Saturday, May 21, 2011

Ulmus: DONE

Ulmus in STR MW 'Puck's Mischief' & Silkie 'Jade'
There is nothing more satisfying than finishing a project that has been languishing on the needles for, oh, the better part of two years. I remember seeing my pal Juliefrick's test knit version at MDS&W right after the pattern had been released in 09 and NEEDING to cast on immediately. Luckily I was in line at The Fold's booth at the time and was able to instagratibuy the yarn for it. That day I couldn't race home fast enough to fire it up. And here we are, two years and many breaks later, and it's finally finished. Whew!
Ulmus in STR MW 'Puck's Mischief' & Silkie 'Jade'
The Specs:
Pattern Ulmus by Kirsten Kapur of Through the Loops.
Yarn: STR Mediumweight in 'Puck's Mischief'(entire skein) and STR Silkie in 'Jade' (.75 of skein).
Size: Medium
Needles: size 6
Modifications: Was forced to omit last two rows due to lack of yarn!
Ulmus in STR MW 'Puck's Mischief' & Silkie 'Jade'
If you look through the Ravelry project gallery you will note that many knitters did what I did: put it down for a spell, pick it up again and have completely lost your place. Hilarious! Luckily I knew I'd be seeing the designer herself at last year's Maryland Sheep and Wool for a chat, so I brought it with me and she was kind enough to look at it and within several nanoseconds identify where I was. Love her!
Ulmus in STR MW 'Puck's Mischief' & Silkie 'Jade'
Another thing you notice when perusing the variations projects is that there seems to be pretty strong variation in terms of how people like to block this out. Some have opted for the ultra-pointy look whereas others, me included, wanted a flatter edge. My choice was in part dictated by the fact that I was running out of yarn and quickly saw that I needed to make haste and wrap things up. Personally I love running out at the end and using up an entire skein as it gives me a great sense of satisfaction and lets me live out the twisted fantasy that I am one of those thrifty "make do, live simple" kind of people (think Mormon-mom bloggers) rather than the wasteful, gluttonous knitter that I truly know myself to be
Ulmus in STR MW 'Puck's Mischief' & Silkie 'Jade'
Those of you who know my strict personal guidelines regarding mixing lace and variegated yarn are perhaps surprised to see that I have done the lace portion as I did--yes? Well believe me I only did so after great deliberation and trolling of the project gallery into the wee hours of the morning. I noticed that many knitters had in fact used a variegated yarn for the lace pattern and it, in fact, looked quite nice. So I gave it a whirl and am so glad that I did.
Ulmus in STR MW 'Puck's Mischief' & Silkie 'Jade'
At this year's MDS&W I once again saw my pal Juliefrick as was reminded of that morning two years ago when I became crazed for that pattern. This year it seems to be all about stripes: both Dream Stripes and Different Lines (the shawl pattern created by Veera Välimäki to satiate all of you Stripe-Study maniacs) will be accompanying me on my trip tomorrow. See you on the flipside!
Ulmus in STR MW 'Puck's Mischief' & Silkie 'Jade'

19 comments:

Sarah {The Student Knitter} said...

she's gorgeous!

Rose said...

Beautiful! I would have sworn that was Lorna's Laces yarn; my just finished first sock looks to be the exact same colorway!

cauchy09 said...

As always, an amazing knit! You are awesome.

Mereknits said...

Absolutely beautiful knitting and the color of the yarnis fantastic! It is gorgous.
Happy weekend,
Meredith

peaknits said...

What a beaut! Worth the wait - now that it is done, of course. Nice work again.

Melissa said...

I love it! Have a great trip!!

nicole said...

Definitely worth the wait!

Bon voyage, ma chérie!

Kathy said...

Just beautiful and the colors are heavenly!

margaux said...

gorgeous!!! :-) love it lady!

A-L said...

What a gorgeous colour! That's one fabulous shawl!

Rue said...

Gorgeous knit! I agree, the variegated yarn on the lace leaves looks lovely and it blends nicely with the body of the shawl.

I hope MDS&W was fabulous this year. I almost convinced myself that it was a good idea to pack up a two-month-old and fly out for my favorite sheep and wool festival.

Felix said...

Your post has brought me great joy and hilarity.

I too am a wasteful, gluttonous kind of knitter and your Ulmus is absolutely gorgeous. x

Kirsten said...

*clapclapclapclap*
So nice to see it done. Beautiful work.

Anonymous said...

That's beautiful. What a fun colorway.

Carolyn said...

She's gorgeous! Love it lady!

Year Old Birthday Party Ideas

Kyle Kunnecke said...

amazing colors and stunning knitting (as always!) - congrats on getting that long time project off the needles. I know what that feels like, let me tell ya'!

xo

Dr. Krystal said...

That is Gorgeous!

larissa said...

Lovely. The colors are so iris-like.

Unknown said...

I love that! The colors are great. I wish I could knit one of everything.