I blocked the Heaven Scent shawl last weekend, and the lace opened up beautifully!
I still have to sew in the ends, but it was a good day for pictures.
It blocked out to a really nice size. It’s about 20″ deep at the middle back, and that long curved edge is about 84″ long.
And one last detail shot. 🙂
There are three more shawls in this pattern bundle. One is rectangular, so less interesting to me, but I’ll have a hunt through my stash for candidates to knit the other two crescent shawls.
I told you last week that I’d cast on this shawl, Heaven Scent by BooKnits in Freia Handpaints Ombré Shawl Ball. (That post is right here.) It turned out to be a compulsive knit and I charged right through the charts. I knew it would be a close call to make it out of the one ball, and ended up playing yarn chicken.
Could I finish with the one ball of yarn? As with many crescent shawls, you increase the needle size at increments in this pattern, which opens up the lace even before blocking. Keeping an eye on my diminishing ball of yarn, I didn’t change needles for the border, but kept on with the ones I’d used for the body.
I made it to the final row and chose not to do the picot edge, hoping I’d still make it.
Nope.
The cast-off is on a wrong side row, so I made it all the way from the left edge to where you see the last 8″ of my yarn. It’s maybe 3/4 of the way around. I lost yarn chicken.
I also played bead chicken at the same time, but I won that. I added more beads to the border then realized I might run out. I have five beads left in the vial. Phew!
I went through all my stash, and my bits and ends, but couldn’t find anything to match that shade of red in a single ply wool. I couldn’t even match the colour. (The colours of this yarn have photographed to look more vivid than they are in real life. They’re bright, but not this bright.) So, I picked back the cast-off row and cast off again. I thought I’d cast off in purple, a contrasting edge that matched the centre of the shawl, and couldn’t get the shade of purple right either. So, I used two strands for the cast-off, one in Sugar Bush Drizzle in Monsoon Mauve (which is a bit light) and one of Rowan Kidsilk Haze in Black.
And here’s the result.
It’s funny that in this picture, the cast-off edge looks too dark. The purple in the middle of ths shawl appears to be the same shade as Monsoon Mauve. You’ll have to trust me that in real life, the colours are matchy-matchy.
Next up, a good soak and a blocking. I’ll show you the finished shawl when it’s done.
I’m kind of amazed that I knit this shawl in less than three weeks. I guess that’s what happens when I concentrate on one project, instead of working on a dozen things at once. (Actually, I had two on the go at the same time and finished the other one, too – it was the mittens and scarf of Patons Rumor. I’ll show you that tomorrow.) There’s a lesson there that I should take on board. 🙂
I haven’t knit a shawl in a while, lace or otherwise – well, I’m still plugging along on my Water shawl, but it’s not a very fun knit at this point. I don’t think it counts anymore. 🙂
A LYS had Freia Handpaints yarns on sale, and I simply can’t resist gradient dyed yarns. I ordered some and cast on.
I chose a pattern by BooKnits. I wanted to knit a lace shawl with some beads and I had The Close to You Collection of patterns already. (That’s a Ravelry link.) I had knit Snow Angel from this pattern collection, also in Freia Handpaints yarn, but in their Wool/Nylon Lace which is discontinued. The colourway was Autumn Rose.
Here’s my Ravelry project page for the project.
And here’s that Snow Angel shawl:
There’s a blog post for it, which is right here.
This time, I’ve chosen the pattern Heaven Scent, which is in that same collection but also available on its own. (That’s a Ravelry link.) I’m knitting the smallest size, with the stockinette stitch top.
This yarn is Freia Handpaints Ombré Shawl Ball Merino. The colourway is Vamp. Here’s the Ravelry yarn page.
Here’s my progress so far:
The camera is really emphasizing that hot pink. The colourway ends in a bright red.
Of course, it’s curled on the circular needle in the opposite direction of its shape – the shawl will be a crescent curved the other way when it’s off the needles and blocked. (Much like Snow Angel, shown above.)
