She's Here

May I present to you Lady Eleanore Stole in all her entrelac and fringed glory.


Despite my best efforts, puppy managed to sneak into this photo. He's the Photo Ninja. See his tail behind the chair? He's at his watchpost, sitting on my computer and staring out the only window in the house that overlooks a sidewalk. Someone's gotta spy on the neighbors. But enough about the cuddliest guy I know.

LE, as I affectionately call her, took only 7 - 3/4 balls of yarn. And she grew during blocking, despite the fact that I didn't pin her. I didn't pin because I thought she was the perfect size already, but apparently the friction with the carpet was enough to stretch it out, and it was too long for the smooth blocking board. Before blocking she was 70 inches long (5 foot 10 inches) and after she was 76 (6 foot 4 inches). It grew in width as well, from 21 inches to 22. Next time, I'll use the old plastic shower curtain that's currently packed in a box.



Ignore the terrible picture. As I said, it's is the perfect size. I was able to use it like a blanket on the drive out to Middle of Nowhere, Florida for a wedding last weekend (knitting and stories about the best rendition of Thriller ever performed by a drunk guy and a 4 year old will are to come). I also use it at work, where they thought it was a blanket. It's comfy enough that it feels like one, as it covers the top of my arms and my lap.

It is very soft after being washed in hair conditioner and fabric softener. I keep fondling it, which seems to intrigue my coworkers. The recommended yarn for this project is La Lana, which has a market value of $330 (15 balls at $22 per ball). One hundred or so dollars for Noro doesn't seem so bad to the hubby now, does it? The Noro Silk Garden is great for this pattern, and the variegation is absolutely beautiful. Plus, pure wool would've been too heavy for regular use here in the Sunshine State, and the silk-mohair blend is so squishably soft and really pet-able.

She's Coming...

My Lady Eleanore Entrelac Stole is blocking right now. I feel like I just put the kiddies to bed and now I can play online. Look how sweet it is while it's resting:



This wrap is absolutely gorgeous in Noro Silk Garden. This was my first time using Noro, and my first time spending a good amount of money on something for me. I'm a little disappointed at the number of breaks in the yarn, with an average of about one per ball, and as many as five.

I really like the colors, even though they came out darker and more rustic than I planned. It doesn't seem like this will be fancy enough to wear to the wedding I've been making it for. Doesn't seem like it will be necessary either, as it's supposed to be 85 degrees in Tampa this weekend, not exactly wool-blend-stole weather. Here's what it looks like in natural light:



I made it a little bit bigger than I needed it to be. I want it to be able to wrap around me. It is now the second scarf that I have made that is bigger than me, but that's not really hard to do, as my pal Donna pointed out (still love ya chica). I do come in just under 5 feet, and unless I hit a random growth spurt in my mid-20's that's not changing.


Also, I think I'm being watched. I didn't tell the dog to get in this picture, he just sneaks in. But he does add some cuteness.

The fringe comes after the blocking. I've washed it in fabric softener and hair conditioner which sill supposedly soften the Noro up a bit. This is the first tip I've gotten off of Ravelry.

Yeah, I finally got my invite, and I was so excited to get on, I really didn't think carefully about my screen name. Unfortunately, LittleKnittingNinja was too many characters, and I couldn't find another combination of Knit and Ninja that was available, and somehow I ended up with the screen name KnitPirate. I don't like it at all.