Here I go, casting on new projects like a crazy person. I had a good reason though! I’m sure I did. I think.
First up: Parseval in the Clover
I finished the knitting on a sweater-for-me project, and although it was blocking and lacked three buttons, I gave myself permission to swatch for my long-planned Parseval. Except, I wanted to swatch in the round, because the garment is worked mostly in the round … and when I decided how much to cast on, I realized that it was almost enough for a sleeve … so in a way, I’m not swatching. I cast on for a sleeve willy-nilly with just a guess at the correct needle and garment size. I will wash & block the sleeve when it reaches 6 inches or so, but this is unsteady ground for me. I have learned, however, that flat swatches aren’t necessarily accurate when planning in-the-round garments, so there it is. I love the yarn (Gloss DK), and the pattern isn’t too terrible (4×1 rib, mostly). I really want the finished sweater, and all the knitting becomes interesting towards the end, so I should be good to go.
Next up: Ashton Shawlette
I love this KAL choice — it’s the Feb project in the Beginning Lace Knitters group. There’s nothing super-special about the pattern, but it is well balanced and extremely well written. The designer has written a lovely tutorial that new lace knitters should find exceptionally helpful, and she’s providing it for free. I’ve already used it to help a new-to-lace knitter get started. For my own Ashton, I’m pleased to say it seems like my unloved ball of Sweet Pea (from the 2010 Socks that Rock sock club) has finally found its true calling as a simple lace shawlette.
Third, I also cast on the “not a sock” pattern from the first shipment of the 2012 Socks that Rock sock club. This year, the good folks at Blue Moon Fiber Arts are providing two patterns (as they have for the last two years), but one of the two patterns is not a sock! Due to spoilage issues, I can’t say any more about the pattern or color, except that I am IN LOVE with both. Of course I had to cast on.
I finished my Fylleryd!
Project: Happy Green Fylleryd
Pattern: Fylleryd
Designer: Mia Rinde
Available: FREE! on Ravelry
Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy in Happy Forest
I knit this fingering-weight shawlette as part of the January KAL in the Beginner Lace Knitters group on Ravelry. I keep tabs on each month’s KAL, and when I can — I join in! This is my first “nupps” project (I’m not counting my WIP Aeolian, because I haven’t gotten to the nupps yet), so I was extra excited to try something new. I’m pleased with how the nupps came out — and they weren’t that hard (people make things sound so difficult sometimes!).
I’m also extra excited, because this is some of the yarn I liberated in my January frogging festival. I am SO MUCH more happy with this new project — I will definitely be wearing my Happy Green Fylleryd, lots. Because I only had one skein, I had to be conservative … I did two repeats of the leaf chart, then three repeats of the blueberry chart. Judicious math and careful thought revealed I would not have enough for the edge, so I went back a few rows and made it TWO repeats of the blueberry chart, then the edge, then I added a crochet-lace cast-off (similar to how I finished the bottom edge of Red Seas).
As an aside, three cheers for my willing & adorable model! The shawl looks huge on a six year old :).
I made my nupps the old-fashioned way: k1, yo, k1, yo, k1, yo, k1 into one st on the right side, then purl all seven together on the returning wrong-side row. I made a special effort to make the loops LOOSE because that seems to be key … it definitely worked for me.
Because sometimes I simply cannot help myself, this week I cast on for some shawls. Not one, not two, but THREE new projects. Ack.
First up: CEY’s popular Abstract with some gorgeous cashmere yarn I picked up at such a discount that I am ashamed to admit it in public. I have 136 grams of Wicked, and I am making the softest most beautiful-est shawl/scarf ever. It is completely spoiling me for all other yarns forever, because knitting with cashmere is like … well, like nothing else I’ve ever knit with. Yum. The work is humming right along — should be a quick project to finish.
Later in the week, I got really impatient waiting for the next clue on a mystery lace KAL to come out, so (logically) I cast on for a Echo Flower shawl using some Shadow Tonal in Deep Waters. I’d originally meant the yarn to be something else, but then changed my mind. So this doesn’t really count as a new project, right?
This did not cure my KAL waiting blues however, and after seeing so many gorgeous lace-weight projects go up on the KAL thread, I caved in and bought some Malabrigo Lace at the shop, and cast on last night, and finished the first clue. You can see where this is headed … I finished Clue 3 on the original mystery today, and I’m halfway through clue 2 on the lace-weight one. Help? Also: we will not discuss the four skeins of Tosh Light that are already destined for three different lace projects. Will not!
I finished my Juneberry!
Project: Vermont Juneberry
Pattern: Juneberry Triangle
Designer: Jared Flood
Available: $6.50 on Ravelry
Yarn: The Shearer’s Yarn in Quoddy Blue
I bought this yarn at a farmstand in Vermont, on my way back from an agility trial. What I have, is what I have … so I was excited when I calculated yardage, and found I had enough to make a Juneberry — a pattern I’ve had queued for a while now.
You can, therefore, appreciate the depths of my horror when I realized (as I began working the edging) that I had nowhere NEAR enough yarn to finish the pattern as written. I modified, measured, knit, ripped, and repeated until I had an edging that preserved some flavor of the original, but used the right amount of yarn. Even so, I finished on fumes — the tiny ball below is all I had left! Phew.
