Tic Toc

goes the clock... And as I race against time to finish what I can before my mandatory knitting break next week (more on that later,) I am torn between pride with what I have accomplished, frustration with what I have yet to complete and dreams of what I'd like to achieve.

So for today, one for the accomplished tally. The Be My Love/Monogram Pillow is finished at last. With this pillow I designed a chart for the monogram making it unique; learned a new technique, an applied I-cord edge to give it a finished look; and made a lasting (I hope!) gift that will always remind the couple of their wedding day.

And here it is, captured in photos. A closeup of the I-cord edge,

The opening for the pillow (some type of closure will be added after the pillow is purchased.)

The Be My Love side

and the monogram.

Specs:
Yarn: Knit Picks Andean Silk
Amount: 240.0 yards (2.5 skeins)
Colorway: Cranberry
Fiber content: Alpaca/Merino/Silk
Needles: KP options: US 7/4.5mm

Round and Round and Back Again

Believe it or not, there are days I just don't feel like knitting. Sometimes it's because I don't feel well, or it's inappropriate (yesterday, for instance, was a fast day,) or I just don't want to. And on these days I have found that anything I do accomplish usually gets ripped back. So while it's true that a Jewish "day" ends about an hour after sunset, and I can knit at that time, the last couple of evenings I guess I lost my mojo.

First I tried to make a baby gift,

but other than this I ripped everything out.

Even today my head still isn't in it. Having finished the two pieces for the Be My Love/Monogram Pillow and finally finding the missing 4mm needles, I set about working an applied I-cord edge. After getting about 1/3 round the pillow I was not happy with the results. Not happy at all! So I pulled it out and decided perhaps it was better if I stitch the two sides together first.

So here I am, stitching away...

Oh the magic of the Mattress Stitch!


And in answer to Samm's question from ages ago, the Hebrew letters are the happy couples monogram. Here again is the invitation. Remember, Hebrew reads from right to left.


The center, solid letter is a Bet, which has "B" sound and is for the couple's last name. The letter on the right is the bride's initial Reish which makes an "R" sound, only more guttural. And on the left is the groom's initial, an Aleph which is basically silent and takes on the sound of the accompanying vowel (which we don't see but is, in this case, an "E" as in excellent.)

I'm hoping to get the seaming done tonight and the I-cord tomorrow. It's time to strike another project off the list!

Love Letters

True love never dies. But the appropriate time for giving wedding presents may have its limits. Fortunately I have decided not to test them too much. This present is almost finished!

Yes, it's the Be My Love/Monogram Pillow.

Of course (ahem) you remember the Be My Love side of the Pillow.


Then there was that nasty mishap with the original Monogram side (i.e. it sucked!) Sort of slowed up the whole process. Actually it put it to sleep.

So I pulled out the monogram again,

and recharted (remembering it must be a mirror image.)



And I knit, snoozed, knit, snoozed until yesterday I said to my self, "Get on with it already." Surprisingly (or not) Self sounded remarkably like my mother.

And there it was, finished! And off to a bath of cool sudsy water to prepare this for blocking and to release any dirt or oils I may have (probably) transferred onto the project.

Unfortunately it released a lot of dye as well.


I asked myself, "What would Clara Parkes do?" I'd like to imagine she'd say something like, "Since the project is not for wear and won't transfer to skin or be washed a lot, it should be ok." I hope that's what she'd say. Anyway, the color still looked fine once I rinsed it out so I set to blocking it into a 12" square.


I'm pretty pleased with the final result.


All that's left now is the applied I-cord edging and finding a pillow to put inside. Oh, and to get back to work on the other belated wedding present, the Wigg-ed One's Icosa Ball pillow.

Statute of Limitations

It all started with this, which I thought would make a lovely pillow with a seed stitch backing.

But then I saw this...
Which prompted me to make this...


Which led to this...

Which, of course, was all wrong.

So I started it again but realized that the initial chart needed to be reversed. And then I forgot about it all until I got a little hint from my recently married friend.

So I went back to the drawing board and made this.

And finally got back to work.

So here we are, almost half way through the chart and I think it is going to work this time.

Which is a good thing indeed, as I believe the statute of limitations is almost up on this postponed wedding present.

In other WIP news, I got a few more rows in on Arietta.

And that's about it. I've been playing catch up on my other projects since the Sockdown madness took over. But I seem to be getting back on track, which is a good thing because I have a few more presents to make.

And if you are needing any encouragement towards some stash enhancement, check out this:

For the next few days you can save 20% on all of your yarn purchases at Sonny & Shear by entering the code GeorgeGaveMeYarnMoney at checkout. The coupon expires at midnight on Friday, May 23, 2008.

Simin Tov u Mazel Tov

There is a famous saying, "It takes a village to raise a child." And to that I counter, "It takes a community to make a Simcha." The wedding I attended on Sunday was just such an event. Almost the entire community was there to celebrate.

There is a mitzva l'sameach Chasan v'Kallah, to bring joy to the groom and the bride. It is incumbent upon each guest to do so, thus a Jewish wedding is filled with people doing their utmost to bring them happiness. Dancing, singing and different types of schtick (clowing, frivolity) are used to bring delight.

