I’ve been absolutely bored to tears with the projects I have on hand so this weekend I pulled some silk I got as a gift from Jenny K. It’s hard to believe that even though Jenny and I have never met, we’ve been friends for almost 10 years. We’ve even knit a shawl together!* It was the very first lace shawl that I have ever in my whole life made. So of course it was a complete disaster.
It was the absolute Shawl from Hell. Not only did I end up quadrupling the number of required stitches a few times, one of my cats ended up *peeing* on the durned thing! Thank goodness for baking soda and lemon juice and lots of hot water. In defense of the now deceased cat, he was a sick puddy tat and he only got a small portion of it. Plus his Momma left the shawl in a spot that was unwise to say the least.
So not only did I have a shawl that looked about 6 inches long and say 6 feet wide, I also had a shawl that stank to high heaven. It was just about the most discouraging project I have ever encountered in my knitting career.
Since I took so long in actually knitting and sending off the shawl, it’s no wonder that I’ve waited so long in actually blogging about it. Every time I think of that shawl I break out in chills and sweats all at the very same time. It’s a wonder that I ever picked up the needles to knit another shawl again. From what I recall it took me about 2 years just to send the unfinished shawl to Jenny in England. It was so long ago, I have no pictures of the shawl. It might have even taken place pre-camera!
I can write about it now because it’s finally finished and I can finally remember some of the details again. I had stuffed the memory of the shawl so deeply into the dark recesses of my mind it took a lot of work just trying to figure out what I could remember about it.
Now I can put it all behind me and look forward to the droning monotny of ruffles. Lots and lots of ruffles… oh but there’s silk too. Pretty silk. See?
*Details and pictures of the shawl are all on Jenny’s blog
September 25th, 2006 at 2:54 pm
Now I want to spin some of my silk! Not that I need any more distractions, you silk is very enchanting, I love the colors. I feel your “shawl pain”, I will likely blog about one of my not so pleasant shawl experiences on of these days.
September 25th, 2006 at 4:32 pm
MMMmmmmmm…..that silk is yummy!!!
BTW–love your new digs….yeah, it’s been that long since I visited, but I’ll be back soon ;O)
September 25th, 2006 at 5:39 pm
love the spun silk….so rich looking….
September 26th, 2006 at 1:06 am
Too funny about the shawl – I’ve only had a cat accident once and it was on yarn, not a WIP. I’m with you on not wanting to knit it after that. But the shawl is beautiful! Love the silk – I have some in my roving stash, but haven’t spun it yet. What are you going to make with it?
September 26th, 2006 at 2:37 pm
Your silk is looking wonderful! You have alot of patience to spin it on a drop spindle. I always use a wheel myself. Hmmm I have some silk at home too….Nah! Too much to knit right now and I’m already spinning something:-) Can’t wait to see how your yarn turns out though.
September 27th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
nice silk, love the colors..
Keep the kitty away! ewwww!
September 28th, 2006 at 2:46 pm
I love spinning silk on a spindle; very relaxing. (Isn’t that a Bossie, btw?)
September 29th, 2006 at 3:18 am
Wow, Opal! The silk – spun and unspun – is simply gorgeous. I like your spindle, too!
October 15th, 2006 at 7:01 am
You’ve been investigated