Clapo #2 is finished! I didn’t have much time to knit last week, so I’m glad I got it done yesterday so I can take something smaller to knit on my business trip this morning (yes, I’m still a one-project woman - we’ll see how long that will last).

First the yarn:

Here’s a progress shot from before the drop rows:

And finally the finished scarf:


Pattern: Clapotis
Designer: Kate Gilbert, Knitty autumn 2004
Yarn: Alchemy Synchronicity She Threw A Brick, about 270 g
Needles: Addi Bamboo 5 mm

Alchemy Synchronicity was the softest, most luxurious yarn I’ve worked with so far. In fact it was so soft that I was almost afraid it was going to disintegrate in my hands. The silk makes it delicately shiny, and the colours are pure sugar.

I wonder if this will satisfy my Clapotis urge for a while. The pattern was getting a bit boring the second time - the novelty has certainly worn off. But I just like the finished scarf too much.

My my, how can I resist you?

I probably would have left the knitting at that, but when the Pop hat was almost finished, my Knitting Guru showed up at work with one of these. I experienced an instant full-body reaction: I gasped for air, my vision blackened, my heart started pounding and my hands started sweating. Must… have… must… have… First I tried to bribe her to make me one, but she just said, “You can knit and purl now, right?” and gave me a printout of the pattern.

I simply had to have that scarf, so that left me with no options, and as I needed to get some dpns to finish the hat anyway, I asked my colleague where my nearest yarn shop was. Given the name of the shop but no exact location, I googled it and found that they have an online store as well. Great, I thought, now I can have a look at the selection beforehand! So I click on “Yarns”, and what happens: the introductory picture is a skein of Noro. And Pavlov’s dog is back: Must… have…

So off I go and buy not one but two sets of Addi bamboos, one for the hat and one for the scarf, and empty the store of Noro Silk Garden, colourway 84. And just over a week later I’m the happy owner of this:

Project: Clapotis
Pattern: Kate Gilbert, Knitty autumn 2004
Yarn: Noro Silk Garden 84, just over 300 g
Needles: Addi bamboo 5 mm

By this time I had found a zen-like peace of mind in knitting, although I was clicking away quite feverishly - I couldn’t wait to get to wear the finished product. The pattern was an absolute delight to knit and I thouroughly enjoyed it. It was simple enough not to keep me from watching tv and/or talking on the phone while knitting, yet interesting enough to keep me focused. I found myself waiting for the drop rows even though Silk Garden didn’t just drop because of all the mohair - I had to use brute force and tear the damn stitches down. And yet I found childlike delight in getting to drop a stitch on purpose. I just loved it!

I made no alterations to the pattern, and the finished shawl is big, lovely and warm. My only slight disappointment was the yarn. To me it looks better on the skein - I had no idea it was going to stripe like that. And where did all those shock pinks and poison greens come from? I mean, how did this

turn into this?

Although the friendly woman at the LYS told me she sometimes cuts off the colours she doesn’t like, I was interested to learn how the yarn behaves so I just let it do its thing. And somehow, despite the Technicolor surprises I got while knitting, the colours seem to blend in a bit in the finished scarf. I’m not going to block it, either - I love the way it curls.

I’m definitely going to make at least one more Clapotis. I won’t be using Silk Garden anymore, though; and hence the quest for the perfect Clapotis yarn has begun.