Ella Shawl
Knit Picks Gossamer, Caribbean Colorway
Size 7 Addi Turbo 24" circ
Started: 1/31/06; Completed 2/06/06
Modifications: 3 repeats of Chart 1, modified into triangle shaped shawl
Blocked Dimensions: 54" X 23"
Ella was a satisfying and painless knit. I wasn't sure how this shawl would knit up in a laceweight yarn, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with the result. Since the pattern is mostly stockinette, I thought it might work well with the variegation. I adore this colorway! It reminds me of the beautiful Lanikai Bay in Kailua at sunrise. Which, to me, might have been a more apt moniker, but I suppose that may have cost a wee bit more to print on the yarn ball band. When I first read this pattern, I had my doubts about the designer's claim of how speedy a knit Ella was- especially since the pattern was over 9 pages long! However, with two sick kids and still a completed Ella in a week's time, I can now attest to its speedy claim to fame. (BTW, for those misguided souls who have images of Hell as fire and brimstone, I'm fairly certain that a scenario with kids who aren't sick enough to be in any imminent danger, but sick enough to whine and whimper incessantly for 3 days straight is probably more accurate.) Although her blocked dimensions are just a tad smaller than Kiri's, Ella somehow seems a little more "sparse" as a shawl, though I'm not really sure why. In any case, Bossy enjoyed converting her into a poncho,
and I'm kind of partial to the scarf look myself. 
Stinky wanted to make a cameo appearance, too, but the remnant cold boogers stuck to her face precluded her inclusion this time around.
The name "Ella" takes me back to my pregnancy with Stinky, when Mr. W and I were contemplating names for baby. Deciding on a name for your progeny is one of the more pleasant aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, as opposed to oh, say...an episiotomy, for example. As with Bossy, we opted not to find out the sex of the baby, so we had to come up with possibilities for both genders. Ella was one of my preferred names for a girl, but that got shot down before Trimester One was even over. Mr. W said it sounded like a farm animal's name. Of course, farm animals are just what you want to be thinking about when the mere thought of drinking water makes you want to upchuck your cookies all over the sidewalk. Who the hell names their cow, "Ella" anyway? Then there was Emily... inspired by Ms. Bronte and Ms. Dickinson, I pictured a demure and gentle girl with a passionate and expressive soul. To Mr. W? A meek, mute pushover who gets her lunch stolen everyday in kindergarten. (Uhm, no, that would be me. Couldn't blame Ruben; my mom made some kick-butt bologna and cheese!) Then there was Analise, to which Mr. W countered, "What the hell kind of Japanese is named Analise?" Okay... I concede, he might've had a valid point there. Zoe got shot down for conjuring up images of a roller-skating ballerina monster with a pet rock as her best friend. Next in line was Aubrey, inspired by one of my favorite songs by Bread... "Aubrey?! What is that? The dyslexic version of Audrey?!" But my favorite, by far, was Laurel, symbol of virtue, sagacity and victory. What more could you hope for in a child? It was the perfect name, but count on Mr. W to find the loophole..."Laurel?!! Hello! Laurel and Hardy?!" *Sigh* I'm hoping that Bossy inherited his mama's sense of culture with that one functional X chromosome of his. Damn that useless Y!!
Knit Picks Gossamer, Caribbean Colorway
Size 7 Addi Turbo 24" circ
Started: 1/31/06; Completed 2/06/06
Modifications: 3 repeats of Chart 1, modified into triangle shaped shawl
Blocked Dimensions: 54" X 23"
Ella was a satisfying and painless knit. I wasn't sure how this shawl would knit up in a laceweight yarn, but overall, I'm pretty pleased with the result. Since the pattern is mostly stockinette, I thought it might work well with the variegation. I adore this colorway! It reminds me of the beautiful Lanikai Bay in Kailua at sunrise. Which, to me, might have been a more apt moniker, but I suppose that may have cost a wee bit more to print on the yarn ball band. When I first read this pattern, I had my doubts about the designer's claim of how speedy a knit Ella was- especially since the pattern was over 9 pages long! However, with two sick kids and still a completed Ella in a week's time, I can now attest to its speedy claim to fame. (BTW, for those misguided souls who have images of Hell as fire and brimstone, I'm fairly certain that a scenario with kids who aren't sick enough to be in any imminent danger, but sick enough to whine and whimper incessantly for 3 days straight is probably more accurate.) Although her blocked dimensions are just a tad smaller than Kiri's, Ella somehow seems a little more "sparse" as a shawl, though I'm not really sure why. In any case, Bossy enjoyed converting her into a poncho,
and I'm kind of partial to the scarf look myself. 
