I've put in a little over 5 hours so far on Dutch Beauty. In addition to getting the final bits of the right hand cattails and foliage done last week, I've also finished off all the 'nest' and started one of the baby swans. Again, this cygnet is very stylized, but recognizable as the little pale grey puffball that baby swans are LOL.
Here's a picture of a mated pair of our local native swans - the trumpeter swan - that nested at the pond across from my local office last summer. They are back this summer, but tragically only one of their eggs hatched this year. They tend to be skittish of people and it's just so cool that this particular pair has nested in the city for several years in a row now.
In knitting news, I finished off the colorwork hat.
And I cast on a heavy shawl that will probably be a gift for my sister if it turns out OK. The yarn is a worsted weight wool / cashmere / acrylic blend that was a gift from a co-worker who was de-stashing her mom's yarns. It's Kimi's favorite color, that bright olive green.
Since this is a vintage-ish yarn (discontinued at least ten years ago) and I only have four balls of it, I figured that a crescent shaped or triangle shaped shawl where I could knit until I have just enough for the edge and bindoff (hopefully) would be a good idea.
So I got it cast on. This style has the increases at either end (6 stitches increased for each row of garter bumps or two rows of knit stitches), so it won't stay this tiny for long! It's a fairly textured yarn, so not ideal for the heavy lace that will be along the outer border - smoother would be better. But the garter stitch start looks pretty good. The yarn end is the center back neck, btw. Once I get a bit further along, I will run that end in.
Such a pretty shade of green for the shawl. Dutch beauty has certainly been a long term project! The swan and her cygnets will finish it off nicely. Do you have a spot where you are going to display this when it is done? Gail at the cozy quilter
ReplyDeleteThis one has been a VERY long term project. And it's all due the SSS crew that it's finally on the home stretch. It came back into the rotation in November of 2017 and I've put in over 200 hours on it since then. I was not quite at the halfway point when I joined up and having to report to you guys most Sundays has kept my rotation going and honest as I work my ten hours on each slot. As far as where it will be displayed, it's going to be quite expensive to frame because it's so large; I'm saving up for that. There's a nice blank space in the stairwell to my study that it should fit in. I need to measure that area before I take it to the framers to be sure.
DeleteThis will be a wonderful gift for your sister! It's fun to work on a project that you know will be a gift for a special someone! The hat you knit is so pretty!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous stitching and knitting!
ReplyDeleteGreens are my favourite colour, looking forward to seeing more of the shawl.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteYour Dutch Beauty is coming a long nicely...love the hat. Have a great day!
Dutch Beauty is so pretty. That hat is so pretty. I like that yarn. It will make a nice warm shawl. Have a great week.
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