It was 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 Clapotis has ended. Ah…..
As I slogged away, 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.