Stinky wanted to make a cameo appearance, too, but the remnant cold boogers stuck to her face precluded her inclusion this time around.The name "Ella" takes me back to my pregnancy with Stinky, when Mr. W and I were contemplating names for baby. Deciding on a name for your progeny is one of the more pleasant aspects of pregnancy and childbirth, as opposed to oh, say...an episiotomy, for example. As with Bossy, we opted not to find out the sex of the baby, so we had to come up with possibilities for both genders. Ella was one of my preferred names for a girl, but that got shot down before Trimester One was even over. Mr. W said it sounded like a farm animal's name. Of course, farm animals are just what you want to be thinking about when the mere thought of drinking water makes you want to upchuck your cookies all over the sidewalk. Who the hell names their cow, "Ella" anyway? Then there was Emily... inspired by Ms. Bronte and Ms. Dickinson, I pictured a demure and gentle girl with a passionate and expressive soul. To Mr. W? A meek, mute pushover who gets her lunch stolen everyday in kindergarten. (Uhm, no, that would be me. Couldn't blame Ruben; my mom made some kick-butt bologna and cheese!) Then there was Analise, to which Mr. W countered, "What the hell kind of Japanese is named Analise?" Okay... I concede, he might've had a valid point there. Zoe got shot down for conjuring up images of a roller-skating ballerina monster with a pet rock as her best friend. Next in line was Aubrey, inspired by one of my favorite songs by Bread... "Aubrey?! What is that? The dyslexic version of Audrey?!" But my favorite, by far, was Laurel, symbol of virtue, sagacity and victory. What more could you hope for in a child? It was the perfect name, but count on Mr. W to find the loophole..."Laurel?!! Hello! Laurel and Hardy?!" *Sigh* I'm hoping that Bossy inherited his mama's sense of culture with that one functional X chromosome of his. Damn that useless Y!!
53 comments:
Wow! Ella is so pretty. You are right, the stockinette really brings out the variegated colors. With the lace socks and Backyard Leaves, I am starting to understand what all the fuss is about lace. It is so fun to watch the pattern appear!
Your naming story is hilarious! I think all expecting parents have a similar conversation. I know my parents did. My mom wanted to name me Rebecca. My dad shot that down. My maiden name was Brodbeck. Yeah. Thanks Dad! :)
Love your beautiful Lanikai scarf :) I can't believe how fast you whipped that one out all the while wiping hana-batta and tending to the ill. Whaddawoman;)
Ella is absolutely gorgeous - I really think this is one of the times when the variegation in the wool serves the pattern well. I really like how it gives the impression of being wavy - and I like the scarf version best!
As for names... oh my, that was a pickle for us as well. We did find out we were having a girl, and I had Willow picked out even before I had become pregnant. The problem is that DH thought I had picked the name from 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'... SO NOT TRUE! Her name comes from the song 'Willow' by Joan Armatrading because it is a song about a strong woman - "I'll be your willow / Your shelter in the storm."
DH's family has a tradition of picking Scottish names for the men... now the problem is that most of the mainstream ones have already been picked... I'm sorry, I don't want to name my progeny Fergal or Euan.
What a great use of one skein! It does make a perfect sized scarf.
Gorgeous! Definitely brings Hawaii to mind--perfect color choice, nice modifications.
I have no witty comment like my last one (I'm so glad you were amused, hee!) but Ella is just beautiful and perfect for that yarn!
I like all the names you had picked out...now assuming that your last name is Japanese, wouldn't that have been enough for Mr. Y ? Just sayin' in case you're thinking of Bossy/Stinky redux ;)
That gorgeous - love it love it! Great modification too.
I loved the naming story. In my family we all have funny stories about what we would have been named had the father not protested.
Look out for the crazy lace knitter! But seriously - gorgeous! Awe-inspiring! Now I really want one of those for myself too......
Ella is lovely. The varigating yarn compliments the pattern perfectly. What have you planned to knit next??
