Three way shawl

Here is a super easy and very versatile shawl, the Chameleon Shawl.

I've been meaning to knit this shawl for ages but couldn't find the right yarn. I started it once with some Tosh Lace but the colours weren't quite right. Then on a visit to Bendigo Woollen Mills I spied some Luxury 4 ply in Bracken and Wild Barley and knew I had the right combination. The 4 ply meant that the shawl turned out quite large but I don't mind that. Its going to be a great winter shawl.

The worst part of the shawl is the edging. Its not at all difficult but like all edgings it seems to take forever. I needed to put it down every now and then and knit something else just to have a bit of a break.

Gradients

Many months ago I got the itch to try some gradient yarns but I was having difficulty in finding yarns in the colour and weight that I wanted. I then did a deal with a Ravelry friend (who now has a great etsy shop, Ozifarmer's Market) to dye some yarn for me. The base is a very fine merino which is almost a cobweb weight.

And then a few weeks ago she very generously gifted me two more skeins of her lovely gradient dyeing.

Ever since I received the first lot of yarn I have been looking for the right pattern. I finally decided on Longing for Robins Return for my first attempt. This is a shawl that has long been in my queue and I was very happy to finally be able to knit it. I thought the very fine yarn would be ideal for this delicate pattern.

Once I had finished this shawl I was eager to give another one a go and this time I decided on the Leadlight shawl using the Bendigo Woolen Mills 2ply base.

I'm eager to try a few more shawls using gradient yarns, any pattern suggestions?

My summer is here already

I have finally had the opportunity to photograph my completed Summer Swatch Me Sampler. This has been a wonderful 12 week project consisting of the sampler as well as many other side projects and culminating in a design your own project.

 

 

 

 

The stats for my sampler:
Yarn: Australian Country Spinners 3ply pure wool (also possibly know as Cleckheaton Babysoft)
Needle Size: 3.5 mm
Finished Size: 91 cm x 137 cm
Beads: Miyuki Triangle 8/0 Amethyst Lined Light Blue

I am currently working on the Lilac Stole which is yet another of the possible Summer Swatch Me projects. The yarn for this project is ColourMart Cashmere Merino 2/14NM on 3.5 mm needles. And I am using size 8 seed beads in red.

 

And just to keep life interesting I have also cast on the Crest o' the wave stole in Touch Yarns Kid Mohair Merino 2 ply.

 

And next week, thanks to Mary, I will be casting on for the Featherweight Cardi for the ColourMart competition on Raverly.

Eyjafjallajökull Shawl

You know how sometimes you see a pattern and you just have to knit it to the exclusion of all else? Well this pattern from Anna Dalvi spoke to me that way. The Eyjafjallajökull Shawl. Does the name trip lightly off your tongue? Well, if you are having some difficulty then this might help you.

I wanted to knit this in a fiery red but the yarn I had was just too thin to give me the definition I wanted. And as I had to knit it now I had to find something in my stash. All that fitted the bill was this green yarn from Bendigo Woollen Mills. Its a 3ply. Not sure if it's Luxury or not because I bought it from the wonderful Back Room. Needle size 4.00mm. And the shawl measures 132 cm in diameter.

I thoroughly enjoyed knitting this shawl. The pattern is easy to memorize and simply flies off the needles. Oh and this is also my ninth shawl for the 10 shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry.

Annis

I started knitting Annis while on Kangaroo Island. I loved the feel of the Malabrigo lace because it is so buttery soft and I knew it would feel great against my skin. But as the shawl progressed I realised that a variegated yarn often doesn't go well with lace.


I persevered knowing in my heart of hearts that I should stop and frog. But as you can see I carried on to the end.


The yarn is much too busy and consequently the detail of the pattern is lost.


I thought that with the large chunk of stocking stitch that I would get away with it but unfortunately I don't think so.


I console myself that the shawl feels good. You live and learn.

A little lace

I've been indulging myself by knitting some lace. First off I finished my Raha scarf. This was such a quick knit and great for a bit of instant gratification.


The yarn is Morris Empire 4ply in Luxe and I knitted on 3.5mm needles.


Since finishing that scarf I have cast on three more projects.

