Volted Upstairs

Well, I'm still knitting a shawl. (Two, actually. And a skirt. But that's another post.) As you'll see below, in May I searched and settled and started to make a rectangular lace shawl that was knit the "short" way. I worked a couple of repeats through Memorial Day, to the tune of about 8,509 stitches. And then I checked some blogs.  

I love Kay Gardiner. Of course I do. I met her in Manhattan in 2004, supped with her in Alexandria after the first Mason-Dixon Knitting book came out, and knit with her again in Central Park last summer. I made a mitered-square blanket thanks to her, and have another cotton concoction on the needles now. Along with my local pal Heilbron, she reignited my quilting flame, and I'm glad for it. 

And she made me stop knitting Upstairs and cast on for Volt. I'd already started Upstairs when I read her post extolling the virtues of Volt. She was practically begging me to make the switch. "Dang, now that I just started my second 32-row repeat of the Upstairs shawl, I'm thinking I could've made a Volt!" I commented on that post, and then ordered the book with the pattern. Just in case. 

And it was a good thing, because I couldn't stop thinking about Volt, event as I made it through two full repeats of Upstairs. I came home from our Memorial Day holiday and cast off, so I could begin again. So now we have this delicate neck wrap to share en famille, because I was not going to rip out all that lace. Having seen how the pattern blocks out, I'm betting I will still knit the pattern, but with one color rather than four. 

I'm using the four pinks in Volt (instead of the spec'd five) with a contrast of gray ~ from a project that I did frog, the Swan Lake Mystery Stole 3 of  2007. (I just never made it past the second chart in three years, so completion seemed unlikely. The rest of the Malabrigo laceweight will more happily become a Citron in future.) 

 To compensate for the missing fifth color, I'm adding a pair of rows to every section, and I may take Kay's suggestion that the i-cord on the sides match the stripes. With its 395-stitch rows, this isn't a quick knit, but it's good TV knitting, and the color changes and little garter stripes motivate me to keep stitching. All in all, I say, Thanks, Kay! 

Comments

[Janine Seresseque]

Maggi, I had no idea you were such an accomplished knitter! Lovely stuff.

[Kay]

You're welcome (belatedly)!

As I feel the cool fall weather approaching, I can't wait to break out my Volt......

And I'm currently knitting a Stephen West wrappy thing that is FINE, but it's got me hankering for Grace Anna Farrow's chevron-y stripe-y bias-y knitting!