Tidbits

I really haven't worked on any sort cohesive projects that require an entire blog post dedicated to it, so I thought I'd just kinda show the little things I've been doing and working on.

I did get one little knit project done a few months ago that I just never shared here.

I made a mini me in a black goat outfit!

I even have a lil tail.

But that's not all.

Afterall, who would I be without one of my signature shawls?

Yep! It's a mini Rainbomb!

And yes, I'm seriously considering making mini versions of all my favorite shawls.


John and I had fun with a quick bit of thrift shopping recently.

My faves were these incredible, brand-new boots.

And these two new purses.

We did our annual clean-all-the-crud-off-the-porch and, damn, it's looking so good.

We also discovered some new residents on said porch when we were cleaning. We're now playing host to a hive of carpenter bees.

If you look closely, there's one on the bricks to the right, as well as one in one of the tubes in the bottom right.

They don't really pose a threat, so we're going to let them do their thing.

We've also been busting our butts on our flower beds, especially the problem one in the front.

I ended up with some new color varieties of marigold in the planter boxes.

The left one is called Fireball and the left is Strawberry Blonde.

I also got these gorgeous petunias.

But my absolute favorite is the coleus we ended up planting in the front flower bed.

This seriously is my new favorite flower bed. Lets just hope that things actually grow like I want them to.


I got a fun new book to read.

I haven't had a chance to really dive in much. I want to take my time and really take it in rather than do my usual C O N S U M E style of reading, which allows me to just get lost in the book and process it all later.

What's that? The project underneath?

Yeah, okay. Teroldego has made it out of purgatory. I've made it to the lace section now. I haven't touched it in nearly a week, though, since we've been working outside so much.

As for Cloud Illusions (the shawl I said I wanted to wear to GLFS)... well, the more I thought about it, the more I kept looking at Rainbomb.

Rainbomb is an absolute spectacle and really friggin impressive. I *want* to show it off. And where better to do that than at a fiber show?

Speaking of fiber, want to see my newest wool pretties?

First up is what I ended up getting at the latest pj party, a pretty skein of TIG Adorn Sport.

I've seen this poor loner on the wall forever and I felt bad, so I brought it home. I just wish I could actually get a halfway decent picture of it. It's absolutely gorgeous in person, but was being particularly persnickety about showing that off.

"But Ashtan! What are you going to do with a single skein of sport yarn? Also... they make sport weight yarn? I thought only bulky, worsted, fingering, and lace existed in your world..."

Yes, yes, I know. But I actually already have a plan in place! There's actually some other TIG yarn in the same weight that is going to pair beautifully with this. So, I got my next purchase already sorted.

The other yarn I got was a Limited Edition color from Leon Alexander Yarns. It was part of their May the 4th collection. It's called Eulogy and it's dedicated to our most beloved Rebel Princess and General, Leia Organa.

I'm kicking myself for not buying a second one. Isn't it just lovely?

And to finish us out, how about I show off the LAST FRIGGIN CHRISTMAS PRESENT I did last year? No, I still haven't managed to send it to Lily. But I at least showed her pictures! So, without further ado, behold! The spider cowl!

This really was a labor of love because there was So. Much. Purling.

But I can't really argue with the results.

I absolutely adore how each spider looks completely different and unique from the other ones.

I actually love it so much that I *may* or *may not* be considering making myself a matching one. Assuming I can convince my hands that all that purling is worth it again.

I think it is. Don't you?
---------------------------------------------------------
Like my writing? Why don't you buy me a coffee!

You can do so through my ko-fi link HERE: ko-fi.com/blackgoatknitting

Or donate directly through my paypal HERE: https://www.paypal.me/blackgoatknitting

I Dropped a Bomb on Me, Baby

After finishing Renee's sweater last month, I found myself with a little time to play around with whatever my little heart desired. My yarn for my ceremony shawl hadn't come in yet, and an idea pop into my head that needed addressing.

Unsurprisingly, I have a LOT of scrap yarn, leftovers from all the shawls I've made over the years. And I've never really done anything with them.

Sure, there's always the usual scrap blankets that folks make, but that didn't appeal much to me. And just doing a shawl where I just with one color of scrap until it ran out, then moving on to the next color sounded like torture.

My original idea was to do two different scrap colors at once, alternating every two rows, to give it a more cohesive look.

So, I happily trotted up to my giant scrap basket and started pulling things out.

And, like pretty much everything ever, plans got tossed out the window.