Ah yes, the naming of the children. Hubby wanted Gunther for a boy when we had the daughter. Then with the son he wanted Siobhan or Sinead for a girl with his Italian last name. Maybe with my Irish maiden name I'd have considered them. Fortunately we both liked the same name for the gender of the actual children.
Karen
http://nothingbutknit.blog-city.com/
Ella is gorgeous! You are so going to be hooked on lace:)
And loads of sympathy for you. Totally agree with the sick kids Hell scenario. Mine were running fevers for a couple of days, but then got well enough to terrorize each other and whine (a lot) and to get some serious cabin fever, but not quite well enough to go anywhere to get rid of the excess energy. UGH! Talk about miserable.
Love the naming scenario. For our first, we actually had a name all picked out for a girl and a boy, but ended up a week before she was born deciding on the feminine version of the boy name. My youngest now has a middle name of the original girl's name.
Look at you go. Ella looks amazing. I love those colors.
We had the worst time picking out names for our children. We picked out the name for our youngest the evening that she was born. She was a week late and I swear she was waiting for us to pick a name. I too loved Aubrey, but men just don't get what a lovely femenine name that really is.
Ella looks great. What a fantasic, and cheap, project.
My hubby created all of these name stipulations for me to work around. Here are a few:
1) The name could not be a place (Dallas, Brooklyn)
2) The name couldn't be a flip/flop boy/girl name (Sean)
3) It couldn't be a name that would be shortened (Alexandra to Alex, William to Bill)
4) If I had a boy, it had to be a "tough" name (no Alister)
5) It couldn't be a trendy name (no Makenzie, Regan, Britney)
Look at you go with the shawls!!! I love this one just as much as I loved Kiri. Great job . . . I may have to think about making one of those myself. Loved your baby naming story . . . and also loved all the names you wanted. I've had my names picked out for a while. I think Pea is okay with my girl name, Emma (which I chose BEFORE the Friends episode where Monica had it picked for her girl name . . . ). I don't think he likes my boy names though - Jared or Jude.
Ella is beautiful - thanks for sharing how easy it was to do - I have the pattern bookmarked & may have to make it soon.
Ha ha. Yeah, the Y is WHY they are the WAY THEY ARE! Your ella is beautiful!!!
Wow! Ella is just beautiful. I can't believe what a quick project it was. Or you have been knitting like a fiend. Bossy is looking particularly fetching wearing it, I might add.
My parents had the great baby name debate with me. Mom wanted to name me Leasel. No idea if I'm spelling that right, but my dad instantly said, "No. Too close to weasel." Dodged a bullet there. Thanks, Dad. Then there was the Sonya with a "y" or a "j". Dad won that too. Apparently Mom was just along for the ride!
Ella looks fabulous. I've been looking for a lace project to try (I've done some simple lace socks, etc. but I want to make a shawl!). I think this one might now be near the top of my list.
I love your name story. Lucky for me, my husband and I agree -- for the most part -- on names for future children. His family has this unwritten rule that either first or middle name needs to be a family name ... defined as a name that comes from HIS side of the family, not mine. So, we have a few names in mind for future use that meet that criteria. Interestingly, our #1 girl name is also the name that my younger brother would have received, had he been a girl!
I love your Ella - especially the colors. I wear mine more like a scarf, too. It does kind of end up smallish, unless you want it really wide.
The name thing cracked me up. We were not going to pick anything trendy, so picked something rather mainstream, but you really hadn't heard it in years and years. I swear, the week after she was born and named, it became THE hot name of the 90's. Oh well, we tried.
Ella is very lovely. The stitch pattern looks like waves with that colorway.
Luckily RM and I agreed on our children's names. That didn't mean that the naming went smoothly though. We named our son after a character in a book we both loved, and then it turned out to be one of the most popular names of recent years. Then we named our daughter a more unusual name that happens to be featured in a rather well known movie and have been pestered about it by our family and friends. Ah well...
First, Ella is just gorgeous. I was thinking when I saw the picture(and before I read further down) that it did remind me of the ocean in Hawaii. I have two skeins of Gossamer in the shades of blue--I'm not sure what they'll be yet. Your story on naming the kids was funny. We didn't find out what we were having with either kid. I wanted to name our son Ian Riley and DH informed me it sounded too British--it sounded like a writer's name--well, okay, what's wrong with that I ask you? So we compromised with Logan Riley. Although I was the only one in the room when the paperwork was filled out--so maybe it is Ian Riley. I'll never tell :)
That is one BEAUTIFUL wrap! I am impressed. I laughed so hard at all Mr. W's responses to your name choices - which by the way I loved them all. I live in Texas and I have never known a farm animal named Ella. My favorite response, however, was to Zoe. You are hysterical! My choice would have been Emma Lee, buy since I was never blessed with the process I may just have to use it for my next knitting design.
