Nupps

Whammo!! Here we are, September! It's true what they say about time going faster the older you get. I'm trying to keep up with all of you through your blogs, and just doing that is getting harder and harder to manage.

So, let's see...what's going on?

- We're having a deck built off the kitchen. A Big Deal. Involving large sums of cash. Ouch. and Yay!

- We finally installed new countertops in the kitchen. Double Yay!

- We're going away for Labor Day, to Vermont. A long expressed wish come true coupled with visiting friends. Taking the doggies with us. That should be interesting.

- I took a weaving class this summer. I know, I've been holding out on you guys. There's still two more classes and I'm working on my "final project". This image is part of the learning sampler. There's a three week break before we wrap up and I promise to show and tell as we near completion.

- I am knitting again. There is numbness but not as bad. I actually think the pain originates in my shoulder, the right one which was injured in a yoga class several years ago and hasn't been right since. And interesting, it's the same hand that uses the mouse at work. It's all connected, I'm sure. And it's much more noticeable with bigger needles. Carpal tunnel, repetetive stress.

- To counteract the lack of knitting for nearly two months, I made two dozen of these.

- I had an unnatural obsession with Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream cones this summer. Which means my fall agenda now includes mandatory visits to the park for 2 mile runs. Ooof.

- Very natural obsessive listening to Alejandro Escovedo since seeing him live this summer. He is amaaaazing live. And the new album rocks.

photo by Jose Gaytan
josegaytan.com

- Who doesn't love a little Steve Earle? We caught two shows at City Winery in July. Great venue, they will come to know us on a first name basis. I never get tired of Steve.

photo by Jose Gaytan
josegaytan.com

- The month of August saw less spinning, and meanwhile tons more fiber entered the home. Now I feel smothered by the avalanche of 4 oz. bags of wool piled in my office. My version of crack. It gives me a glimpse into the life of an addict: intense joyous highs followed by guilt-ridden lows. I need to spin more, give away more, weave more...I need to stop worrying, and be grateful I can afford it.

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Okay. So what's that lovely confection at the top of this blog post? Ah! A shawlette named Annis. Brought about through a Knit Along I jumped into on Ravelry (without looking first, so typical). Lace. With NUPPS. um. Using really skinny, poolry made (not by me!) hand spun yarn. Yarn I bought at Rhinebeck 2007. A long marination by anyone's standards.

Of course I had a few challenges before I saw the other side of this project. Few projects I touch go from start to finish without a hitch! In this case, most of the issues are attributable to the yarn.

I remember buying the little skeins at the end of the first day, in a stall that was nearly cleaned out of yarn. The seller convinced me that despite being under plied, it would work out fine once blocked. What she failed to mention is how challenging it is to knit under plied yarn on big needles! It's splitty! And throw in a few rows of these nupp things and it all goes to hell in a handbasket right quick. You try p7tog with super splitty yarn. Good luck on ya. It took four attempts, ripping and restarting, each time working up 363 stitches at the cast on. Yikes. At one point I seriously considered starting over with different yarn. But the allure of this gorgeous deep dark purple kept pulling me back into the project.

Last Sunday, during a visit to Governor's Island with my friend mknits, (poor thing, had no idea this was part of the grand plan that day...but she's good natured and very sweet to agree to my bossy ways!) I captured the ethereal lightness of this little shawl.

It has an interesting construction, being shaped with short rows and starting at the bottom/widest part. The pattern calls for lace weight yarn and is intentionally knit on large needles to create a very airy, light fabric. This thing is truly weightless. And the shaping means it stays on the shoulders easily. I especially love how the deep purple color adds a Victorian quality to this little piece. It's old fashioned but frothy at the same time.

The lady who sold me the yarn was right. It did block out nicely. The nupps are just okay. I think I can do better next time I encounter them in a project. However. Let it be known, I am no nupp fan and won't actively seek them out with the possible exception of Swallowtail Shawl, long on my knitting to do list. But with better yarn.