Now I've officially finished my LOG - by guest blogger WillyG

Okay, here it is, off the blocking mats. (I'm trying hard not to be obnoxiously excited.)

Mel asked how this ranks among the things I've knit, and I think it's right up there at the top. It's certainly the most stunning thing I've managed to work up, thanks to the sheer size and a fortuitous combination of Jared's lovely pattern and Chris's excellent dyework. The yarn is Celebration by Briar Rose Fibers, and the 40% bamboo gives a sheen that makes the shawl light up when held at different angles. 

Photographing this was really fun for two reasons: taking pictures of newly blocked lace is always fun - playing with the angles and admiring the different sections - but there was the added "fun factor" of having two walls near my back door that worked like Velcro. I just slapped the blanket on the wall, tried to arrange it fairly neatly, and it just stuck there. First I tried this weathered shed, then a stucco wall, and both held this particular yarn with ease.

Against the stucco



Hanging on the shed



I love how the handdyed colors ripple like water on a lake

As you can probably see, I played with some of the photos to highlight different aspects of the lace that are hard to capture with a less-than-ideal camera. I know it's not purist, but I'm a bit addicted. The two photos immediately above are pretty close to the real thing, even though they are different; the appearance transforms when viewed from different angles. This shawl/blanket really catches light! I'm grateful that Jeff helped me decide on this yarn.

Thank you for your encouragement along the way, as well as your generous patience! This KAL thing is fun, since everyone can appreciate what went into it. Like many of you said, the border was a long one, but it really moves if you buckle down and concentrate on it. Thanks for motivating me to knit this from start to finish! I couldn't ask for lovelier companions along the journey!

Boo-yah! - by WillyG

Leaves Of Grass is blocking. After trying to dream up a contraption reminiscent of something you'd find in a tanner's workshop, Jeff convinced me to trust the wet fibers to do the work of smoothing out the fabric. He was right. I was just able to fit everything onto the exercise mats we use for blocking, so all is good, and I saved about twenty bucks or so.

I can't wait to get this thing photographed once it's dry, and hopefully with a better camera than my phone. For now, here's what I managed to snap; none of them are accurate colors, but the sheen of the yarn makes it even trickier to capture:

Joining the ranks of the awesome - by WillyG

No visible proof yet, but I finished the knitting on my Leaves of Grass tonight! Woot!

Now I gotta figure out a way to block this beast…

Edit: visible proof and a gratuitous kitty shot with a bit of the shawl in the corner

Jeff is such a fantastic model, no?

How could I resist?

Autumn Leaves - by guest blogger WillyG

I can just hear Mel Torme crooning "Autumn Leaves" right now.

Now that the gorgeous autumn weather is back and several knitting deadlines have passed, I am back on the wagon for finishing my Leaves of Grass.  Yeah, remember that thing?

Apparently I've turned into one of those people who takes pictures of their knitting on top of their cats to garner extra attention. Or maybe it's that pictures of a large round piece of lace still in progress all kinda end up looking the same.  But if you look stop looking at Jake and examine the lace closely, you can see that I just finished the first repeat of Chart D!!  One more to go... then again, I could do like some unnamed person and call it done and ready for applying the border.  (wink, wink, elbow in the ribs)

One of the highlights of this past weekend's trip to the sheep and wool festival in Rhinebeck was getting to meet one of our very own in person, all the way from Colorado! I think I may have referred to this previously, but I am once again reminded how our knitting -- and especially our knit-a-long-ing -- has the capacity to connect us, even in a way that somewhat reflects the musings of Walt Whitman in one of his poems.  Rather than quote the same poem again, permit me to link you to a previous post in which I shared it. Looking back on it, I realize that not a lot has changed.  I'm still working on Leaves of Grass, I'm still stuck on the same poem, and I'm still poking fun at someone who beat me to the finish line. Well, okay, a few more of you have joined the ranks of completion since that post.  Are there actually any others of you still working on Leaves of Grass?

Oh, speaking of Rhinebeck and people who actually finished LOG, Jeff has some news, but I think I'll try to egg him into sharing it himself.

Happy autumn, and happy knitting!

LEAVES OF GRASS ~ guest blogger Eileen

i love this finished project !

i am so glad i joined LOG KAL

thank you so much !

this knit is truly an heirloom

[ even my husband's jaw dropped when he saw it blocked and laying over the couch ].

yes, the start was frustrating and i did not understand chart reading but with help from friends in the KAL

i was able to master this pattern.

i want to knit another pi "shawl".

thank you again and i will continue to follow " girls in sheep clothing" for the next KAL.

Woot Woot! ~ post by guestblogger WillyG

My May Day KAL yarn is done, and the shawl is begun!

The yarn looks pretty now, but Jeff had to do some damage control while I was fighting with the plies; I found myself shouting at the yarn, "You're not friggin' mohair, so stop acting like it!" Did I ever mention how wonderful Jeff is? It was worth sticking with the sticky yarn, though, and the plied yarn behaved beautifully on the ball winder.  Woot!

