Sunday, March 9, 2008

Internet Classics

Besides the suprised comment: "you knit, really?", one of the things that most surprises people (non-knitters) about knitting today is how online it is. The blogging, the organizational/social wundersite Ravelry, the thriving e commerce, and that there are internet magazines of knitting patterns. Here are two of the most popular patterns from 2 popular internet sites:


Clapotis - despite being big, its really not bulky
Clapotis - My favorite way to wearClapotis
Clapotis - A close-upClapotis - all spread out and quite big


Clapotis by Kate Gilbert in Knitty
Sheep Shop #3 - 2 skeins
US 8 needles


This took a while to knit (July-March); dropping the stitches was fun, but when each row is 100+ stitches and its a lot of stockinette ... easy to put down and not pick up again. This is nothing against the pattern - I can see why so many (Ravelry link) have knit this. Its a beautiful shawl, although I will most likely wear it more as a scarf. Despite being quite big (see the armspan?), its really light and not at all bulky to wear. The yarn - perfect for me. I had wanted to knit this for awhile, and was really not sure what yarn to use. I wanted it to be colorful, soft but warm, and without pooling. This yarn is part silk and has short color repeats. But, there was significant skein variation. Drat! But, you really couldn't tell once the stitches were dropped (I can, knowing how bad it was before - you can too, look closely at the armspan picture). I did end up blocking this, but because I totally ran out of yarn - so I ripped back a lot, and ran out again. Well, this time I was closer to the end, so ripped back a bit and then knit 3 together (insted of 2) and made it. And blocking made this unnoticeable as well!



Jaywalker Socks
One more Jaywalker

Jaywalker Socks by Grumperina in Magknits
Lorna's Laces Shepherd Sock in Poppy Stripe from Purl Soho
US 1.5 needles


Again, no surprise why this is so popular. I thought a lot about what yarn to use for these as well, I really wanted perfect striping. The repeat of this colorway is almost every row, so perfect! I love the way they look with my black sneakers.



Notice the snow in the Jaywalker pictures? And how I am only wearing a light jacket in the Clapotis pictures. Well, March was in like a lamb with temps near 70 this past week but then this past weekend...
Playing in the snowPlaying in the snow
Stuck in the snowStuck in the snow

...20 inches and a blizzard! I love winter! (Really, I do, I was getting a little sad about it being over - This past winter in Columbus was much milder than my beloved Cleveland winters). Thankfully, I wasn't working, so I was stranded at my parents with the dogs and ample supplies. After 48 hours, I got a little stir crazy (we were completely snowed in). But it stopped, the driveway got plowed, and an hour later I found myself aimlessly wandering around the grocery store getting provisions with which to watch the final episode of The Wire. SUCH A GOOD SHOW, I had heard this for a while too, but it wasn't until the Sopranos was over that I felt the need to fill the void. And its so much better! And I loved the Sopranos! I am excited and sad to see the final episode.

Just one more thing, I am sitting looking out the window at a ton of snow, and watching 60 minutes, and its light out! Anyone else thrown off (more than usual) by daylight savings time this year?

2 comments:

Prachi said...

Those are certainly the classic symbols of the internet knitting world! I also think both have become so popular because they showcase variegated yarns so well and it's great to use hand-dyed, indie dyers' yarns with them - also a function of the new knitting community that these are so widely available.

Enjoy the snow!

Sway Knits said...

Isn't the Sheep Shop just gorgeous? It's one of my favorite yarns now. Your Clapotis and Jaywalkers are stupendous.