Finished, at last!

Hooray! I finished the clapotis yesterday! I am very pleased with how it came out! The pattern was very easy (just repetitive). I can't wait until the fall to wear it! The nice thing about the clapotis is that you can wear it as a scarf or a shawl (I'll probably go for the former).

I tried to block this, to even everything out. First of all, I didn't have a surface big enough to lay it out on (I suppose I could have pinned it to the carpet in our living room?) and second, I didn't want to stretch it out any more than it already was. I plan to wear it kinda scrunched up (like in the photo above) anyway, so I think I'll be OK.

I've seen a lot of people knit clapotis with sock yarn - that'd be nice too - I think it'd make for a very soft, cuddly final piece. The Handmaiden Sea Silk is cozy, but it's definitely more silky. If I ever re-visit this pattern, I'd like to try making a clapotis with sock yarn.

On to the next project: finishing the second sock for DH? Learning cables? Another pair of socks? Continuing on the Central Park Hoodie with Larissa? Probably some combination of the above....

"Thou shalt not drop a stitch...unless knitting a clapotis"

So..... I've been working on the clapotis. I've finished the increases and am well into the body of this wrap. The pattern isn't difficult, but calls for a droppped stitch to fall and propegate to create the parallel bars between knitted columns. Yes, that's right, an intentional dropped stitch that you let run down the project. This wasn't intuitive at all, since in knitting, a run-away dropped stitch is generally the kiss of death to a project. The saving grace here is that the pattern has built in yos at the bottom of the dropped stitch row that protect the run-aways from spreading beyond the column. Plus, the knitted columns are bordered by a "K tbl" stitch that keep them intact, as well (I'm not sure if that's fashion or function, but I'm not taking any chances). Droping the stitch is kinda like watching a run spread in a pair of stockings, except this actually is intentional and has a positive outcome. A close-up of how the dropped stitch creates a ribbon-y effect is shown above.

This weekend, I knit a good amount of this clapotis while watching "The Ten Commandments". I love those religious epic movies, and this one is the grand-daddy of them all. I just realized this is a Passover movie, even though watching it is an Easter tradition for me. True, there's no mention of Christ since this is an Old Testament story, true they mention the plague PASSing OVER the blood-sealed doors, and true Moses liberates the Jews from Rameses. But I didn't put all the pieces together until discussing it with DH. Better late than never! It is a great film, and I got a lot done in those 5 hours I spent watching and working on the clapotis.

Speaking of timing - I have to say with this project, I definitely underestimated the time I'll need to finish it. I was thinking of trying to have it completed for "Moms' Tea" this weekend, but no way. Not even my sweatshop-knitting pace could crank it out that fast. The portion of the scarf that I'm on calls for 12 set of repeats, with 10 rows per set (and 107 stitches per row). Yeah, definitely delusional to think I'd have it done anytime this month. But that's ok! The yarn (Handmaiden yarn) is beautiful to work with, so it's been a pleasure to knit it. Here's where the project is now:

Oh Happy Day!

We're in a recession. Unemployment is going up. The stock market is coming down. It's raining out. BUT MY HANDMAIDEN YARN JUST ARRIVED IN THE MAIL!!!

2 skeins arrived, neatly packed in a ziplock bag. What a pick-me-up! I purchased the Seasilk yarn - 70% silk, 30% sea cell (a cellulose fiber made with seaweed...). I only ordered this after doing a good amount of research on it, since it is pricey. But everyone on-line and on Ravelry said this was amazing to work with. I hope to be able to agree!

The color I chose is called "Monarch" - it's got lots of golden tones. I'm going to make the clapotis scarf with it. The clapotis pattern involves a lot of intentionally dropped stitches to make a ribbony effect in the scarf. Click here to see a finished one!

One interesting thing I've read about this yarn is that it smells like the ocean. There was the faintest smell of salt water when I first sniffed it! But now that I've had it out of the bag for a couple hours, it seems to have gone. I'm amazed at all the beautiful colors and the silky (yet strong) texture of this yarn. I can't wait to get going on this project!