The yarn is a loose single ply. It’s very soft but tougher than expected – there is the usual thick-and-thin of single ply yarns but it hasn’t been splitty to knit and it hasn’t broken.
And here’s a detail view. I’m using 6/0 purple Czech glass beads in dark purple, which match the beginning of the gradient pretty well.
I did make a slight change to the pattern. The shawl grows quickly in width because you add four stitches on every right side row and two on every wrong side row. The additions are at the beginning and the end of each row, and the pattern uses make-one (slanting left or right). I found that two M1s with just a knit stitch between them, then another M1 on the purl side pretty close by made for a tight edge. I switched out the two M1s on the purl side for YO’s, then the outer M1 on the right side rows to YO’s as well. I’m curious to see how this blocks out. It feels better to me.
I’m almost halfway through the second repeat of the main chart, then have the border chart to knit. I’m thinking I might run out of yarn (the pattern notes that 400m is close) so if I do, I’ll have to find something matchy to finish.
There’s an unusual confluence of variables in my life right now, which means I’m starting both new writing projects and new knitting projects. It’s amazing to me how similar the two situations are. It’s not just about choosing the project—the bigger issue is getting the combination of variables right. Possibilities abound! I need to get some of them settled so I can start creating effectively.
Let’s talk about the knitting project here.
First off, I finished another pair of socks. These are knit in my usual pattern, the one I have memorized, in Fleece Artist Kiki. (That’s a Ravelry link.)
The tag says the colourway is Pansy but I think it’s really Nova Scotia (there’s no purple in this skein). I was excited to get this yarn on sale and realized later that it’s discontinued. It’s quite a thick sock yarn, so I went down to 64 stitches from my usual 72. I knit another pair of socks in another colourway of Kiki and showed them to you earlier this year. It’s a nice squishy yarn and good to have another pair of socks done for the winter. (I may have to cast on another pair of socks, just to have an anchoring project in my currently chaotic world.)
I also cast on a new shawl. Water is a pattern I’ve wanted to knit for a while (that’s a Ravelry link) and I finally found the perfect yarn for it. The designer is Sylvia McFadden and one of the official pix of the shawl is at right. (Click through on the Ravelry link to see more.) You can see that it’s in garter stitch with lovely wavey insertions.
I bought a collection of her patterns and knit Waiting for Rain from it – that’s the Ravelry link for the pattern and this is my blog post about my shawl.
In case you don’t feel clicky, here’s my Waiting for Rain shawl.
In that pattern, the insertions were of a different lace pattern and they were knit in a contrasting color. There was a lot of stripe-y goodness in that design.
I’m knitting my Water shawl with Fleece Artist Anni (that’s a Ravelry link), a limited edtiion yarn that is also discontinued. It’s fingering weight and a blend of merino and mohair. It’s a bit more itchy for me than anticipated, so is a better choice for a shawl than a sweater. The colorway is called Frozen Ocean, which seems very apt.
Here’s how it looks so far:
The color is really not true in this image. It looks very green here, but is actually turquoise. I made good progress but am now at the first insertion and need to pay attention to the lace stitch. This bit isn’t TV knitting. 🙂
Which meant (inevitably) that I was casting around for a TV knit, since we’re binging mystery series these evenings. I’d been thinking of making an asymmetical sweater for the girls, which reminded me of this pattern. Portia is another sweater I always intended to make. (Yes, that’s a Ravelry link.) It was designed by Norah Gaughran for Berroco and has such an interesting design.
I actually have the specified yarn, Berroco Peruvia, but don’t have quite enough of it. I could make the smallest size, but that seems overly ambitious. It’s unlikely that I’ll lose a bunch of weight, sitting on the couch knitting. (That’s a Ravelry link because yes, Peruvia is discontinued.)
