Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Longfellow slept here?

Actually he didn't. But my in-law's house sits on Minnehaha Creek, which leads to Lake Nokomis and I can't help thinking of the Hiawatha poem when we're there. You can drive on Hiawatha to get to Nokomis, in your Winnebago. Wearing Cherokee jeans. I could go on.
I was there, in Minnesota, last weekend. I finished the clapotis in my first 10 minutes of knitting,clapfin1_505 and was glad to have it in the chill. My sister-in-law lavished such compliments on me -uh, I mean it- that I will make her one. I'd enjoy knitting another clapotis, everytime I got to a drop the stitches row I felt a tingle of entertainment that the knitting was performing for me, instead the other way around. The details:
  • pattern: Clapotis designed by Kate Gilbert , who must be very very clever.
  • yarn: ggh Safari, a mostly linen yarn, on size 5 needles.
  • adaptations: The pattern repeats were increased in width and length by about 30% to have it come out close to the designed dimensions. Although it stretches........clapfin2_505
I made a stop at Linden Hill Yarns in hip Minneapolis to get a new project underway for the rest of the visit and plane ride home. I was in town for a funeral, an unplanned trip. The owner, Jan, and the knitters-at-the-table were friendly and so very patient when the frazzled part of the weekend hijacked the decision lobe of my brain. I was struck dumb with indecision over which cottony yarn to buy for a tank top with cable.

The Rowan Calmer on the counter was all but paid for when I was seized by doubt - the pale tasteful lavendar might look gray in certain light and that wasn't what I wanted. I dithered around, deciding & undeciding. Just before I made us all insane, I noticed a table-knitter working with some Classic Elite Star. I'd overlooked this yarn, not imagining how it'd knit up.
I wasn't sure about the color until Jan told me it was called granny smith green. Clearly this marketing approach works on me: Named for a fruit I like? Why, sure I'll buy it! I've never knit with a 99% cotton 1% spandex before but the stretch is nice, and should cut down on the sag factor of the finished piece.

Next post, show & tell of the stretchy green apple yarn in progress. I'll leave you with some uptown Minneapolis color:uptowncolor

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Beautiful Clapotis! Out of curiosity, how many skeins of Safari did you need? I have a stash of Safari, and would love to make a Clapotis out of it for my mother . . .

General Ginger said...

A very lovely clapotis.

Anonymous said...

Kate is very clever indeed, and that Clapotis looks fantastic! Thanks for the shot of colour...I should take some shots of Montréal, which is known for its obsession with paint colour. Hair colour too. Something about brutal winters, I think...but my shots will pale in comparison to yours. You are simply awesome with that camera. Yep, it bein' your job and all...but still...you're quite wonderful :-)

Anonymous said...

Clapofantastic! It turned out beautiful! I have been amazed at how willing I am to wear a shawl these days, now that I'm making them. It's not like I ever purchased a shawl, ever. I never had the thought: man, do I need to run out for a shawl. But wearing a shawl I made is very, very satisfying.

Way to go.

Anonymous said...

Clapotis is gorgeous!! I love the look of the dropped stitches in Safari. Inspires me to pick up my knitting today and get to work.