A Tangled Russian Yarn About Four Friends

See if you can follow this. I'm kind of fuzzy-brained tonight, so I apologize if it's a bit incoherent.

Back in 2005, my friend Kristen went to Russia for a year to continue her studies in Russian art.  She read in the blog that I had purchased the book A Gathering of Lace and some yarn in order to knit the Faux Russian Stole.  She thought it was a shame that I might be using non-Russian yarn to knit a Russian stole.  She sent me several skeins of authentic Russian yarn with which to knit it. 

Here's a photo of the yarn and the chocolate she sent me way back when:

 

That's gossamer-weight Russian yarn, the kind they use for their lovely Orenburg shawls. 

My inability to knit lace is well established.  I was going to say "legendary," but that would probably be symptomatic of delusions of grandeur, as if anybody really cares or something, so I'll stick with "well established."

So of course the yarn sat languishing in my stash all these years. 

But, as has been well documented in my blog as well as her own and several others, Cookie's ability to knit lace IS legendary.  After she completed the last gorgeous lace thing for me, she said something to the effect of "What do you want next."  The woman is a crazy machine, honestly!  I feel quite certain that if any of us were to meet her in person, we would actually find a robot and not a sentient being, but that is neither here nor there.  She knits lace.  A lot.  And faster than a speeding bullet!  Who am I to argue?  Ya know?  I mean, yeah, I'll take it off her hands -- or her needles, if you will.  I have no qualms.  I feel I'm doing her a service, really:  It gives her something to kvetch about, ya know?  (Stop repeating "delusions of grandeur."  Or was that another voice in my head?)

Anyhoo, Cookie has this intractable and unmitigated love of pink, which I try not to hold against her too much, and I'm not so sure how she feels about orange in general.  I don't think her opinion of orange is so high.  So I pussyfoot around her for a bit and I say, "Would it make you retch too much if you had to knit -- orange?  And lots of it?"  I tried to soften the idea by suggesting that perhaps I will overdye it to become a richer shade of orange or red afterward, not that this would help her gag reflex much during the knitting, but I thought it might palliate the pain.    

Imagine my surprise when she immediately accepted!  She asked what pattern.  I said I already had the pattern -- the Faux Russian Stole -- and I explained to her the provenance of the yarn.  She was all over it. 

Look what arrived in the mail yesterday:

 

Highly orange.  (The color in this photo is quite spot-on accurate) 

The photos below don't show the color well, but show some of the stinkingly gorgeous Russian-style garter lace that that girl (or robot or whatever she is) just whipped right out in no time flat.

Cookie held the yarn TRIPLED -- yes, I said tripled -- to knit this stole.  Can you believe that? I can't.

As for the orange, I am pretty steadfast in my love of orange, but I still felt certain that when I received it I would want to overdye it to tone it down somehow. However, at least in the evening light in which I see it right now, I LOVE it.  I'm wearing it as I type this, and it seems to look very nice against my skin tones. The color makes me happy, as orange often does.  

The fourth friend in this story is Joan.  She did a knitalong with Cookie of the same stole, but hers is in blue.  I really doubt that Cookie needed any help, but I thank you anyway, Joan, for being her knit buddy in this project. 

Comments

[Kristen]

Holy freakin hell! My god, Cookie, you are incredible! Thank you so much for turning Norma's yarn into something gorgeous. {dabbing at eyes}

[Sarah]

Cookie is made of magic!

[ann]

it is beautiful! Cookie is the goddess of lace!

[Manise]

Orange or not, that is one gorgeous piece of lace! Wear well. Speaking of which, when do we get to see modeled photos??

[margene]

The stole is really incredible. Joan and Cookie are lace knitting machines. How do they do it time after time. Lucky you! Enjoy it, wear it well!!!

[Nora]

It's fantastic. And, yes, I'm completely freaked out that she held the yarn tripled, but don't tell her I said so or she'll badger me until I try it.

Orange is suprisingly flattering, I find. One of those trick colors.

xo

[gayle]

I think Cookie warps the space-time continuum somehow. I want to go be her apprentice to learn her secret...

I'm currently spinning orange lace-weight. I don't know why - the orange roving ambushed me at the LYS, and had to go home with me. Suddenly I must have an orange shawl.

[(formerly) no-blog-rachel]

If I could be just half as fabulous (and quick) with lace as Cookie and Joan are, I'd be one happy girl. It is gorgeous!

[Vicki]

That's amazing!

[(no longer blogging at) a simple yarn]

прекрасный!

[Jennifer]

Oh my - that is gorgeous. What good friends you have. Do you have some cool orange jewelry for that? You know, a girl should really have lots of orange. It's so bright and cheery.

; )

[Carol]

Stunning!!!

[Marcia]

You could SO knit lace, you slacker. Of course, if I had "someone" to knit lace for me, I'd probably develop a "well-established" inability to knit the stuff, too! (I took several classes on Orenburg lace knitting with Galina Khmeleva and still haven't made a shawl.)

[Collette]

Gorgeous! All the generosity as well as the shawl. I love, love orange.

[Cheryl S.]

Lovely! Looking forward to some modeled shots. And why should you ever learn to knit lace, when you have Cookie?

[marie in florida]

envy

[Cookie]

Gossamer?

It's fucking gossamer?!

I thought it was cobweb weight and knew I could do that. Thank goodness I didn't know the truth until now.

Btw, as usual, no one is allowed to look really closely at that stole. Don't make me come over there, Norma.

It was a pleasure to knit that for you and to help with the story of that stole.

xo

[marianne]

Yep, Cookie and Joan, two amazing women... who happen to knit a LOT of stunningly beautiful lace :^)

[lisa]

it's beautiful!! i also can't wait to see it modeled on a live human. i love it!!

[Seanna Lea]

That is gorgeous! I love how sculptural the garter stitch is. I don't think I would have thought of using 3 strands held together.

[thea]

holy shit. Does Cookie need more friends?

[grumperina]

Wow, that's an amazing orange shawl! You have an awesome friend/robot.

[Melissa G]

You must have told her it's the new pink!

[Carolyn]

Okay Norma, now you've done it !!! I am officially envious. Or should I say I'm orange with jelousy.

[faerielady]

Even though I dislike orange intensely (sorry m'dear, but I wouldn't have been able to knit that color... lol) the stole is beautiful :-) Great work Cookie!

[Mary Beth]

Any toads yet? :)

[Carrie]

Cookie rocks the lace pretty hard, no?

[Klaus]

Oh, that is fantastic! I love that pattern, too. I have knitted it twice and I can see knitting it again in the future (I've knitted it with laceweight twice, but I think it would be great in heavier yarn.) Very nice.

[opal]

what a gorgeous stole! well done, cookie!

[Carrie K]

Wow, gorgeous. The color. Oh sure, the lacy pattern is too but c'mon. Cookie. She probably knit it with her eyes closed while yelling at the kids to get off her lawn. ;)

[JessaLu]

Gorgeous! That Cookie...she's pretty awesome.

[Bams]

Sentient being, my Aunt Fanny! There is no way a human can knit that much lace that fast and that beeeeeeeeyouuuuuuuutifully. I tried to tell her that orange is the new pink, but I think it went over a bit like a lead balloon. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.

[minnie]

will you choke and gag when you find out the way i foundyou was the flower basket shawl?

[kmkat]

That Cookie really is amazing. Apparently her days have eleventy-seven hours in them or something.