Wish List

I'm not feeling any of my current projects, really. I'm trekking away at them because they need to be finished, but my heart isn't with them. Don't get me wrong -- I love the Railway Socks and I think the lace will come together well. I'm even remembering why I bought the wool for My So-Called Scarf on an impulse. I just don't feel like knitting any of them. I don't think it's overkill from the veil, I just think nothing has been calling out to me. And I'm busy with school and a class I'm taking and life in general.

So I've been looking through my books for new patterns that are interesting. Here's my queue:
1. The Josephine Top from IK Summer '07 looks great, as does the
2. Notre Dame Pullover from the same issue.
3. The Brooklyn Cap from IK Summer '06 has been in the back of my mind since I saw it, and would make a great first felting project -- but can I use stash yarn for it?
4. Icarus from the same issue might be a nice venture for lace, as well.
5. Evelyn Clark's Flower Basket Shawl would be a good place to use up some of my laceweight stash -- and I do have a fair amount of it!

Or do I find some of my sock yarn and make another Baby Surprise Jacket? I could also hunt down one of my patterns for a baby hat and scarf combo, which would go by quickly. I just don't know what will get me out of this rut I'm feeling! I'm craving a quick-knit that I'll be able to wear instantly, but that will keep me on my toes a bit. Maybe I should take the Arucania Nature-Wool and make myself the cardigan I was imagining -- I can use a seed stitch pattern to mix up the variegation. Or should I ditch it all and start something new?

I can't keep away....

I am an inherent multi-tasker when it comes to knitting. One of the hardest parts of knitting the veil was sticking to only one project. As I was chipping away row by row, I kept eyeing my sock knitting books, my other lace knitting books and other patterns wishfully.

I did manage to complete one sock before I realized that I almost wouldn't have a veil at all and had to stop. I just cast-on for the second sock, and am forcing myself to finish it before I move on to another pattern.

This is a Gentlemen's Railway Sock from Nancy Bush's Knitting Vintage Socks. I made it using Lorna's Laces in Baltic Sea, a colorway I have been craving for about a year now. The yarn is very masculine in color, and the variegation is subtle, so I thought it would be appropriate to write a fairly masculine sock. I actually like the heel- and toe-striping a lot, even though I was skeptical at first. It adds a lot to the sock.

I love the stitch pattern and the way it helps to blend the colors in the yarn. Purl stitches add so much to variegated yarns!

Look at the way the colorwork adds zing to the heel, as well. The yarn was striping fairly regularly, also, which really adds to the pattern. From a distance, it's difficult to see the variegation -- it just looks like it has a deep, rich color. Hopefully I'll have a new pair of socks to wear when the weather turns in a few weeks!

I also couldn't stay away from lace -- when I was on my honeymoon I cast on with this:

Misti Alpaca in pink, of all things! Usually I don't like pink at all, but for some reason this yarn called out to me and I made an impulse-buy. I was limited because I didn't have a pattern, so I had to make it up on the fly. More about this one later, I promise!

Specs

Specs on the Veil:

Yarn: Merino Oro in Natural White 028, 1 1/4 skeins

Needles: Addi Lace size 1s, 24"

Pattern: Original, but derived from EZ's Pi Shawl in Knitter's Almanac, Victorian Lace Today and this Elann pattern.

Started: Swatching began at the very beginning of June. I started knitting the veil on June 17th.

Completed: August 12

Something old, something new

The woman at Knit-A-Way tried to warn me. I went into her shop the second week in June and bought myself some Addi Lace needles (size 1). When she found out that I planned on knitting myself a veil for my wedding, she asked me, "When?"

I replied, "This August."

She asked, "A year from now?"

"No, two months from now -- almost to the day."

She looked at me in disbelief. "Why in the world are you just starting now?"

As I walked out, I thought about her answer. Yes, most people would have started earlier, but I tend to move through knitting projects quickly. Why in the world wouldn't I have enough time? School was out, which meant I would have a lot more time for knitting....

And I wisely chose a pattern that would start at the center and move quickly at first -- so quickly I decided to stop knitting and start over after a night. Good thing I did, because it was a mess. Then I realized, around the beginning of July, that the rows were getting REALLY long and it was taking me forever to finish.

On July 25, I thought I had finished. The radius of the veil was exactly the length from my wrist to my neck. It would surely be long enough, once I added a small edging. But wait! I looked at those clever Elizabeth Zimmermann increase rows -- and saw there was a slight break in the pattern, and the symmetry was off. The middle section of 12 repeats was mirrored on either side by 6 repeats, which didn't seem to give the shawl much balance. On I went with 3 more pattern repeats, so I now had a pattern of 6-12-9. The extra length drew the attention away from that center portion, which I felt was needed.

During the Cake Cutting

On August 1, I finished the ninth repeat, inserted a lifeline and got ready to begin the border. But what border to use?? I found two possibilities in Victorian Lace Today: the inner half of the border of the Large Rectangle in Spider Net (p. 25), and the outermost border of the Shoulder Shawl in Spider Pattern (p. 131). I worked some magic using Adobe Photoshop and my Microsoft Word skills to combine the two, but the border still wasn't quite what I was looking for. After adding in two more repeats of the inner border, I was ready to roll!

And (gasp -- I can't even believe I did this!) I didn't even try swatching my pattern. I just immediately began knitting the border on, and it worked out. I love it, the way it joins to the body, the proportion of the width, the lacy bits on the edge and the way the main motif is mirrored in the 3 swirls of the border. At first I worked methodically, but time kept on ticking. I was halfway through by Monday, August 6, with six days to go. Finally, on Thursday I finished and blocked the lace, just before I went off to meet the first guests to come into town.

Describing the Process

The lace was ready, and so was I. I opened up the comb with fake pearls that I had gotten at Michael's and was ready to attach the veil to the comb to wear during the ceremony. Some quick backstitching with sock yarn and a tapestry needle, a line of crochet chains just below the backstitching, and a row of double-crochet was all it took to hold the comb -- and it was all reversible! All I would have to do was pull the crochet out, and the veil would become a shawl.

I now pronounce you....

I have always enjoyed expressing my individuality. Often throughout the wedding planning stage, I struggled with the expected conventions that I felt didn't represent me. (No bouquet toss, please. And I'll pass on the garter dance, too!) I never liked the idea of a veil, but I knew I would need a shawl should the night get cold. It gave a simple, old-fashioned tone to a non-traditional day, to be wearing something so old in spirit but made just for the occasion.

Timing

I'll make it. I'm almost halfway finished with the edging. I started the edging 2 1/2 days ago. I have 4 more days to go.

No time to take photos or upload them or do anything but continue!

(The cut I got yesterday on my left index finger doesn't help any, either....)

To break up the text:

When I was in North Carolina, I was taking pictures of some flowers in a greenhouse when this happened.