On my Leaves Of Grass, I'm actually into Chart D!!!!  Another woot!

Happy May, and enjoy your Shetland Triangle! I know I will.  

IT'S A FINISH ~ guest blogger Eileen

It has been snowing here all day, a foot of snow to present time here in Northern Colorado and no it has not stopped coming down yet. I was to be at a reception this evening with Justice Sotomayer, [ yes that would be the US Supreme Court ]. But with the snow and ice I decided not to make the trip to Denver, what a bummer ! But everything has a silver lining and I buckled down and finished Leaves of Grass.

As I type my shawl is in a soak soon to be blocked, after drying I will have more pictures.

Just another snow storm in Colorado on May 1, 2013

Pre-funk progress update - by guest blogger WillyG

Here's a double update for y'all.

Melissa called for yarn reveals for the May Day knitalong, and I'm more than happy to oblige, despite being not quite ready.

You see, I'm trying to spin my own yarn for the shawl.

This is a big deal for me; I've been scheming to do something like this (knit a shawl from my own handspun yarn) for a couple years, but never did enough spinning to make it happen.  Lately, though, I've gotten comfortable enough using a spindle to get a fingering-ish weight yarn from two plies.

I currently have one of the two singles completed:

I'm using one of my long-time favorite color combinations; this photo doesn't show you as well as the first that I am spinning a gradient.  Ooh, it's fun! I won't bore you with all the little details about how I'm spinning it, though I will say that it is less intimidating than one might expect. Check out my regular blog if this intrigues you.

I told you this was a two-fer; here's the news on my Leaves Of Grass. Last night I broke into the last repeat of chart C!

I know, I know...I'm probably not even half-way, but I'm one of those people that has to set small goals for myself, and reaching chart D is good enough for me for a while.  There are just too many good things I want to make and learn to spend all my time on just this one blanket. The happy result of my procrastination is that it provides a nice, relaxing retreat from other projects when I do pick it up. There's something wonderful about the drawn-out process of short repetitions of lace knitting interspersed with free-flying plain rounds that helps me be a different person than at work -- less driven, perhaps -- and I'm trying to keep it that way.  Apparently, I'm succeeding, heheh!

I'm Almost There ~ by guest blogger Eileen

so close yet it seems like forever before i do that last 15 rows.

i was up at 4am to knit ( couldn't sleep thinking i had to get this done)

and now i have maybe 2-3 hours of knitting left.

unfortunately it will have to wait till later in the week....

my fingers hurt !

i continue to love this pattern and the results.

soon so very soon!

look what we've done & a new kal ~ posted by Melissa

I thought it would be a good time for an update as our Leaves of Grass knitalong winds down and we begin gearing up for our next adventure.
 

We started out this fun Jared Flood knit with 15 knitters.  Tracey's Leaves of Grass took an unexpected turn and she went down a completely different path and knit herself an absolutely amazing pi shawl (here's the ravelry link to what her yarn wanted to become instead ~ it's definitely worth a peek!).  We haven't heard from Annie since the very beginning when she admitted to wishing she had used smaller needles and was going to frog and start anew (Annie, where are you my friend?).  And we'll never forget this terrifyingly hilarious post from Andi where she describes how her Leaves of Grass bit the dust (Andi, I hope you knit along with us again!).
 

Heather has finished her Leaves and I have a feeling it won't be long before we see some finished photos from her (you have had one chaotic winter, Heather!).  Kelly, Morgen, Eileen and Will are still dutifully working on their shawls and I hope to see more photos from them soon (hint hint!).
 

And as you can see from the photo collage above, 7 of us have completed our projects and don't they look lovely!  Starting at the upper left corner and going clockwise, here we are proudly displaying what a few months of hard work and friendship has accomplished:  Leanne, Andee, Kelli, Annette, Melissa, Jeff, and Lori.
 

Kelli and I have had a wonderful time knitting with our old fiber friends, as well as the new.  And that brings us to the next adventure ~ our May Day Knitalong.  I started a page at the top of the blog with all the information ( here's the link ).  You can read about the pattern we chose and how to contact me if you're interested in casting on with us on May 1st.
 

Until then, I hope everyone enjoys the weekend.  I can't wait to get started on the next big thing!

~ Melissa

i'm still in love with leaves of grass ~ guest blogger Eileen

yes i am still knitting on my shawl

and i continue to love this knit !

i have 5 more rows on chart D to finish !

tomorrow i will commit to " leaves of grass " knitting only !

i was in chicago for a week and could not bring this lovely knit with me due to it's size.

so i knitted and finished 4 other projects on the plane and down time when not visiting family

and ok not eating ! 

love , love eating my way through chicago ;)

hope to be posting progress very soon.

Leaves of Grass ~ Butter Cup - by guest blogger Annette

  

                                     
                   Yes, me not looking at the camera!  But, really enjoying how soft and warm this is!