So I ended up auditioning yarn candidates from my stash – which is awfully similar to auditioning opening scenes for a book, my daytime task this week. The first candidate was some Rowan Felted Tweed Aran, which is exactly the same weight as Peruvia. (That’s a Rowan link as my colorway is discontinued but not the yarn itself.) Mine is a rosy colour, though, and I’m not sure I’ll wear a sweater coat in that shade. It’s a lot of pink. Beautiful yarn, though. I need to figure out what to do with it now.
Next up, some Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed Aran in a scarlet shade. (Another discontinued yarn; another Ravelry link.) Very pretty but I thought the yarn looked too thin when knit to gauge. I could use smaller needles, but then the dimensions of the garment would be changed. Given the design of this sweater, it’s tough to anticipate how to adjust the fit.
Next candidate: Noro Nadeshiko. This is lovely squishy yarn, an angora, silk and mohair blend. It’s a little heavier than Peruvia but I really like the firmer fabric when knit to gauge. I had bought this to make another sweater coat, this one from the original Noro magazine, designed by Mari Tobita, at left. It’s called #18 Shawl Collared Coat. (Yes, more Ravelry links. The problem with a well-aged stash is that everything is discontinued.) This coat has really pretty shaping in the back.
The colourway I have is less stripey than the one in this picture. It’s mostly shades of grey with a little bit of brick-red and a bit of white. I’m concerned that it might look too stripe-y in Portia, but am giving it a try. Here’s what I have so far:
This is the centre-back braid, knit down from the back yoke, so it’s going to taper from here to that lowest point. The red looks more emphatic in the photo than in real life.
After this triangular piece is knit, you then pick up the side panels along the edges and knit toward the front. If I continue with the Noro, I’ll have to make sure that the stripes are symmetrical. I’m just too matchy-matchy to be happy with the result otherwise. I’ll see how it looks when the triangle is done.
With any luck, I’ll soon have both a knitting project and a writing project launched!
Things have been quiet here because I’ve been busily knitting away. The sad fact is that I know too many people right now who are battling cancer. I’ve been trying to knit a bit of comfort.
Here’s one project, now complete, for a friend. The pattern is Charlotte’s Web and it’s knit in Koigu KPPPM. The recipient asked for something red and I had four skeins of this colourway. This shawl is usually knit in multiple colours, but I quite like how it came out in just one:
Bonus! You get to see the left toe of my kitchen clogs. 🙂 It’s a crappy day for pictures – we’re having wet snow and rain, and the skies are overcast – but I need to get this on its way. I took this quickly so the shawl wouldn’t get wet, thus my left toe. The colour isn’t quite right despite the dull skies – the shawl is more red than pink.
You can see that the last skein was a bit darker. Even though all four skeins were the same colourway and dye lot, I sorted them from light to dark as there was obviously some variation. This way, the changes are subtle. I only did a graduated change for the transition from the third skein to the fourth.
Here’s a detail shot:
I love how airy this lace pattern is, plus it’s pretty easy to memorize. The pictures really don’t do justice to this yarn, which has so many flicks and gradations, as well as rich saturated colour. I hope Koigu has their tent sale this year, as I’m due to stock up on more pretty yarn.
I had thought the shawl might end up too small with just the four skeins, but it’s 70″ across the long edge and 35″ deep. That’s plenty big enough!
Here’s the first shawl I knit of this pattern, also in Koigu KPPPM:
This one was knit in five different colourways, as the pattern specifies. I shaded them from light to dark. This photo was taken in the snow on a dull day.
Here’s a detail of the lace on that first version – it shows up better against the snow:
It seems more open on the purple one. Maybe I used a larger needle, or maybe I blocked it harder. Hmm.
Now for some links. I have the book, Wrapped in Colour, which includes the pattern for Charlotte’s Web. (Those are Ravelry links. This pattern has also appeared in some other publications.) As designed, it takes five skeins of Koigu KPPPM and has a fringe. I’m not much for fringes, which means I can knit it bigger.
