The Clapotis That… Ended After All

It’s done! It’s done! It’s done! It’s DONE! Oh yeah! Doin’ the happy dance, oh yeah!

Can you tell I’m pleased, gentle reader?

It’s been a long, hard slog over two years during which I was distracted by many bright, shiny new projects. But at last it is finished. The never-ending song has ended. Ah…..

I slogged away all weekend on the thing. All weekend. I kept wondering why I had decided to knit the thing in this rather unbecoming blah gray. I almost didn’t bother to weave the ends in because… meh. But in the end I did. Then I gave it a bit of a wash in my front-loader on handwash cycle, and plopped it in a pile on the rack in my drier on low heat. Because it’s a Clapotis, after all, and really doesn’t need any blocking. And then I realized that, if I wanted a picture I’d better darn well hurry because the light was going. And it still wasn’t dry. So I took the rack out and popped that baby in the drier and gave it a good go-round on medium heat, because really after two years and steady weekend knitting I was a little sick of the thing anyway and if it felted a bit… well… that would not detract from its charm because at the time I was feeling that it didn’t have any, and wasn’t the cotton content high enough to prevent that? And this is in no way to be construed as advice that you pop your Silky Tweed in the drier!

And then I took it out of the drier. Hmmmmm… it’s soft. Oh. It blocked itself perfectly in the drier. And look how nicely it drapes. It’s actually sort of the color of very faded favorite jeans. Not really gray. But blue gray with some flecks of other colors in it. Hmmmm…. And then I hung it over a branch of my cherry tree and watched it ruffle in the breeze as the late afternoon sun slanted through the grapes. And then I tossed it casually around my shoulders as I picked a few fresh strawberries and took a brief turn around the yard to see if the neighbors’ turtle (missing a week now) had decided to pay a visit after all. oooo… it’s just the right size to be big and cozy.

And then I fell in love.

I can’t believe I let this poor thing languish in a bag for two years! It’s slated now to go with me to work, where its destiny is to provide a bit of warmth on cold days (cold because of the weather or the deep-freeze air conditioner).

The particulars:

• Yarn: Elspeth Lavold Silky Tweed (40% Silk, 30% Cotton, 20% Merino Wool, 10% Viscose), color #13 (Cool Blue) (Note: ball band long ago lost, but that’s what I reported in a long-ago post.)
• Needles: Various over the years, ending with Knitpicks circulars, US#6 (4mm)
• Pattern: Clapotis, with a minor modification. I increased through one skein, knit straight until I had one skein left, and decreased through the last skein. It worked, as I used every inch of yarn and had to fudge the last couple of decreases to have enough, but the fudging isn’t noticeable at all.

cute little scissor keeper

In other new, I wasn’t able to attend the Black Sheep Gathering this year in Eugene. I can’t wait to see the reports from those who did. It’s always suck a fabulous fiberly time! Ahhh… all that yarn. It’s a yarn collector’s paradise, it is!

So instead I had to content myself with a little purchase from The Loopy Ewe. Just a little one. Because I needed yarn for my sock pall, you know. Yeah. That’s what it was. It wasn’t to assuage the pain of my BSG-less existence. No shopping therapy here, nosiree!

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!

I spent some very nice time looking at all of the wonderful things at The Loopy Ewe. Look at these little scissors with the little scissor-keeper on a fob that clips to the handle so it doesn’t get lost when carelessly tossed into a little sock bag and bounced around inside a purse. Isn’t that the cutest thing?

Don’t you agree that I needed to have this? Head over to The Loopy Ewe and look at all of the lovely, fun, bright colors it comes in. You know you want to.

Ack! I’m starting to sound like a pusher! 😆

java leaf swatch

There might have been some yarn involved in this purchase, also. Just a little. This is Cherry Tree Hill in Java.

I haven’t knit with this yarn before, but I now understand why people are raving about it. Lovely, lovely stuff. Fun to knit. This is the second swatch I’ve done. I found that I really need a size US#0 (2mm) to get a nice, dense fabric.

The stitch pattern is a vining leaf design from an old, old book I borrowed from V at Tangle. I don’t know if it’s also in one of Barbara Walkers books or not. I would be surprised if it isn’t. What looks like ribbing on the sides is actually a brioche stitch. I modified the pattern just a little — instead of cabling the stem stitches with the background, I did a m1, k2tog. It looks OK and will be less annoying to work than two-stitch cables every single row.

I’m considering this for my sock pal’s socks. Since I usually work an all-over pattern, and since I usually knit in brighter or lighter colors, this is a departure for me in more than one direction. But I think it will be a fun knit.

What do you think, gentle reader?