 

                    
                                                                Love, love this! 

Proof - by guest blogger WillyG

This morning (yeah, I'm off work!) I broke into the fifth repeat of Chart C.

I'm enjoying using the resting rows as a chance to read a bit more Whitman. I have to say, while it sometimes stretches me a bit, it is easily friendlier fare than Poe. Okay, so I may be master of the obvious, but at least I'm trying, right?

Happy Easter, all!

can you hear the angels sing? ~ posted by Melissa

yesssssssssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh, to have good friends ~ and one that you will now have to 'love forever' :)

 

it's all yours, Jeff ~ there's about 3.3 oz left ~ I'll post it to you first thing tomorrow!

 

I see champagne in both our futures very soon!

More Pictures...Melissa Said It Was Ok! ~ by guest blogger Leanne

I was able to take some new pictures of my LOG.

I had posted them on the farm blog and Melissa told me that it was ok

to add some more to the KAL blog.

So, here goes....

Just a few more of this loved knit.

Ok. That's it!

Happy Knitting. Anyone know of a new KAL to join???

Leanne

It's Been A Pleasure ~ by guest blogger Leanne

It's done. It's done! It's done!!!!

A beautiful knit that will be cherished. I kind of miss working on it already.

Thank you for being a great KAL group. It was my first and now it won't be my last.

Your projects have inspired me and kept me going.

The beginning of this project had me stumped. I had SUCH a hard time getting this thing going!!!

But I'm so glad I continued. It was a dream to knit and I'm now a huge Jared Flood fan. Genius man.

I hope to take some better pictures, but here goes....

My Leaves

Knitted with 100% baby alpaca in a light fawn color.

Ravelry notes here: My Leaves

Happy Knitting,

Leanne

LOGging in -- by Guest Blogger WillyG

So, I know everyone left me in the dust with their Leaves of Grass shawls, even if they did find it wonderfully convenient to omit a chart repeat.  wink, wink

Lest you think I would actually hold that against anyone, I assure you that I am joking. And besides, it would not make any difference, as I am still on chart C!  I have been happily knitting away at other things, but it somehow seemed appropriate to knit some more of my LOG blanket during a celebratory viewing of The Quiet Man for St. Patty's Day. I am quite proud to announce that I broke into the fourth chart repeat. For me, that is progress!

I knew when I signed up for the KAL that I would be taking the long route; I have grand aspirations of finishing by the end of the year, if not by the end of summer. Since I don't have a helpful photo of my LOG, here's a photo of some lace sampling I've done in the last month:

My foray into Walt Whitman's poetry has been about as meager as my LOG knitting, but I did come across one 'leaf of grass' that seemed fitting in this shared setting of knitalong blogging.  And no, it's not any of the steamy ones. ;-)

This moment yearning and thoughtful sitting alone,
It seems to me there are other men in other lands yearning and thoughtful,
It seems to me I can look over and behold them in Germany, Italy,
France, Spain,
Or far, far away, in China, or in Russia or talking other dialects,
And it seems to me if I could know those men I should become
attached to them as I do to men in my own lands,
O I know we should be brethren and lovers,
I know I should be happy with them.

If there's anyone out there still languishing in the expanse of your LOG shawl, enjoy the ride, and know that you have company!  :)

Almost!!!!!!! ~ by guest blogger Leanne

I know I'm behind the group, but I'm almost done with my Leaves!

Less than a 1/4 way around to do and it will be ready to block. WOOHOO!!!!

I read this quote recently and I loved it....

"Projects are made one stitch at a time. Slow down and enjoy the process."

So true......

I am constantly rushing to get my projects done. With the wish list of what I want to knit in my head, stash yarn yelling my name and my Ravelry Favs, new yarn stores popping up everywhere...I mean really. How can I possibly knit everything I want to? My sister knits at an unbelievable rate and I don't know how she does it! But I have to say, this project has been a joy to work on.

I'm ready to be done and yet I have a feeling I'll miss it when it's over.

 ( I ended up only doing on D Chart repeat. This sucker was getting too big!!!)

 

Happy Knitting!

Leanne

Loving it ~ by guest blogger Heather

I know I just added my update, but I wanted to show my Leaves of Grass again. I am halfway around the edging. It is gorgeous. As it begins to come off the circular needles I am amazed by its beauty. Only a bit more to do and then it will be finished. Thank you to everyone who has knit with this KAL and those cheering from the sides.

Chart D repeat- Do I need it? - by guest blogger Leanne

I am finally FINALLY finally at the end of my first Chart D. I feel like this is big. Like, getting heavy on my lap, kind of big. I'm working with heavier yarn than most and size 7 needles.

It's squished on those circulars so hard to tell how big it is.

I don't think I need that second Chart D.

Plus, I'm ready to be done.

What are your thoughts? Should I go to E???

-Leanne