Here’s my project page for the red one on Ravelry, here’s my blog post about the purple one, and here’s the Koigu website in case you need some of this yarn.
Now I need to work out these chemo caps. I’m deeply unhappy with the pattern and yarn combinations I’ve tried so far, but am hoping to sort it out soon. I’ll show you when I do.
I finished my shawl, knit from the Rowan subscribers’ kit! I told you about this in December when I cast it on. Here it is on the blocking needles:
It’s BIG! It blocked out to 18″ by 83″, with ten repeats. I used up all but 10g of the wool.
Here’s a detail image on the blocking needles:
The colour of the yarn is a greyed blue, quite pretty. It looks more grey here and more blue in the first post. In reality, it’s in between.
The shawl is supposed to be knit in a circle, with the ends grafted together, but I knew I’d wrestle with wearing that. Instead, I knit 6 rows of garter stitch at the beginning and at the end. I also increased the selvedge stitches from two stitches to three. I would have liked to have done another repeat of the first motif at the end – this second picture actually shows the cast-off end – to make it more symmetrical but there wasn’t enough yarn. I could have added a repeat of the second motif at the beginning if I’d thought of it then, but we’re going to go with asymmetry at this point.
My Ravelry project page is here.
I found this a nice knit, although it got to be quite a pile in my lap by the end. The lace stitches were easy although I didn’t quite memorize them, and the wool showed them off well.
It’s interesting that the shadow in the snow makes the picture look blurred. The colour is more true in this shot. I’m hoping this will be the last chance for a while to toss a project in the snow for pictures.
On to the next project waiting to be finished!
Crystal Twist is a triangular shawl with a cabled border. (That’s a Ravelry link.) It’s knit in fingering weight yarn with beads. I saw a kit for this pretty little shawl, but decided to buy the pattern on its own and shop my stash instead of buying the kit.
I had a skein of Knit Picks Bare Merino Silk fingering, which was one of several yarns including in a dye-your-own kit I bought from them ages ago. I made mine purple and there it is on the left. (The yarn on the right is KP Stroll which is a sport weight that I haven’t knit up yet)
The incredible thing is that I didn’t have any beads to match a purple yarn. I guess I’ve used them all up. This is a bit of a wasteland for buying beads so I decided to knit the shawl without any.
I was a bit confused by the first chart, because row 1 is a wrong-side row, making row 2 and all even-numbered rows right-side rows. This was the opposite of my expectation, but once I had that sorted out, I was off. It’s a nice easy pattern to knit – you start at a point and increase until you have six cable bands, then the other stitches are in stockinette as the shawl grows wider.
I had another small issue when I started the second chart – which starts on row 1, a right-side row! – in that I was short a stitch. I did it over and over but couldn’t find the stitch. I had 52 stitches as specified but when I count the chart, I get 53, which could be the issue. In the end, I just crossed out the column for stitch 16 and carried on.
Here’s how it looks so far:
I like the colours and the pattern, but am not that fussed about the yarn. I thought it would be soft, but it feels a lot like cotton when it’s knitted up. Maybe I’ll knit a second shawl in another yarn and with beads. For the moment, I’m knitting on!
This was the first lace shawl I ever knit. I saw it displayed at the Kitchener-Waterloo Knitters’ Fair and bought everything to knit it on the spot. The pattern is the Flirty Ruffles Shawl by Dorothy Siemens, and I knit mine in Misti Alpaca Lace.
I don’t remember it being a particularly difficult knit. The pattern is completely charted.
The stitch pattern in the middle of the shawl is Print o’ the Wave, which is one of my favourites.
My Ravelry project page says I knit it in 2007. I miss those shoes! 🙂
My quest for self-isolation – which is the same as my quest every other year – is to finish up some of the projects I have on my needles. Here’s one that’s been hanging around for a while that is finally done. (Phew.)