I came back with 2 balls of Knit Pick's Bare that I had originally bought for a different pattern that never came to fruition and an entire rainbow's worth of fingering weight scraps.

And with only a vague idea of what I thought it might look like when it was done, I just started knitting.

A month and over 1200 yards of yarn later, this was what I had in my hands.

I gave it the affectionate name of Rainbomb because of how absolutely absurdly big it came out.

I didn't even realize until after I had bound off and really took a look at it.

120 inches, in case you were wondering.

Ten. Bloody. Feet.

HOW DO I DO THIS TO MYSELF?!

Anyway, this shawl wasn't made so much as evolved. I had originally started out with wanting to do 5 rows of each color, but after the first set of red, I didn't think I'd have enough yarn. I was *slightly* worried that it wouldn't be a very big shawl... I know, I know. But I really did worry!

I also ended up changing a lot of the colors I had originally picked out as I spent more time with this shawl.

This was my original lineup of 14 colors.

At the end, I ended up with 17 colors.

Which meant I had 38 ends to weave in.

Yeah, it sucked hard.

But I can't argue with the results.

As for the edging, this is where that gorgeous grey from Knitcraft and Knittery came into play.

I wanted the edging to look like lightning and rain drops. I'm pretty dang happy with how it came out, especially for just kind of throwing some shit into Stitch Fiddle and hoping it came out okay.

Yep, no test knitting for this thing. It was slapped into a project with nearly 500 stitches a row and praying to Henry that it worked because ripping out and redoing all those stitches would have put this project in the burn pile.

The edge pattern was actually supposed to be double this length, but I was just done with this damn thing. As much as I love and adore it, it was definitely getting to the point of being a drag. ESPECIALLY because I just HAD to go and add beads to the bloody thing.

But all that said and done...

...I'm thrilled with the new addition to my collection.

---------------------------------------------------------
Like my writing? Why don't you buy me a coffee!

You can do so through my ko-fi link HERE: ko-fi.com/blackgoatknitting

Or donate directly through my paypal HERE: https://www.paypal.me/blackgoatknitting

Four Shawls, Five Days

I am SO behind on what I've been doing. I apologize for that, but you know how much life just loves to dump it on you, both the good and the bad.

First of all, Jass has been given the all clear! Thank you so much to everyone who donated money to help us out. It was so appreciated!

So, on to the knitting!

Last month, I participated in a super fun knitting exercise that was meant to help you learn fundamental shawl shapes and how to design with them. It was started and is run by Frenchie of Aroha Knits.

Each day for 5 days, you knit a miniature shawl of a specific shape. You ideally give yourself only 30 minutes to do the whole thing.

If you're new to shawl knitting, it really helps to show you how most shawls are constructed.

If you're someone like me, who is pretty comfortable with most shawl shapes, it's a fun way to test out different ideas or patterns.

AND let's not forget the BEST part: you get 5 mini shawls at the end to do with as you please!

I had fully intended to participate and finish the project, but unfortunately we got the bad news about Jass on the final day. So, I didn't actually get around to finishing mine.

But I can at least show you the ones I did get done!

Day one was triangles.

I chose to focus on texture, doing a seed stitch body and a cabled spine. Edge was just garter stitch with a picot bind off.

Day two was crescent.

I really was just looking for an excuse to use this yarn combo again. Carnival might be in my top 3 favorite color ways.

Day three (and my least favorite, if I'm honest) was asymmetrical triangle.

I chose to do an arrow shape, which is basically two asymmetrical shawls together. It was fine, but I'm just not an asymmetrical person.

The last one I got to do was the 3/4's shawl.

I flipped things around compared to the triangle shawl by doing a garter stitch body and a seed stitch border.

So, what exactly does one do with four mini shawls?

Well, I decided that they needed to be showcased properly. Afterall, I already have other art pieces hanging around. And isn't knitting just another form of art?

The best part is that the front of the shadowbox opens. So if I ever want to redo any of the shawls, it's easy AF to change them out!

Thank you, Frenchie, for putting on such a fun challenge. I'm looking forward to participating again soon!

To everyone else, there should be a new blog post this weekend because...

...I finished the rainbow monster.

---------------------------------------------------------
Like my writing? Why don't you buy me a coffee!

You can do so through my ko-fi link HERE: ko-fi.com/blackgoatknitting

Or donate directly through my paypal HERE: https://www.paypal.me/blackgoatknitting