This is not the place where I want to go into all the details of [observant] Jewish life, but it is worth noting that in our circles the acquaintance of bride and groom before the wedding is usually quite short by Western standards. The engagement period is usually 2-4 months. Thus, halls are not booked months to years in advance, preparations are made with alacrity. Starting with the Vort (engagement party) the wedding event is marked with milestones leading to the day itself. One such milestone occurs on the Sabbath before the wedding. The Shabbas Kallah, where the bride's friends gather together on Sabbath afternoon to praise her and offer their personal blessings. This Shabbas Kallah was particularly touching and there was nary a dry eye in the house. Our Kallah has been a central figure in this community for 7 years and though I am new here, I too have been touched by her kindness. Which is why I wanted to make her a special gift.

The wedding itself was a wonderful affair. Seeing the hall filled with so many people. Breathless as we watched the groom then bride escorted to the chuppah by their parents. Watching the bride circle her groom 7 times. From the blessings to the breaking of the glass, you could feel the Divine Presence among us. And then it was all laughter and joy. Dancing and dancing and dancing. Dancing with the Kallah and for the Kallah (this being mirrored on the men's side for the Chassan.) And smiles, lots of smiles.

I was nervous about attending. As my grandmother had earlier noted, "Why should she invite you?" But invite me she did and I am so glad I went.

In about 2 weeks, my home will be hers and her husbands. Her old home will be mine. So today I start packing, AGAIN. And when she arrives, her present will be waiting for her. I hope to finish side 2 today, buy a cushion and start figuring out how I will attach the two pieces. In spite of the dearth of responses to my request for advice I managed to figure out what to do. I plan on going with subtle side, as I believe the designer intended.


The big change of plans is that instead of the Seed Stitch backing I had planned on, I came up with an even better idea. In fact, it may end up becoming the front side!

I scanned the couple's monogram from their wedding invitation,


and worked up a chart in Excel.


So far, so good!


Once the knitting is completed, and the piece has been blocked, I think the monogram will really stand out.

And then I can get on to the Icosa Ball pillow. Because New Roommate's wedding is less than 4 weeks away.

Pillow Talk

You know after that self imposed day of knitterly celibacy I got right back to it yesterday. I was careful to take breaks and I was feeling no pain. I managed to finish the front of Be My Love Pillow, but not without its setbacks. With just two rows of seed stitch left until the bind off, I doubted myself. I thought I saw a mistake. I checked and rechecked. Mistake. So I ripped back about a dozen rows and got back to work. And then. I got to the same place in my seed stitch and looked down and saw the same thing that had bothered me before. Did I make a mistake again? NO! I'd never made a mistake in the first place! Ughhh. So now the front of the pillow is done and is even blocking.

But I am in a bit of a quandary. The original (dish cloth) pattern has the work showing Reverse Stockinette up, making for a more subtle design. Most of the finished projects in Ravelry have it showing Stockinette side up. Now because this is a pillow, with a front and a back I have to choose which to show. I have three choices. (You'd think there would only be two, but this is me, always making things more complicated.)

I could show the Reverse Stockinette side:

here's a close up

Or Stockinette side up

and a closeup

Or, instead of knitting the back side in Seed Stitch, I could knit a second front and have one side be Stockinette and one be Reverse Stockinette, giving the new couple the option of choosing. What do you think?

As for the finishing, I'm still thinking applied I-cord, but I've got some researching to do first. If anyone has any ideas please share.

Now, here's a funny coincidence. I am not particularly partial to this color. It's not that I dislike it at all, I'd just never call it one of my favorites. And yet, here I am with my second pillow, and I ended up using this color both times. Good thing New Roommate's Icosa Pillow is all set to be made up with something altogether different!

Love is in the Air

And wedding present preparations abound. Last night was New Roommate's Vort (engagement party.) I got the opportunity to meet many of her friends and her family. It was a lovely affair. The Birthday Cupcake served as a centerpiece and a good friend of ours baked real cupcakes to match! Before the party we settled on her present:

The Icosa Welt Ball from ShiBui Knits

And these colors:

Now it's just a matter of everything arriving and me getting my knit on. In the meantime, there is another present to prepare. A wonderful woman I know is getting married this Sunday. She is one of the first people I met in this town and her kindness is legendary. We will soon be doing the great apartment swap, she and her future husband moving in here and I will be moving in with her roommate, another lovely woman.

I was in a quandary as to what to give her and someone recommended making her a pillow. So off I went, sorting my colors and coming up with a great Log Cabin pillow idea that would set off her navy couch. Until I heard that the navy couch was NOT the couch that was coming. And since I have no idea what couch is coming I had major second thoughts. Fortunately I had only knit the center square, so there wasn't too much investment. Still I had no ideas. So after a little poking around in Ravelry I came up with a fabulous idea. I took this dish cloth and substituted the yarn with Andean Silk in Cranberry.

I'm about half way done with the front (I started last night, after the engagement party.)


The plan for the back is all seed stitch which should go even faster. All I need to do is find a simple 12" pillow in a similar color and then I plan to use applied I-cord to put the two pieces together.