Mediterranean Lace Shawl Beginnings

From A Gathering of Lace, Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud in Iris on Knitpicks Harmony 3.25mm needles.

This is a daunting project, but it is so gorgeous I must do it! It’s actually the border that grabbed me, so hopefully I’ll get there some day. I plan to do fewer repeats for a smaller shawl.

 

Falling Leaves Socks

Finally, I’ve finished the Falling Leaves Socks, which were meant to be a Christmas present for my mother-in-law Judy.

• This was my first pair knit toe-up, which I enjoyed immensely.
• The yarn is Mountain Colors Bearfoot, which is 60% superwash wool, 25% mohair, and 15% nylon. So soft and beautiful! Colorway Copper King Plum, which apparently is discontinued.
• I used 2 circulars — Addi turbo 2.5 mm, 16″ and 24″
• The pattern was from Knitty.com, but I used a different toe and heel, so in effect I used only the lace pattern.
• The toe was a modification of Cat Bordhi’s “Turned Toe” from Socks Soar on Two Circular Needles, which involves short rows with decreases rather than wraps. Instead of the crochet chain provisional cast-on used in the book, I used the figure-eight for one sock and the Turkish cast-on for the other. The Turkish was easier and turned out prettier, by far. Considering I had to cast on about 50-something stitches for each sock to do the decreases, it made a big difference!
• For the heel, I worked an upside-down heel flap and gusset, with instructions also from Cat’s book.

These are being modeled by me, wearing a thick pair of white socks underneath, since my mother-in-law’s feet are about a size bigger than mine. And it shows off the lace nicely!

Here’s a little detail of the lace. The picture doesn’t quite do the colors justice. It’s primarily plum, with splashes of copper, teal, navy, and rust. It looks even nicer knitted up than on the skein!

They’ll be sent off tomorrow. I hope they fit nicely!

 

Soft Cables Mobius for Patsy

I managed to finish only one knitted gift in time for Christmas (2005), the Soft Cables Mobius from Heartstrings, for Patsy. She chose the color, and I picked out some nice, soft Classic Elite Inca Alpaca. I think it turned out rather pretty! Please pardon the unmade bed and the crap underneath. Here’s a much nicer picture of Pat wearing the scarf.

Doesn’t she look cute?