Sunday, May 27, 2007

Clapotis by the Sea


The Jersey Shore is no substitute for a Parisian cafe, but when I wear my Clapotis, I still can say, "Je suis belle et ça ne demande aucun effort!"

Pattern: Clapotis by Kate Gilbert, Knitty Fall 2004

Yarn: Black Bunny Fibers Merino/Silk, a custom-dye job by the talented (and wonderfully snarky) Carol. This yarn was dyed with Clapotis in mind, and I knew I wanted one in my favorite shades of blue. I surfed Carol's Etsy shop and selected colorways that appealed to me, and she came up with a beautiful tonal colorway of turquoise, robin's egg and a silvery sky blue that is rich and saturated, and with the silk content in the yarn, it also has a gorgeous sheen. Carol understood and translated my colors so well that not only is almost the identical color of my living room walls, but when I showed the yarn to my (blogless) friend Aileen, she took one look at it and said, simply, "Of course!"

It's the color of the Caribbean, the Mediterrean.


Mods: Amy at Needles and Hooks has compiled a great site with information for all-things Clapotis. I found this site to be of immense help when planning this project, and on her advice, I twisted the stitches on either side of the ladder rows on both the wrong and right sides. I also did one less increase section, as the wrap was getting pretty gargantuan.

It has proven to be the perfect wrap to keep me warm in the ocean breeze in the still-cool evenings down the shore. No, it's not Paris, but the shore is our place for the summer, and now that I am properly swathed in ocean-blue silken handknits, Summer has officially arrived!

29 comments:

Dave said...

Oh, that colour is glorious!

Mintyfresh said...

looks great! so jealous that you live down the shore in the summer!?? (which shore?)

iSeL said...

Perfect. I wish I had known about the stitch twisting when I made mine. It looks so orderly like that. I love it.

HPNY KNITS said...

gorgeous all around! colors are fab! the knitting is beautiful, and the background is better than Paris in the summer!

Christie said...

Liz,
What beautiful colors! There are many Clapotii out there, but this one is especially beautiful.

You're inspiring me to revisit Clapotis [for the 4th time!].

Have a great weekend!

Anonymous said...

I think this is the first Clapotis I have seen that has me inspired to knit it. It's absolutely perfect!

Octopus Knits said...

Just gorgeous! The color is awesome and your workmanship is stunning. Twisting the stitches on the wrong side, too, makes a lot of sense.

margene said...

Beautiful! Great photo shoot too! You know how to live;-)

Sarah said...

I love the 'Tis in this color! Oh, who am I kidding. I love it in every color.

And yay for the Jersey shore! I'm moving on Friday and everytime someone mentions Philly or NJ I get a little more excited.

LaurieM said...

Beautiful! That colour looks wonderful on you. Love it.

Bridget said...

That is one pretty Clapotis! (Incidentally, Carol has NEVER offered to dye something especially for me. Not that I'm bitter.)

Anyway, I love the color(s), and would also like to see you wearing it while standing in front of the living room wall, kinda like a "Where's Waldo" theme.

Also, let me know when it would be a good weekend for us to visit and stay with you at the shore. I'm sure you just haven't gotten around to formally inviting us yet, right???

Anonymous said...

it's beautiful! the dye job goes perfectly -- no funky pooling or flashing, just loads of variation. i love it :)

Anonymous said...

tu est belle et magnifique et tres jolie comme la clapotis!

tu est tres intelligent aussi!

a votre sante!

teabird said...

Absolutely beautiful! What were the specs? How much yarn, what size needle.... I'd love to know. So lovely.

Ann said...

Wow. I have never wanted to knit a clapotis until I saw those pictures. Now I want one. Now. It looks just incredible Liz. And Carol is just brilliant, isn't she?

Anonymous said...

It's beautiful!

pamela wynne said...

oh, beautiful! and such great photos. makes me want to pick mine back up again!

Sally said...

So darn pretty Liz! Love the yarn that Carol made for you. And when you have the weather that we had this weekend, I do believe I would take the Jersey Shore. 'Specially beachfront. :o)

See you soon.

Madge said...

Bien sur, votre Clapotis bleu - c'est tres chic.

Happy holiday!

Anonymous said...

What was remarkable, which I wish I had captured, was Liz holding Rosebud on her lap in the cool, almost cold May evening, on the deck, wrapped in that gorgeous wrap, blue eyes and blue eyes, and blue wrap, deep blue evening sky, deep blue sea. What a vision. I need to remember to keep my camera close at hand more often. Love ya, love the wrap, kooky sis. To pieces.

Anonymous said...

It's gorgeous! What great pictures!

jane said...

Your clapotis is beautiful!!! Jane

Lolly said...

Ahh, it is such a lovely color. Truly perfect for the beach. Love the photos. I fear that I am the last knitter on earth without a Clapotis! ;p

Annie said...

beautiful!!!! the colors are s lovely and pefect for summer!

Theresa said...

My love for the Jersey Shore knows no bounds. And that wrap is perfect. Congratulations!

Ashley said...

Liz, that is just gorgeous, and it's such a perfect color on you! I hope I get to see it on Saturday! (And never mind that it's going to be a million degrees out!)

knitnzu said...

OK, you may be spreading some clapotis fever...it looks great!

MsAmpuTeeHee said...

Came via Carol's blog...I have socks from her yarn that would match :-)
Your clapotis is so pretty! I especially like the twisted stitch bordering the ladders...it looks much crisper. Thanks for linking to the tips!

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

Really pretty shawl - it has influenced me to join the second wave KAL! Your yarn doesn't look worsted weight. Do you mind sharing the weight of yarn and the needle size?