Dos Clappies

A cuppa and a Clappy - the perfect antidote for a cold and cloudy day.

If I play some Piaf and close my eyes... well, I'll still know I'm not in Paris, but at least my Clapotis will keep me cosy stateside!

Second chances
I knitted a Mini-Clapotis last year, and if you were around these parts back then, you'll remember I wanted to impale myself with a DPN just to get some sweet relief from the sheer and utter boredom of those seemingly endless straight rows.

That be soy sauce on my table. It's like the Clapotis - goes with everything.

So what do I do? I go and knit another one. A full-sized one, no less. Why, you ask? Because sometimes, when a yarn tells you it wants to be something, you just gotta do it what it says. Just as long as you don't start talking back to it and having full-on conversations. At least not in front of other people. Because then they look at you funny. Not that I would know this.

I'm glad I listened, too, because this time, I actually *enjoyed* knitting the Clap! Ah, yes, the difference a worsted weight yarn on nice, big size 8 needles can make. Goes a helluva lot faster than slimmy DK on size 5s. As does knitting 13 straight row sections instead of 20. And using variegated yarn. And having several other projects to run to if I got bored (which surprisingly, I didn't).

This is your weez. This is your weez on 2-second timer. Any questions?

Modotis
Just a few mods:

- I purled the drop stitches instead of using stitch markers - which, if you're ever going to knit this (or for some of you, especially if your name is Pam, knit it again), I HIGHLY recommend. It's soooo much faster and less fiddly! (Purl the drops on the knit rows, knit 'em on the purl rows.)

- Like with my Mini, I twisted the stitches next to the drop stitches on both sides of the knitting. It's a little more effort (kinda like trying to understand the previous sentence), but really makes a difference. (Ptbl on the odd rows, knit through the front on the even rows.)

- Slipped the first stitch knit-wise on the purl rows, purl-wise on the knit rows. This supposedly makes the "bumps" line up or something. Honestly, I can't tell if this made that big a diff, but eh, it didn't take more time than slipping them all the same way anyway.

- Skipped one of the repeats on the increase section (did 12 instead of 13), as I could tell it was going to be pleeenty wide enough. Subsequently, did one less repeat on the decrease section.

That last mod saved me, too. Otherwise, I totally would have run out of yarn! (I ended up using three skeins, with about 22 grams to spare.) And the size is perfect - 21” x 69” after blocking. Long enough fling over my shoulder, yet no so long that it's constantly in my way (unlike my stoopid hair).

Mmmm... Chai Spiced Tea. Heeee. Teeeaaa.

Yarn thoughts
As you may have guessed, this is Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb. In Bittersweet. Yes, I knitted something in the recommended yarn. And color. So you all might want to go kiss your loved ones right now, 'cause I'm pretty sure the apocalypse is coming.

And let me tell you - this yarn is sheer and absolute heaven. We're talking pure. unadulterated. knitting. decadence. It is lusciously soft, with amazing colors and a sheen you can't believe. If it were superwash, I might have to mortgage the house and buy it by the truckload.

Lookit weez, all growed up and alternating rows. *sniff*

One skein was a noticeably different dyelot than the others, so I used the brighter one in the middle and alternated rows through a section or so when changing skeins. It doesn't photog well (at least, not on my little point-and-shoot), but this really helped the color transition flow more gradually.

Guess that means I'm all, like, growing and stuff as a knitter. 'Cause there was a time I'd have just popped it straight in at the end and been all pissy when it came out looking like poo.

Well, I can't end a section with the word poo, so I'll finish it up by saying the yarn left some tint in the soak, but had no color fade afterwards. It developed a lovely, soft, stitch-evening halo upon drying and blocked like a dream. *sigh*

Wrap it up (ha!)
I'm so glad I didn't let the boredom of the Mini keep me from knitting a full-sized one, because I love this thing! It's so bright and pretty and cosy! The Clapotis really is a brilliant design, too - you can dress it up, down, wear it as a scarf, a wrap, a shawl, whatever, so it will get tons of wear. Like on an unseasonably chilly afternoon in May, when you wanna curl up with a cuppa tea and a trashy book and pretend you don't have a care in the world.

Clapotis
Pattern: knitty, Fall 2004
Yarn: Lorna's Laces Lion & Lamb in Bittersweet, 3 skeins
Needle: Addi Turbo, size 8, 40"
Mods: Purled the drops instead of using stitch markers, twisted stitches on both sides of the knitting, slipped knit-wise on the purl rows and vice versa, did 12 repeats on the increase/decrease sections instead of 13.