Thursday, September 25, 2008

Lady Eleanor in all her glory

Without further ado, presenting Lady Eleanor!

I love love love my Lady E. She's been worn to work, worn to the theatre and graces the formal lounge while she's at rest. I finished her last month but didn't get a chance to do a photo shoot until last weekend - our first weekend in a month which hasn't involved packing and cleaning and tidying and gardening - wow, a whole weekend to ourselves - pure luxury!
Details
Pattern: Lady Eleanor by Kathleen Power Johnson from Scarf Style. She was my Tour de France KAL project and I loved every minute of knitting her. Each of those fabulous little entrelac squares are addictive - just one more, just one more! Before you know it, you've got a whole tier done.

(heh! I'm a teapot! (with a very straight spout!!))

Yarn: South West Trading Company Karaoke, 9.5 x 50g balls in col 286 - a sort of burgundy/copperish colour. I choose this as I'd seen one knitted up in it on the Scarf Style KAL blog. Most people use Noro Silk Garden for Lady E, and it also works fabulously, but the wild colour changes are too much for me - this is more subtle but still retains the woven square feel, which I love. And the yarn itself is soft and lovely and so warm and drapey. Really perfect for this pattern.

Sticks: KnitPicks Harmony Options 7mm. You really need to use a circular needle for this pattern, particularly once you get some length on it.

Time: 5 July 2008 - 29 August 2008
Modifications: Absolutely none! I followed the pattern to the letter, including the number of tiers. I wasn't sure if it would be long enough, so I decided to block it after the last full tier (before the finishing triangle row) - very easy to do when using the KP options - just take the needles off the cord and attach the caps to the cord. I did a full wet block - after which I learnt that this yarn takes forever to dry in cold weather. And that it blocks out quite flat - it lost the lovely ripply, poofy texture you can see in the photo above.
But not to worry, still love it! As does Nelly, who decided to sleep on it while it was still damp - gah!
Oh, and the vital measurement details - pre-blocking it was 152cm/60", post-blocking it ended up 168cm/66". It's a good length - long enough to wrap around me and it will hold on my shoulder. And besides, any longer and the fabulous fringe would drag on the ground!
What I learnt: Ooh, a biggie - how to splice yarn! New ball to old ball - thanks Bells! I only wish I'd learnt that before ball 7 (or 8) - still so many ends to weave in at the start! Oh well. I do highly recommend the spit splice!! (hee hee). And I also learnt that the knotted fringe takes SO LONG to do!! But I love it - it is the perfect complement to the pattern. I wasn't sure if I'd do it, but I'm so glad I did!
Here she is, relaxing on the chaise longue, all worn out after a demanding photo shoot! And if you want more progress shots, click on the TdF 2008 label in the sidebar to see her grow.

30 comments:

amy said...

Wow, that is just gorgeous. Stunning. Elegant. Amazing. (Let me get my thesaurus...!) It really is a beautiful piece of knitting. You ought to be incredibly proud!!

Donna Lee said...

She is beautiful. Entrelac is a strange kind of knitting and you're right, "just one more block" turns into a whole row very quickly. And I like the color you chose. The subtlety is perfect for the pattern.

kgirlknits said...

what a superb effort - well done! I particularly love the final shot of her lying resplendent on the chaise lounge!

I take my hat off to you, Miss Rose, all those tiny squares ;)

m1k1 said...

How appropriate you should have a chaise longue to hand, for herself to recline on.
Beautiful.

SadieandLance said...

Ooo lala what a lovely lady you have there!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous!! You're making me want to knit it!

~Jody said...

It's FANTASTIC!!!! I want one - I bought the Noro ages ago just haven't gotten around to actually casting it on. I may be inspired now!!

Linda said...

That is so amazingly gorgeous, I love the colours and the size. You can snuggle right into it!

Dianne said...

Wow, Lady Eleanor is simply stunning! So elegant, drapey and gorgeous.

I have a question: where did you find the interlocking foam pieces you used to block the shawl? I know where to get them in the US, but don't want to schlep them back to Oz...any Sydney suppliers?

Sarah said...

Oh oh oh, I want mine done NOW! She is sooooo beautiful; lovely colourway choice. I made some progress on hols and I might just go knit her some more right now. Well done you.

Alwen said...

Wow. She is really, really, seriously gorgeous. Plainly worthy of the "Lady" in her title.

Anya said...

Very beautiful knit! Congrats!

LynS said...

A very elegant Lady E. Lovely colour choice.

Bells said...

she is incredible. Just stunning. She comes up beautifully in the photos and feels wonderful. She's a work of art.

(And yes I have net access on holidays!)

Lynne said...

She's beautiful. Love the look, the drape and the colour. Well done.

Michele said...

this looks so great!!! so pretty with the subtle color variation. i wish i had done the fringes on mine but i ran out of yarn and didn't want to order more. and knowing me i'd get them caught on things. i'm so glad you made this!

gemma said...

Truly scrumptious!

Vive la tour

Ann said...

It's so...gorgeous! You make a great decision on the yarn & the subtle colors. I love it!

Caffeine Faerie said...

Oh my god she's is beautiful.
And the colours.... wow.

sweetp said...

she is stunning, gorgeous. well done you!

Anonymous said...

Spit Splice, it almost made me spit with laughter. I do those!! (Isn't it just a bit disgusting, all the spitting though!!!!)
Well she's a work of art, The Lady E!!!

DrK said...

that is just spectacular! i am sooo impressed!

MadMad said...

Tea pot! Heh heh! Love the Lady, though - she's a beaut! Very, very elegant!

Carol said...

Oh good golly gosh, that would have taken me in forever to make. It's truly truly beautiful.

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow! That is just an amazing piece of work. I am so with you on the Noro. Your choice of yarn was perfect. The spit join has also become my best friend as long as I'm working with wool. SO GREAT! Tell me about your blocking blocks. That is such a great idea!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous work! You are probably so proud of yourself & you definitely should be. The color is awesome & that fringe is just lovely.

TinkingBell said...

Incedibly unbelievably elegant and beautiful (and also entrelac is still hugely daunting)

I'm not surprised you love her!

Diana said...

It's a beauty! It's such a great feeling to really love something you've knitted. Love the color too.

TLCknits said...

Lovely Lady E... outstanding job!

lilypotter said...

She's gorgeous! (I really need to try entrelac sometime. I love the way it looks.) And the yarn is perfect!