Triangular Lace Shawl Completed

After two months of compulsively knitting, the persimmon color lace shawl is finally completed.

When it was just lying there in a big lump of knit stitches, it surely did not look like it would turn out to be similar to the finished product shown in the book A Gathering of Lace. (Meg Swanson)

Here is a picture from a previous blog post when the shawl was started....

Cotton fabric and beaded knitting markers are laid on the bottom of the picture, but the knit material is shown at the top; this was about five inches into the knitting project.

After it was knit, then the blocking of the shawl was begun. Here it is being blocked on towels after it was washed:


Can you tell it took up most of the available tile on the bathroom floor? And here it completed, dried, blocked and draped across a chair, in all its glory:

OK, I take that back about being in its glory because the camera image did not show the persimmon color of the yarn (100% washable merino wool from Knitpicks).

The finished dimensions are 63" on the top by 44" on each side of the triangle.

One modification I made to the pattern was to add a 2 stitch attached I cord on the top edge of the shawl. Not only did the extra edging add a bit of decoration, it also hid some of my knitting mistakes along the top. This video was helpful in explaining how to knit an attached I cord as edging:

Thanks, Julie, for this added instructional tip!

Do It Yourself Mosaic Table Tops

Here is a current picture of the completed small mosaic table topper. A week ago, its beginning was written about here at making-mosaic-table-top. Grouting has been completed and excess grout has been removed with water and a lot of elbow grease. Note to the wise: a manicure after the grouting process is recommended, as it takes a toll on the nails.

This site on E-How basically explains the process in making a mosaic. Ensure that the thickness of the ceramic tiles used by breaking up with a hammer are all the same if you desire a flat surface.

Ceramic tiles are less expensive than glass tiles, although both types of tiles have sharp edges when broken. The glass tiles give a bit more luster, so choice of tile material is a matter of personal preference. The small blue tiles shown in the above picture were made of glass, so the contrast was preferable not only in color, but also in textural effect.

The larger table top (44 " round) is almost finished. It still needs to have excess grout removed from the tiles. A picture of the larger table top (using same motif as smaller table) is shown below.

A Dremel tool to sand the edges will finish off the sides more smoothly.

While doing a bit of research on mosaics, I found this type craft goes back several thousands of years. One reference, found here says:

The history of mosaic goes back some 4,000 years or more, with the use of terracotta cones pushed point-first into a background to give decoration. By the eighth century BC, there were pebble pavements, using different coloured stones to create patterns, although these tended to be unstructured decoration. It was the Greeks, in the four centuries BC, who raised the pebble technique to an art form, with precise geometric patterns and detailed scenes of people and animals.

The mosaic here shows the god Neptune with Amphitrite (on the right) and is in Herculaneum, Italy. It is a wall mosaic which uses pieces of glass to give the vivid colours and reflect light. Glass was not suitable for floor mosaics.

Some mosaics from the Byzantine era look very similar to how they appeared over 4,000 years ago. So my table tops should hold up well outside under the patio roof, at least during our lifetime.

Saturday Market Bag: Free Knitted download pattern

From Jodie Dannenberg's Ravelry site, she says:

In Eugene, Oregon we have an outdoor market every Saturday from April until November. Not only is it a great time in the sun, but a great place to get organic veggies and food grown nearby. I made this with the outdoor market use in mind. It’s a versatile bag that will stretch to the shape of it’s odd shaped contents perfectly. It can either be made as a hand bag or with a shoulder strap. Make several as reusable grocery bags or one for the occasional weekend picnic.

This bag was quick to knit (five days and over a long weekend), and will come in handy. I shortened the body a bit. Here is a picture of the finished market bag:


And here it is emptied of produce:



It is quite versatile. I made two modifications in the pattern: 1)shortened the length of the body of the bag; and 2) I used circular needles for knitting the top of the market bag. I just could not figure a way to use straight needles to knit the circular top area.

You can download the pattern here for free (in the middle of the page): Saturday-market-bag pattern. Thank you, designer Jodie!