My Clapotis

Here she is, in all her glory, my Clapotis. Those of you considering knitting her should be forewarned that there are various emotional phases you might find yourself experiencing. I have documented them as follows:

Stage 1. Excitement. During this stage you will probably join a knit along (KAL), such as Second Wave Clapotis, and spend large amounts of time anguishing over deciding which yarn to use.

Stage 2. Concern. Upon close examination, pattern will appear more tricky than expected. You recall during this stage that Knitty has rated the pattern "tangy." New knitting techniques such as KTB ("knitting through the back loop") will have to be learned and/or mastered. Decisions will need to be made on whether to also PTB ("purl through the back loop") and, if so, should it be a "mirrored twist". Lots of swatching takes place during this stage as needle size is also a variable.

Stage 3. Happy. You are finally underway. All concern experienced in stage 2 will have been forgotten as the pattern is genius and simple. You will delight as the beauty of the yarn is expressed in the simple stockinette pattern.

Stage 4. Concern. You realize that there is an awful lot of borning knitting in a simple stockinette pattern. During this stage you might find yourself wondering if it is worth the effort for basically a simple stockinette scarf.

Stage 5. Happy. You have now dropped a number of stitches and realize how fun intentionally dropping a stitch can be. The mystery of where the dropped stitch goes is intriguing. The drape of the fabric and the ladders they form begin to look quite elegant and you find yourself staring at your knitting. It's completely understandable why legions have knit the Clapotis.

Stage 6. Excitement. It's done. It's beautiful. You are thrilled to have a Clapotis and can't wait to wear it! Warning: during this stage you might also start planning your next one. P.S. The next one will be for you Puff.

I feel the need to go out for a cup of cappuccino, to be enjoyed with a lot of attitude.



Project Notes:
Yarn: Tess' Designer Yarns - Silk & Ivory, sport weight. Just over 1 skein.
Needle: US 5
Modifications: One extra increase section and 4 extra straight sections.

The Waiting Game!

For those of you who watched ND's opening football game, I think Mr Puffy's wincing reaction to hearing the score says it all. Nuff said.

Moving right along, I am happy to announce joining the Second Wave Clapotis KAL. Yeah. I have wanted this scarf 4ever. Bridget is kindly hosting this event and making it happen for me. Thanks Bridget!

I wasn't sure what yarn to use, so Mr Puffy rummaged through my stash and chose some Tess' Designer Yarns, Ivory and Silk (50% silk/wool blend) ~ sport weight ~ he's so helpful. I think the color was a good choice for a scarf.



Since this is a sport weight yarn, I'll have to go down to US 5 needles, but living in So Cal this weight should make a great scarf. Fortunately I have 2 skeins so I'll have enough yarn to knit the full size even though I'll be knitting at a smaller gauge. The KAL begins on the first day of Fall, September 23, 2007 so if you are interested, there is still time to knit along.

While waiting for the Second Wave KAL to begin, I've been working on Cherry using Classic Elite Yarns, Premiere (pima cotton/tencel) which is nice to knit with despite its being cotton. I have wanted to knit this pattern for some time but hesitated because cotton can be hard to knit with but so far, so good, with this yarn.

Here's a close up of the pattern stitch. I really like the textured effect that the slip-stitch creates. And, yes, it is that pink.