a simple yarn

So what do you do when the normal Saturday knitting venue is unexpectedly closed? Go to Plan B, of course.

Doors to the Curved Street Café are closed. Locked. Gates pulled. Must be Easter holiday weekend closure. Rats.

Improvisation-Isobel-style…taking advantage of bright sunny skies and warm spring temperatures—we opt to knit picnic style. Needles in hand, the troupe ambles through Temple Bar Organic Market. Inner city diversity at its finest…coffee boutique kiosk…French pastry stall…Indian curry booth…organic fruit and veg…multi-cultural crowds.

Good cappuccino. Ought to be for their claim of hand-roasting the beans. Presentation was average, but fair enough for the one guy manning the stall was on his own with a queue about the length of the market. Nice strong espresso. Almost velvety foamed milk. Did okay for a rush job.

But the final gathering point was the Dubhlinn Gardens outside Chester Beatty Library just behind Dublin Castle.

Celtic knotwork paths. Somewhat damp green grass. A great substitute venue for a few hours of knitting.

Found it difficult to muster the desire to pack up to go home, but the bit of sunburn on the neck of this Dublin-city-dweller-where-sun-is-a-rare-and-precious-commodity, tells me I’ve got to take this al fresco knitting in small doses.

“I love it when a plan comes together!”     -Col. John “Hannibal” Smith, The A-Team

I’m enjoying this…

…because I’ve completed this…

…up close it looks like this…

…and for that ‘little something’, I added some of these…

Totally chuffed…that’s all I can say.

Warning, Project Notes Ahead Which May Bore Non-Weavers…Proceed At Your Own Risk:

Weave: Chose a simple twill, due to the iridescent nature of the rayon, with a tabby weave for 40 picks on both ends of scarf (a 40th birthday gift after all!).

Finishing: Beaded the tabby weave area with a total of 40 iridescent beads (sense the ‘40′ theme?). Chose an extra long simple fringe, reminiscent of art-deco-flapper-era to complement rayon shimmer.

Dimensions: 45 inches woven length with 24 inches of fringe for a total of 69 inches of scarf length. Width is 10 inches.

Original Warp: 80 inches long, so I’m happy with the minimal waste, take up and shrinkage. Original warp width was 12 inches, so shrinkage and draw in factors were on the money. Approximately 33epi (48 wraps per inch x .67 for twill = 32.16), sleyed at a 2-3-3-3 on a 12 dent reed.

Synopsis: Since I got a full scarf with plenty to spare out of one 235g hank, I guess I could have saved myself some future trouble by doing a longer warp. However, time certainly wasn’t on my side. So, I’ve got another hank waiting to be another scarf, but that’s for another day because now it’s time to party!

This time yesterday I was in a panic…but what a difference a day makes.

Sunday…
…wrestled greased-pig-disguised-as-rayon-warp.

Yesterday…
…finished threading,
…began sleying,
…found threading error,
…unable to rig solution to threading error,
…unthreaded about 1/3 of previously threaded warp,
…re-sleyed remaining threads,
…tied off warp to front beam,
…adjusted for uniform tension,
…secured slippery threads with new-favourite-product-duct-tape,
…found another problem,
…kicked myself for creating self-induced stress,
…fixed problem,
…figured there’s no way to meet deadline,
…turned off light,
…went to bed.

Today…
…wound bobbins,
…began weaving,
…found sleying error,
…unwove small bit of weft,
…untaped and untied erring warp threads,
…re-sleyed, re-tied and re-taped,
…began weaving again,
…saw another minor threading error,
…ignored it,
…saw another minor sleying error,
…ignored it,
…continued weaving,
…completed about 3/4 of warp length.

Tomorrow…
…hope to finish remaining 1/4 of scarf length,
…plan to do finishing work-hem, fringe, bead, etc,
…treat myself to a cappuccino…make it a double.

Thursday…
…wrap completed scarf (barring any unforeseen calamity),
…go to Rosie’s birthday party, draw a sigh of relief and celebrate.

It may be the Year of the Pig to Chinese astrologers, but for me it was the Night of the Hen.

Got the invite to Mary’s Hen Night.
A bit of fear and trepidation.

First experience of this kind in this culture.
Have seen other hen parties.
Wild. Raucous. Feathered masks. Fluffy boas. Plastic tiaras.
Oh my.
I’m too old for this.

Flashback 20 years.
My own bridal shower.
Calm. Cakes and tea. Polite chat. A pile of household gifts.
A bit boring perhaps.

Dinner out with Mary and her friends.
Ukiyo on Exchequer St. Yum. Didn’t know Japanese do curry.
Karaoke bar.
Thirteen women jammed into a small room.
Singing every song imaginable. Scooby-Doo included.

Yep, it was the Night of the Hens.
Great craic.