I love love love how it turned out! I bought myself some of that yarn in a red-orange-yellow colorway, and I think Ella will be my next project (after I finish the socks... and the Olympic knitting...) :) Thanks for another shot of inspiration!
HA! Ella's also on my short list of names for a girl though it was mentioned at SNB last night that it's becoming a very popular name lately. All of the old names are coming back into vogue, including Emily as well. Of course, that's all predicated on the idea that I will in fact bear children someday, and well, the thought of of an episiotomy is pretty much enough to make me rethink that one.
Your shawl/scarf is really beautiful, and I can't believe how quickly you turned that one out! I gotta go and make me one of these triangular scarf versions. I know I have some laceweight hanging around somewhere...
Thanks for the compliments on the socks and the virtual hugs last week. It meant a lot to me.
Oh my ... it's lovely! The yarn I used for Ella is sports/dk weight I think ... but I think lace weight comes out excellent too!
Funny story about the name choosing ... I don't have kids, but I believe it's not an easy task to choose a good name.
Take care.
Gorgeous Ella! You are truly rockin' the lace, aren't you?
Loved the naming story. The DH and I agreed on one girl name and one boy name. We weren't going to find out gender, then 20 weeks in I go for my ultrasound and *surprise* twins! Then we had to come up with a second name for each gender to cover all the possibilities. That was a headache!
Hope the kidlets are feeling better!
-Lisa
I think I have everyone beat...when I was pregnant with both my kids, if it was a girl my (now ex) husband wanted to name the child...Louvicey. SAY WHAT??!! I don't think so. Apparently that was a well-beloved old relative of his, and good for her, but no way. I ended up picking out names from both families (there's a James on both sides, for example), so that satisfied his dynastic aspirations. Sheesh. You should hear my daughter when I tell her she was almost named Louvicey.
ahahahahahahahahahahahahahah!!!! the baby name thing is hilarious. starfish and i had a conversation about what we'd name our hypothetical kids. i thought it'd be funny to give them japanese names even though they'd pull more of the filipino (starfish is half & half japanese, i'm about 3/4 and 1/4 korean). i can't imagine what our japanese friends (from japan) would think of the names we came up with...
hee hee, bossy is so cute; you wouldn't have thought he was sick. :) though the whole poncho thing should die. who the heck keeps making those things!?
nice job with the lace! ella is very pretty...i haven't found the right yarn for that yet, which is probably a good thing ;)
It looks beautiful! The colors go very well with the pattern :) Congrats!
Oh my your Ella is gorgeous! And bossy does a mean poncho! I love how knitters come up with such beautiful names for their projects. I gotta start thinking up good names for my crafts instead of "pink bag" or "little pouch". :(
Laurel and Hardy! Ha! Ha! That would have never occurred to me.
We didn't have too much trouble agreeing on a name for our son, but the middle name - now that took forever. I wanted to go with a Japanese and a Hawaiian name but the husband shot them down. Then I wanted to give him my maiden name for a middle name, no to that too. No to more than one middle name as well. :P
What beautiful colors! I have seen a few yarns this year that are similar colorways and I have wanted them all. :)
The naming story is priceless! Ha,ha,ha!
I love your shawl! It looks great as a scarf! I think that's how I'd wear a triangular shawl. I have my 1st lace-weight yarn all ready to go for the knitting olympics. With all the beautiful shawls I'm seeing on blogs, I may just find myself addicted to knitting them!
Lovely! That pattern is a really good way to use the variegated yarn. The lace is strong enough to hold up to the colors, and it makes a really pretty pairing.
Your naming story cracked me up. We had a terrible time coming up with names we could agree upon and the grandparents were vetoing many of our choices on top of it all. We started being very silly about it all (Sheboygan was tossed out as an option many times) and came up with an atrocious combination of Harry + our last name, which just sounds really really vulgar. That at least stopped the negative comments on the names we did like! Hope the kidlets are better and that you are not sick either.