The pattern is called Starling Wrap, knit in Rowan Fine Art, and it’s included in the Rowan Fine Art Collection – which was published in 2013. I loved this shawl and bought both the yarn and the book immediately. Rowan Fine Art is a fingering weight yarn, so the book has patterns for socks and shawls. Here’s the Ravelry link for the book, so you can see all of the patterns. I’m not sure how readily available the book is anymore, because the yarn is discontinued.
Here’s the picture from the book of the Starling Wrap. I ordered the same colourway that was used in the sample. And here the perils of online shopping begin to show up. First, for some reason, I thought this colourway (Waxwing) would be reddish or burgundy – in fact, it’s russet, gold and brown. Second, the yarn is also spun hard, which surprised me when it arrived. I was thinking it would be more squishy. Its spin means it’s probably a really good sock yarn for socks. If I had felt it, I probably wouldn’t have bought it for a shawl, and I wouldn’t have chosen this colourway if I’d seen it in real life first. Finally, if I’d flipped through the book before buying it, I would have seen that there were no charts for the lace stitch – just oceans of text instructions. I didn’t cast on until June 2014, according to my Ravelry project page. I made my own chart of the lace stitch and things went reasonably well.
The project then stalled because Rowan chose the Starling Wrap as the free download pattern from the book – I had ordered the book from the UK just for the one pattern – and then they discontinued the yarn, which meant it was half-price everywhere. I was a bit annoyed, which is not conducive to happy knitting.
This yarn is handpainted, btw, but it’s done in a very precise way. (Or maybe it’s precise to each batch or dye lot.) In order to ensure that the variegation worked the same way with each skein, when I got near the end of a skein, I matched the variegation (and its direction) on the next skein by placing the two ends alongside each other.
Last spring, I decided to get it done. The shawl takes three 100g skeins of Rowan Fine Art: I’d knit up two skeins and was well into the third. So, I pulled out the project to just crunch through the rest of it. It’s not TV knitting and it went back in the bag again. Until last week. Out it came. I had started the tenth repeat of the pattern. I was thinking I had to do twelve and use up the yarn to get the length – lo and behold, it was already longer than the pattern specifies. I could have cast off after nine repeats, years ago! LOL So, I finished that repeat and cast it off Saturday. I gave it a good soak and blocked it, and voilà! The endless shawl is done!
It’s enormous, too. I couldn’t take a picture of the whole thing, so this is less than half. And yes, the ends still need to be sewn in. Here’s a detail of the pattern, which is very pretty. The variegation in the yarn made a narrow stripe, which is nice, too.
What do you think?
Today, we’ll talk about another stole from Victorian Lace Today that I knit (this time in 2008) but never added to the blog. The pattern is Large Rectangle with Center Diamond Pattern by Jane Sowerby and I knit it in a handpainted yarn from Wellington Fibres. The base yarn is their 3-ply fingering.
Wellington Fibres is a small mill and also raise angora goats themselves. They’re near Elora, Ontario and well worth a road trip. They have a shop attached to the mill where they sell both tops for spinning and finished yarn. They have a spring open house, when there are lots of baby goats, too.
Mohair is a glorious fibre with a wonderful sheen. It also takes dye very well. The rich jewel tones of the yarn at Wellington Fibres makes their shop feel like Aladdin’s Cave.
Here’s the shawl:
This one finished out at 65″ by 19″. I think it was the first time I knitted on a border. I did change out the specified border for the Cyprus edging.
There’s a slight striping effect from the handpainted yarn, but I like it:
What I like about the patterns in Victorian Lace Today is that I can memorize many of them, especially ones like this. That means I don’t have to sit over a chart as I knit, but can watch television or talk to other people. I like charted lace patterns, too, but VLT is distinctive in that for me.
Here’s an old picture of the shawl, which shows the pattern stitch a bit better. This one is closer to the actual colours, too.
Now, I’m thinking about knitting another shawl from Victorian Lace Today!
Alive & Knitting 