a break.

This darkish blue absolutely soaks up light and I'm thinking I might put some beads towards the edge to brighten it, but I should probably wait and see if I can follow the charts before I start getting any big ideas.

I've been trying to resist buying a copy of Evelyn A. Clark's Knitting Lace Triangles, but I finally cracked and ordered one today. The mathematical progression of these designs appeals to my obsessive side, and I love this one that Brouhaha made. I was resisting the book because I have some Evelyn Clark patterns that I haven't knitted yet, but I decided that I wasn't going to let that hold me back any longer. After all, it never has before.

The baby that I knitted these hats for is going to have a cousin in October. The cousin will be of Scottish, English, Italian and Australian descent so that gives me lots of options. I was thinking about a shawl and I found some yarn that is 50% Shetland and 50% merino and I thought that would be good if the merino is Australian. It would be even better if the yarn were processed in Italy but that's probably too much to hope for. The baby daddy is a keen, one might almost say fanatical, supporter of Newcastle United FC but even he might draw the line at vertical black and white stripes on a baby. I could make this hat in the colours of the Italian tricolour by adding in some red.

I watched The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford last week. I know some people have complained about it being slow but I enjoyed the way that it took the time to tell its story. I don't think it would have benefited from being told in the usual 90 minutes; the extra time was needed to build up the tension. I thought the historical feel was well done, and that the characters avoided that freshly washed and coiffed look which so often brings down period films. Casey Affleck has such a pretty face that I think I've overlooked his acting abilities in the past but he was very good in this. Garret Dillahunt, whom I couldn't have put a name to, turned in one of those performances that leaves you worrying about the character for the next day or two, because of his fragility; he kept coming back to me and I had to keep reminding myself that he wasn't a real person. I think the film left open the moral questions effectively, but I won't say any more about that in case you haven't seen it yet - you may think you know what happens at the end but there are still some surprises.

Back in Business

My computer's happy again. I got in a local therapist, and it's humming away, a little more quietly but probably the better for that.

What would you like to see first? How about a Kaffe Fassett Sock Hat?


It's not actually a sock hat in any real sense, but it's knitted from Kaffe Fassett's Design Line sock yarn from Regia, in the 4251 colourway, Landscape Storm. I nearly got Caribbean, but now I'm glad I didn't. I loved this yarn as soon as I saw photographs of it, but I have come to realize that I am not a sock knitter, so I went for a hat. I don't suit hats at all, and also I have a huge head, so I can't buy hats unless I buy a man's Extra Large, so this might have been a bit rash but I'm actually quite pleased with it.

The colours are lovely, and spread out over a head instead of a leg the colours sometimes come in as a flash rather than a stripe. I just cast on, on a circular needle, and knitted until the wool seemed to be running out. It's the knitting equivalent of a hamster running in a wheel, but I had some sub-titled films to watch so it was perfect.

I watched The World, a Chinese film set in the Beijing World Park, a theme park which contains reproductions of the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, the Pyramids and so on. Although it shows the emptiness and difficulty of the lives of the young people who work there, it was enchanting too and I enjoyed it more than I think I was meant to. The characters spent a lot of time answering their mobile phones and reading text messages, which made me wonder what the keypad on a Chinese mobile phone looks like and how many keys it has.

I also watched A Common Thread, a French film about a pregnant girl who works in a supermarket but wants to be an embroiderer. It was fairly laconic and obscure too as the heroine was not given to chatting, but there was always something to watch and the music was fabulous - Michael Galasso and a French band called Louise Attaque - very jagged strings. The girl succeeds in working for an embroiderer who supplies the serious couture houses in Paris and although I felt she acquired her skills rather rapidly it was still fascinating to see.

There was a scene in this film where a housewife, who was simultaneously complaining bitterly about how nobody ever gave her any help in the kitchen, killed an eel, nailed its head to a shelf and skinned it. I thought, Well, you wouldn't see that in a British film. Or an American one. I wondered if this was a piece of business that the actress introduced during filming or if it was in the script from the start: that would have been an interesting casting call - 'actress, between 40 and 55, must be able to skin an eel'.

Anyway, back to the hat. I did a little umbilicus at the top and there was only a scrap of yarn left over. It won't be the warmest hat ever, but I like the way it looks and the colours are just as wonderful as one would hope.

Sylvester on the Runway

A kind commenter suggested that I might knit a scarf for Sylvester to keep for himself. That's a nice idea, and I'm considering what might be the best yarn, but meanwhile I've let him model an umbilical hat.

This is for the same baby who's getting the Pumpkin Hat etc., and is made from Regia Classic Colors sock yarn in Candy, from Jannette.

You can see it before blocking and after.




As you can see, the yarn has relaxed quite a lot.





My camera has a setting for Red Eye but not for Red Nose.


I like this yarn for a Coming Home From Hospital Baby Hat, because it has a little bit of blue and a little bit of pink and yellow and purple so it covers all eventualities.

Baby Hats

I've been knitting some little hats for my cousin's daughter's baby, due next month. It's one of those mixed times, because my cousin died two years ago of ovarian cancer and while we're all looking forward to welcoming Baby, we're all thinking of the person who won't be here. However, Baby still needs hats.

All of these are from Susan B. Anderson's Itty Bitty Hats. When the baby's mum was born, I bought her a lovely striped woolly hat (I wasn't knitting at that time, so I had to buy one.) It made her itch and gave her bumps, but my cousin liked it so much that she made a little cotton lining for it so that her daughter could wear it. So, just in case this baby has itches, I've made all of the hats in cotton.

We don't know whether Baby is a boy or a girl but the original delivery date was Hallowe'en, so I started with a Pumpkin Hat. It's in Rowan Handknit Cotton instead of RYC Cashsoft. I've ordered some hand-dyed cotton called Autumn Leaves from Mystical Creation Yarns to make a Baby Surprise Jacket to go with this, but it hasn't arrived yet. I suppose if a company actually has the word 'mystical' in its name, I shouldn't expect them to be very organized about going to the Post Office, and I'm sure it'll be lovely when it gets here.

Next, I made a stripy hat (you know about me and stripes). In the book, this hat is striped red and white, but I wanted something a bit softer. I discovered this lovely shade in Handknit Cotton, called Gooseberry, and I was sold. I love gooseberries and this is a lovely fruity shade, strong without being acid. Baby's dad is of Irish descent, so I hope he'll like the green.


I hadn't made a pompom for decades, and this took two goes, but I was pleased with it in the end.

The third one I made is the Felted Flower Hat. This one came out quite large, even after the hot wash and hot dry. I'm still dithering about putting it through again and giving it another blast. On the other hand, it's quite heavy and might be more useful later when Baby's a bit bigger. I think I'll leave it alone.

I think it'll be a good hat for a boy, without the flower, and if it's a girl, then the pink Koigu flower can be sewn on. I didn't do the felted flower in the book, because I'm very taken with the flowers on Nicky Epstein's Anniversary scarf for Vogue, so I just did a couple of them.

The bigger flower, on the shelf, is a corsage for Mum to wear so that she can match her baby girl, or not of course if it's a boy. By the time I knit the next hat, I'll know what colour to choose.