Thanks for the laugh. :)
Ella is my dog's name...she's a pretty dog, very feminine. Love the scarf, btw. Those colors do look very Hawaiian. You've inspired me to cast on for Kiri, by the way. I'm about 4 pattern repeats in and really enjoying the challenge.
It is a pretty colour, and I like the poncho look. haha, your post today brought back memories for me too. We added and extra "e" at the end of our daughter's (first born) name. Of course now she tells me that people mis-pronounce her name as a result of that extra "e"! When it came to child number 2, we just followed the conventional spelling and although there are so many boys with the same name in school etc, no problems at all. So much for trying to make the daughter's name special.
Wow, it looks like your lace addiction has definitely begun! It looks absolutely beautiful!! Truly awesome work!
Oh you are so hysterical! Can I say I love you and just adore reading your blog?
My husband and I had a similar experience trying to find names. Imagine they have to be pronounced the same in two languages and not have so many loopholes!! Not an easy thing to do. We ended up with 2 boys names and 1 girl name. Good thing we won't be having any more kids, we wouldn't be able to have a girl. Hey you! just doesn't sound right.
That's a gorgeous shawl!!! Cute model too.
ella is beautiful! an i love the photo of bossy wearing it as a poncho :) it is a great looking scarf and i can tell you will get a lot of use out of it... i love the name analise! my husband shot down a lot of my baby names! thats the fun part when you get to soot down his suggestions!
Oh, how beautiful! Lanikai is such a proper name for this magnificent little number and I love the way it drapes around your neck as a scarf ... and according to Bossy, it doubles as a poncho. What a cute little model!
You are definitely knitting lace like crazy and with sick kids to boot! You go, girl!
I hear you on the baby names as it brought back some nerve-wracking memories, especially all those unsolicited suggestions! I had the same stipulations as amylovie above, except for one ... DH (or anyone else) shouldn't suggest a name that would cause me to slap him upside his head. Well, DH wised up and his reflexes quickened, I had to stand my ground -- the names soon became MY decision.
Take care!
Dina
Ella does seem more beautiful and suitable as a scarf than a shawl. The colourway is beautiful too! I was thinking that it reminded me of water and the oceans of Hawaii before you mentioned Lanikai Bay.
And Bossy looks adorable in it!
You are the shawl queen!
Bill has driven me crazy both pregnancies by trying to come up with the most ridiculous names he can think of for the baby. I was ready to kill him. Rastus was always a favorite.
You make me laugh so much! You are hilarious! The whole naming thing, I just love it!
Ella is just beautiful! When I saw the color, I immediately was struck by how much like the Caribbean or beach areas it looks like. What a perfect colorway for you.
Ella is gorgeous! Look at you, one week and you've got an FO! You are a knitting machine!
So which one of you ended up chooseing the name for Stinky, anyway?
i know i said this on the KAL, but it needs repeating - ella is gorgeous! and i love how bossy reworked her into a ponchette, looking mighty happy i might add. such a nice job - you are putting us all to shame with all your elaborate FOs. you go!
Wow! Another stunning shawl! I like the mini version and the way you wear it as a scarf. The color of the yarn is so pretty as well. Very good job!
I think we all have stories about naming our kids. I added an initial to my first son's middle name. It was kind of a way to acknowledge the chinese name ( which i disliked) given by my FIL. Then the second son, which has no middle name, feels he wants one too.
Ella is BEAUTIFUL!! The colors are gorgeous and you're right the stockinette makes the colors pop!! Great job.
the color is so fun, your ella looks great! I thought it was a bit small as well so I really blocked the hell out of it to get it to stretch
I love the colors of that yarn! I have looked at that pattern and thought about making it. I think I will now!
I love Ella! The color is so fantastic! Excellent job!!
Amanda :)
Beautiful work - I love those colors!
It's been over sixteen years but your mention of an episiotomy made me shudder. Your naming process is funny to read but I bet you were pretty frustrated! Naming my daughter was easy - I told my ex what her name was going to be and there wasn't any argument ;o) One of the few times we DIDN'T argue!
I have been away from my blog all weekend, and it appears that you have too. I guess that is what happens when you have children!
oh, i just love your ella! i'm now rethinking my darker colorway. still, you are giving me inspiration to finish!
Wow, your shawl is fabulous!
that shawl is absolutely gorgeous. you should be proud.
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