All the Pretty Words

wedded bliss

Originally uploaded by striatic.
So, I have disappeared for a while and left only a couple of fairly cryptic hints as to why this was so. Now see the photo above for the reveal!

We got married on the 15th in a smallish but very sweet ceremony in the area where I grew up. We wrote our own vows, I got a pretty and simple wedding dress, Bryan got a brand-new suit, and we had a big lunch at which we stuffed ourselves full of chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, and cake. All in all, it was a great day. Bryan’s mom and sister came down for the weekend, and almost all of my immediate family was there (this may not sound like much but remember there are 20+ of them).

We’re back in Seattle now, loving being married to each other and loving our apartment. The super-secret project I knitted? There were two, actually–a lace shawl for myself and checkerboard socks for Bryan. I don’t have decent photos of either of them, but there will be photos once we’ve received copies of the wedding photos.

Now we just need to figure out what our rings’ special powers are…

Melon Scarf

Originally uploaded by Trinity.
This one became something of an epic, even if its simplistic appearance lulls you into a sense of ease and complacency. It’s the Melon Scarf from Victorian Lace Today as modified by Grumperina, and I love the way it looks now that it’s finished. However, as I was working on it, I wondered if it would ever end. The pattern is very simple (who would have imagined there could be mindless lace?!), but I did 54 repeats of it. It was definitely worth it, though. I managed to squeeze this and the Swallowtail Shawl out of two hanks of Hand Maiden Sea Silk…but just barely. I had about three yards left!

Next up: Pomatomus in Koigu PPM…if it works out, that is. I have to use size 0 needles to match the gauge, and although I’m still working on the cuff, the resulting seems a bit stiff. I’ll work a little ways into the lace chart and see how it looks.

I managed to snag a skein of Vesper Superwash Merino in the Muddy Waters colorway!! I was extremely excited to find that my week of yarn stalking came to a fruitful end, especially as all the sock yarn sold out in under 15 minutes. I thought about getting a second skein in the WildBerry colorway, but decided that I shouldn’t spend that much money and should let another knitter get that one instead. Such a good girl, aren’t I? :)

Knotted Openwork Scarf

Originally uploaded by Trinity.

I finished this one sometime in mid-February, but didn’t get around to blocking it until today. It’s kind of funny how it just sat there beside the futon, waiting patiently until the urge to block something struck me. I felt kind of guilty every time I stepped over it to sit down, thinking that I really should block that poor scarf and the gloves sitting with it (those aren’t dry yet, so I’ll post a photo of them later), and yet it took me nearly a month to finally pay some attention to them. That’s rather odd coming from me, as I usually race through the last few rows of a project so I can bind off, block it, and finally use it.

I started it while Bryan and I were visiting a friend in New York City, as I bought the yarn at Purl Soho and absolutely *had to* cast on for something right away. The yarn is the rather nice Silken Straw by Alchemy Yarns. I petted a swatch knit up using the yarn in the shop and thought it felt quite nice, but I’m not sure whether this pattern, the Knotted Openwork Scarf, was the right choice for it. It’s a very textured lace when knit in a tape yarn like this, and so it’s very hard to tell that the yarn is actually silk, rather than some sort of synthetic fiber. I like how it looks anyway, though, and looking at it brings back some nice memories of the scenery I saw on the train back from New York to Vermont. I also worked on this scarf while on the flights to and from Chicago, as I had a graduate school interview there a couple of days after our trip to New York.

I’m happy that I finally got around to blocking this, and am excited about showing off the gloves. They’re the first pattern I’ve made up myself, and they’re knit up out of some more yarn from Purl Soho.