My Butterfly Shawl

Name of Project: Butterfly Shawl by Noreen Crone-Findlay
Materials: 6 Balls of Royale Gemini Double Strand Crochet Thread (300 yds - color 0441 Natural/White), 2 Balls of Royale Classic Crochet Thread (400 yds - color 0201 White)
Yarn Source: Michaels
Hooks: Size B/1 (2.25 mm) and F/5 (3.75 mm)
Estimated Time to Complete Project: 1 month
Pattern Notes: The instructions for the Butterflies and Dragonflies were wonderful and very clear. The only part I had trouble with understanding was the joining part. It wasn't clear to me from the pattern if these were to be joined as you went. I just made all of the squares and then did a joining round using my own judgment on where the pieces should connect. I started at the top with the dragonflies, joining all of them to the butterfly squares then moving down the the point at the end.

This was definitely a project for an advanced crocheter. I've been crocheting for a long time (10+ years) so I think that's why it was easy for me to understand where the stitches were supposed to be placed. I just love the way this turned out and can't wait to wear it around this summer.

The Butterfly Effect

Here is the wondrous Butterfly Shawl in its second to last stage of finishing.
After it's done blocking I need to add the fringe and it will be complete. I can't wait to wear it!

This is the front of the leg of my Serendipity socks. The colors are pooling. A lot. I don't know if I like it or if I don't like it, but I do know I might have liked it better if they had striped like I see everyone else's on Ravelry.

Here is the back of the leg.

I was kind of thinking that I should just let the yarn go the way it wants to because it'll turn out beautiful no matter which way it stripes or pools. So I just kept going and I've turned the heel. Now I just need to go down the foot. I think I'm going to just leave them the way they are but a little voice in the bottom of my knitting bag keeps saying, "Turn back! Rip them out now! You know you want the stripes, just do it!" But I can't. I love them no matter which way they choose to knit up. Stripes or pools I will accept them the way they are and treat them with the same love and respect I do all of my socks. But for next time, I think I'll pay closer attention to the gauge and pattern picture. I was just a little surprised when I saw all of the finished pics on Ravelry and nobody else's look like mine.

New Project Excitment

I don't think I could officially call it "Startitis" but I sure am having fun with some new projects. Since I received my Socks that Rock shipment I've been carrying the project around in my purse and making good headway on it. This past weekend it was very rainy and cold here in Carlsbad, and everyone in my family was feeling a little under the weather. So we layed around and watched movies and I got to work on my Butterfly Shawl. It's all put together and I just have to weave in the loose ends and put the fringe on. It's just as beautiful as I had thought it would be and I'll take some pictures when the sun comes out.

With the Butterfly Shawl almost ready to wear, I decided it was a good time to do some swatching and cast-on for my Central Park Hoodie. I have done all of my pattern and yarn prep so I'm just waiting for my swatch to dry to get an accurate reading. I had to go down two needle sizes to get gauge and I'm not sure I like the drape on that small of a needle. It seems really stiff to me and I might need to adjust the pattern instead of the needle size to make it work. Which seems kind of exciting, so it'll be okay with me if I have to do that. I am a little concerned about which size I should make too. I could go with a 36 or 40 and of course my bust measurement is 38. So I'm thinking about just doing the 36 and making a bigger button band if needed.

The Six Sox Knitalong just posted their new pattern and it's called Big Basin socks. The pattern uses a sockitecture from Cat Bordhi's book New Pathways for Socknitters and they're really pretty. I'm excited to have these in my queue but won't start them until I finish my Serendipity socks and possibly finishing my Pomatomus socks. The Pomatomus socks aren't really a good traveling project because I lose my concentration easily when I'm out and about, and that doesn't work so well with this pattern. I need something that's not so pattern intense to carry in my purse. I don't really carry a purse anymore though. I decided that, instead of carrying three bags, I would carry one big tote bag. It's actually a bag that's made to carry a laptop in, but it's got three separate sections that are zippered close and work perfect for my purse/knitting/diaper bag. I'll never have to worry about being stuck somewhere without my knitting project again. Or diapers. That's important too.

Practice Makes Perfect

These are the practice socks from Cat Bordhi's book, New Pathways for Sock Knitters. Her class is tomorrow at Common Threads from 10-4 and I am so excited. I spent 2007 learning as much as I could about socks and this is just going to set me free. I can feel it! My girlfriends are going to be there, we're going to go have lunch on our break, and I'll be in a yarn store! The pre-requisite for the class was to make the Little Sky Sock (see above), and the Little Coriolis Sock (see below).
And here's the side view...
The Little Coriolis sock with it's right and left version of the architecture was my favorite. And flipping through the book, I find that I'm most drawn to this "pathway" in the book. I'm thinking about making a pair of adult ones where the arches go up around the ankle and continue around the leg. I find myself thinking a lot about the right colors to use for these socks. I haven't worked with Socks That Rock in awhile, and making these little baby booties, reminds me of why I love it so much. The colors were amazing and it feels so good. It's still my absolute favorite sock yarn.

One of the projects that my Best B had brought to my attention was the Butterfly Shawl from the Summer 2006 issue of Knit.1 .
I had loved it at first sight and was excited to see it, as she had already started working on it. Unfortunately other things took over and it had fallen by the wayside. I told her I was interested in working on it and she generously handed the project over to me. It contained two balls of the Gemini Double Stranded Crochet Thread, one finished butterfly, and two half-finished butterflies. I put it in my queue and waited for an opportunity to pick it up. I feel like the opportunity is here and it's time to get this gorgeous wrap underway. I look at the picture and fantasize about having it draped over my flowing skirt during the summer twilight and looking as glamorous and exotic as the woman wearing it in the photo. I picture people stopping in their tracks to do a double-take at the intricate butterflies adorning my shoulders. I've made one of the squares so far, and I think it's going to be great.


The only thing I still have to decide is what color of thread I want to use for the mesh in between the butterflies. The double strand that I'm using for the butterflies is a blend of natural and white. So I made one square so far with the natural crochet thread. I want to do one more with white around the butterfly and see which one I like best. I'm guessing it'll take me about two months to complete. Here's a picture with my hand in it for a perspective on how big the squares are.
I'm going to have to start this from the very beginning because my gauge was so different from B's. It was good to have them as a visual to see what they looked like though.