I’m satisfied with my modded edging … I had to loose the big lacy holes, but I’m ok with my faggoted substitution. I was able to keep the bobbled swoops, and lost 1 of the 3 lace holes along the outside edge.
I really enjoyed this knit, and will likely make it again, this time with enough yarn on hand to complete the full edging! It’s fun to knit lace with worsted-weight yarn — over and done very quickly.
There is nothing like a big UFO purge and Ravelry Queue clean-up to make me really want to cast on something new! 🙂
First up: a Drift Toque from my Christmas copy of Weekend Hats. I’m using some stashed Happy Feet DK — the color is gorgeous, and a little hard to capture with my camera. I love the up-down cables and the sideways short-row construction. I opted to use the called-for needle size (instead of going down a size, which I usually do, thanks to my loose knitting habits). I have a huge head, and thought this might be enough to make the hat the right size for me. Alas, it looks like it might be coming out a touch small … but, I think I can add an extra “wedge” of hat + short rows and make it fit.
Next, I’m doing a Fyllyrd as part of the January KAL in the Beginning Lace Knitters group. I’m using my newly liberated Dream-in-Color Smooshy in the “Happy Forest” colorway. I have already used as much yarn as I frogged … SO the right decision. I just finished the first nupps repeat, and I am really enjoying it. If it looks like a neat pattern, join in the fun! This is an open KAL that will be running all month (and, usually, afterwards as people finish up).
I am using my other skein of DIC Smooshy (“Dusky Aurora”) for a different KAL (this one closed yesterday, so it’s too late to join in). SusannaIC’s January Mystery KAL features nupps, beads, and a cast-on of 300+ stitches. Fun times!
Introducing my latest pattern: the Babylon Shawlette!
Knit from a single skein of sock yarn, this shawlette started out life destined to be a pair of socks … but the yarn wanted more. In sock form, the colors pooled and flashed in an unacceptably foul manner. No matter what I did, the yarn would not cooperate.
Pattern: Babylon Shawlette
Designer: Rachel Henry (that’s me!)
Available: $6 on Ravelry
Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight (biggie skein)
Design/Skills Needed: This sinuous shawlette is designed to show off unusual colorways while fighting pooling and flashing with a varying-width edging and tapered ends. Short rows at the center back curve the shawlette into a shoulder-hugging crescent and add interest to the pattern. Babylon is worked from tip to tip in one piece — no finishing or picking up stitches! The neck edge has a worked-as-you-go i-cord border for comfort at prevent too much curling.
The trickiest bit of the edging is the yarn-over at the beginning of each wrong-side row. It’s important to wrap the yarn the same way you would to do a normal stitch–that way, it stays open and creates a pretty loopy edge. The extra effort is worth it: a pretty edge that doesn’t roll and isn’t garter stitch, yay!
I finished my Wilhemina Shawlette! Have you noticed that I am completely addicted to one-skein, fingering-weight shawlettes? Talk about instant gratification!
Clewe, my 10-month-old Border Collie, “volunteered” to show off his most excellent STAY and pose with the FO:
Project: Castlevania
Pattern: Wilhelmina Shawlette
Designer: Chrissy Gardiner
Available: as a single pattern for $6, as part of the most excellent What Would Madame DeFarge Knit? for $16.95.
Yarn: Knit Picks Imagination in Castle Walls
Thoroughly addictive and beautiful lace pattern — a truly enjoyable knit. I ended up adding several extra repeats of the edging, in order to use up as much of my skein as possible. I really like the visual effect of these extra repeats. Imagination worked beautifully for this pattern — it’s so soft and pretty, I’m almost done being mad at it for felting when made into socks ;).
“Sun in Cold Water” is the September KAL in the Beginner Lace Knitters group on Ravelry. Since purchasing a ball of super-colorful Zauberball in March, I’ve been searching for a pattern that would show off the stunning colorway. After several failed attempts, I’d put the ball aside — but this pattern seemed like it would suit perfectly. I’m pleased with the results!
Project: Zaubershawl
Pattern: Sun in Cold Water
Designer: Julia Faranchuk
Available: FREE! on Ravelry
Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in #1536
This shawlette is a crescent, worked from the bottom up. The designer’s intent was to allow intentional pooling of a short-repeat variegated yarn — of course my extra-long repeat Zauberball doesn’t do that. The initial cast-on is provisional — you come back at the end to work a loopy crocheted-chain edge. (You can also make the crochet chain first, and pick up every 6th st to cast on.) Short rows shape the body.
After my recent spate of shawlette-making, I’ve become opinionated. I made a number of modifications to this pattern, to suit my own preferences.
I decided to pull out points, rather than pin each of the 259 crochet-chain loops:
The blocked shawl:
Way back in March, I bought this super-colorful Zauberball at Mind’s Eye Yarns in Cambridge, MA. I had been on a socialization trip with my puppy, Clewe. The owner was kind enough to invite him inside!
I took so long to decide on a color, he actually fell asleep upside down on the shop floor. Aw, cute!
I tried several different patterns with the Zauberball, with no luck at all … until I decided to try it for the BLK’s September KAL: Sun in Cold Water by Julia Faranchuk. I cast on Sept 1st, and I’m zipping right along with the pattern. The colorway is SO much fun — a little out of my usual palette, but there’s nothing wrong with that! I can’t wait until it’s done and I can block it out.
Remily Knits 