Wrap it up!

Just some Veil of Isis house keeping here! If you are new to the party and interested in knitting Isis:
1) Read all the posts (including the comments) with The Veil of Isis label.
2) Print all the instructions in these posts and read through them.
3) If you leave me questions in the comment section, be sure to include an email address so I can reply. Otherwise I will reply in the comment section (which I will do anyway, because if one person has the question I imagine other people do too!)
4) I would consider opening a Yahoo group if there are enough people interested in knitting The Veil of Isis who would like a focused group to knit with. I put up a poll on the left side of the blog, so take it if you are interested!

The veil is lifted...

Here she is, as promised. The light wasn't great today, so you can't really appreciate the beads. I'll take better pictures when the light and location are just right. In the mean time, these pictures show the basics.
The shape is a square with rounded corners. As a shawl, it is best worn with one corner folded over to make a collar. The beads give her a decent amount of weight and therefore drape.
I am leaving you with one more page of notes, where I review the materials I actually used and my blocking instructions. I can imagine this as a wedding veil, in cobweb silk and beads only in the border. I can imagine this as a christening shawl, in fingering weight cashmere without the beads. I can imagine this as a bedspread, in sport weight cotton without the beads.
My final comments are to bring us back to the original idea of starting with a simple stitch pattern and making a design. If you recall, the stitch pattern The Veil of Isis is based on is just a few rows and very straightforward. With some basic manipulation, we got that simple pattern to grow in a very organic way. I hope you enjoyed the process as much as I have.

I haven't decided what new project we will work on, but there will be another process project next month. I will post about what is on my needles and in my kitchen in a few days. In the mean time knit on!

The Home Coming

I didn't finish Isis before I left last week. I had hoped to take a new (and smaller) project on my carry-on only trip, so I agonized about taking Isis or forsaking her to finish when I returned. I gave in to my deep yearning to finish, and took her along. Those last few rows were sleep-inducing long. I knit a little, but slept most of the way to London. I started the final cast-off at Heathrow and finished it on the second leg of my trip, from London to Alexandria, Egypt...and it hit me. Isis was born as we landed in Alexandria, as the sun was setting. She was home. It was meant to be.

As I folded her up I realized I had lost my one stitch marker. Silver and amethyst. Probably on the New York to London plane or at Heathrow. The flight was British Air and if anyone finds it passing through London let me know!

Here she is, after a cool bath. I soaked her for about 60 minutes, to make sure the fiber was really wet before I blocked her. She didn't need to be washed, but if she did, I would have done it at this point.
I rolled her in a towel to remove as much water as I could before starting the pinning process. I block on my living room floor and I use a large bed sheet on my ancient Persian rug. I can't do much damage, because the rug is already pathetic. I use stainless steel T-pins.
I blocked out the corners first and used three pins per corner as this detail shot shows. I blocked each of the corners, making sure the lines that run from the center out to each corner are even. I did this by eye, but you can also use a yardstick.
After blocking out each corner, I blocked the center point along each edge. You will notice that the border forms points at each"flower" which each become a place to put a T-pin as you block.
Here she is blocking until tomorrow. I will try to keep LucyFur off by putting another thin sheet over Isis until she is dry. I will post some better pictures and my final notes over the weekend.

I will also post some travel pictures when I can unload them from my cell phone. I didn't take the good camera in the interest of keeping my load light. And you are thinking "If she finished Isis before she even got to Africa, what else did she knit while she was away?" All in good time...

Chart glitch???

So I can't tell why, but when I checked the chart I posted yesterday, I noticed a line of decreases on the smaller chart was gone! Where it went I can't say...it is on my original chart, but the conversion to a jpg file (so I could post it here on the blog) scared the decreases away. Go figure...

I am leaving later today directly from work, so won't have another chance to update things until I get home. I hope those decreases stay put this time!

And another thing! The row numbering appears to be off (thanks Susie.) There should not be a row 16, and so there are 31 rows in the border and not 29. Just pretend I can actually count...

And in case you want a chart key...

I refuse to leave you without the information you need to keep knitting without me! I am off to Africa. My dad gave me this cool book...
Until next week...

Time is not on my side...

I knit when I should have been sleeping. I knit when I should have been packing. I knit at all my meetings. I knit in the car (but not when I was driving.) I didn't finish. I can only try to describe the length of the rows right now, when I say that I have four rows left and I haven't finished packing.

I said to my daughter "I have to finish Isis, make dinner, pack and change the cat's litter box. Which isn't getting done?" She said "Dinner?" A girl after my own heart, I tell you! Alas, she was wrong.

So here we are...I will have a finished picture, blocked and all, next weekend. I show you the border progress and what is left. I used almost all of three skeins of my yarn. It is possible I will just dip into the fourth skein, but I don't think so. Stay tuned on that. I am on my last beaded row and still have some beads remaining. I am posting the final charts with confidence that they work well. Chart D:1 of the border is the continuation of chart A:2. Chart D:2 is the continuation of charts C, A:1, C.

Enjoy! I will be back in New York on 9/20/07 and post again on 9/21/07 or round and about there...Peace.

And another distraction...

Dragon colored kid mohair locks, drying on a screen. The sun is setting, so the colors are not showing true in the picture. When it dries I'll put it through the drum-carder to blend lightly and spin a lace weight two-ply. I have charts for a new Dragon Scale Stole ready to go. It is a larger and more complicated take on my scarf design. This project will be back on the blog sometime in the winter, so keep an eye out for it if it appeals to you.

A distraction...

so you would forgive me for not getting Isis finished. I am on row 8 of the border. It is smooth going, but the rows are extremely long. If all proceeds as planned, I will finish and block it before I leave for Africa this coming week. I want to post a picture of 'The Veil of Isis' blocking and also the final charts before I leave. Stay tuned. The picture today is a basket full of woven ribbons. The widest in 1.25 inches, just for scale. They are each a few feet long. They are woven on an inkle loom in an assortment of cottons and silks. I like to do small color studies, combining colors I would not usually use in a larger project. I sometimes take color ideas from paintings or things in nature that I like, and do a Small ribbon to see how the colors work in a fiber medium. Until later...

Vacation is ending...

and I have a long list of things to do. Today is my last day to relax before the whirlwind begins. I canned some local heirloom tomatoes. I caught the BadCat (also relaxing) on Isis. I knit more Isis...and here is where I am today! Until tomorrow...

Isis at the Faire...

This weekend I took The Veil to the Renaissance Faire, where she visited with fellow fiber and played with mystic orbs. She refused to pose for a picture, feeling rather rumpled and large. I am almost ready to do the border...knit on!