I'm knitting a Brandywine shawl. The moment I saw this pattern I wanted to knit it using the Tofutsies that J so generously sent me. I felt a little unsure that this was the right yarn to use but as the shawl progresses I feel that it is working out. The shawl is soft and drapey.



The second project I cast on resulted from my May Personal Sock Yarn Club. The yarn for this month is some Henry's Attic hand dyed by the lovely Kelebek and given to me for my birthday. She calls this colourway Strawberries and Cream. I had originally matched the yarn to the Traveling Woman pattern but as I have already knitted this pattern (that's what happens when you instantly forget what you put in your little sock yarn bags) I decided to try another pattern. I first cast on for a Multnomah shawl but the yarn didn't work for me. So I then decided on the Dahlia scarf and I think this is a good match.



The third project I have cast on stems from a request from my friend Val. She wanted a lace scarf so she sent me the yarn and we decided on the Oiseau de Feu scarf. Other than that the yarn is fingering weight I know nothing else about it. But it is a beautiful colour and very soft and silky - a delight to knit with.



Well I daresay these projects will keep me out of mischief for a little while.

Summer Lace: Silvester

I have managed to finish my Silvester in time for Christmas. If you need a really quick and easy project then I highly recommend this one.



The stole measures 155 cm x 51 cm (61"x 20"). The yarn is Bendigo Woollen Mills 2 ply lace and the needle size is 4.5mm.



This was the first time that I knitted a stole on the bias and I must say I do like the effect. An additional bonus was not having to pick up stitches or having to knit on a border or edge. You simply cast on and knit from corner to corner. You can knit as many pattern repeats as you like. I knitted 5 repeats for this stole.





I tried photographing the stole in all kinds of light in order to capture the colour of the yarn and this final photo finally gives a truer reflection of the colour.



And now on to a bit of fun. Denise from Knitting in the wild is having a lace yarn competition. She has signed up for 10Shawls2010 and is looking for pattern suggestions. Why don't you hop on over and give her a few suggestions? Oh and while you are there be sure to check out her lovely completed lace projects.

I hope you all have a lovely time over the Christmas holidays.

Summer Lace: Dark Star

Finally my Dark Star stole is complete. This is one of the many lovely designs from BadCatDesigns.



My stole measures 173 cm by 102 cm (68"x40"). The yarn is Ripples Crafts Hand Dyed Yarn in Steely Blue. This is a luscious Alpaca/Silk/Cashmere lace weight yarn. A real pleasure to work with. Oh and the needle size, 3.0 mm circulars.



Its really hard to get the full impact of this stole without a willing model!





Now I need to spend some time on my Summer Squares blanket.

Breaking from the edge

I really should be finishing the edging on my Dark Star but every now and then I need a bit of distraction and lets face it, when it comes to knitting distraction abounds.

So I decided to join a friend on Ravelry for a quick KAL. We knitted the Rosebud Neckwarmer. This little scarf is meant to be knit in two pieces and then sewn together or grafted at the end. I decided to use Judy's Magic cast on and then just leave one half of the stitches on a cable while I knitted the other half, like this:



Once I finished the first half I just joined the yarn to the stitches waiting on the cable and knitted the second half. The pattern calls for plus minus 5 repeats. I thought my scarf would be too short so I knitted 6 repeats plus 10 rows. In hindsight I should have knitted 5 repeats and 10 rows because after blocking I think the scarf is just a touch too long to qualify as a neckwarmer.



The yarn is Morris and Sons Empire 4 ply merino in Luxe.



But, as if the scarf wasn't enough of a distraction, I also cast on for a pair of Kai-mei. And the yarn is Tofutsies.



And the week ended on a lovely surprise from Kelebek who sent me this lovely yarn which she dyed herself for my birthday. She calls it Kremali Gilek (strawberries and cream). And now I'm itching to cast on again!

November lace

I have finished the first lace project for this summer. I knitted the Shetland Shimmer Scarf for my Christmas swap partner. (I figured I could post it on my blog becuase she doesn't know who I am). I knitted this in Touch Yarns 2 ply Merino.





And as an added bonus I also made her a little dog because who wouldn't like a well behaved puppy for Christmas?