Tag shawl

CO Monday: Sea Drift Toque, Happy Green Fyllyrd, Jan 2012 Mystery Lace KAL

remilyknits Leave a comment

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.

IMG_3224

 

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).

IMG_3268

 

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!

IMG_3267

 

New Pattern Release: Babylon Shawlette

remilyknits 1 Comment

Introducing my latest pattern: the Babylon Shawlette!

IMG_2889(rev 1)

 

 

 

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.

 

IMG_2893(rev 1)

Pattern: Babylon Shawlette

Designer: Rachel Henry (that’s me!)

Available: $6 on Ravelry

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock Lightweight (biggie skein)

6209708300_9fe8ce3225_b(rev 1)

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!

IMG_2896(rev 1)

6209710800_14b765ec1c_b(rev 1)

FO Friday: Castlevania

remilyknits 1 Comment

IMG_2937(rev 1)

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:

IMG_2936(rev 1)

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 ;).

IMG_2933(rev 0)

IMG_2932(rev 1)

IMG_2931(rev 1)

New Pattern Release: Marilla’s Very Practical Shawl

remilyknits 2 Comments

Introducing my latest pattern: Marilla’s Very Practical Shawl! This Danish-style tie shawl is worked from the bottom up in worsted-weight yarn.

2644 Marilla shawl

Pattern: Marilla’s Very Practical Shawl

Designer: Rachel Henry (that’s me!)

Available: for $1.99 through Knit Picks IDP

Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Tonal

2637 marilla shawl

Inspiration: I read the Anne of Green Gables series several times over while I was growing up (and at least once as an adult).  It’s easy to like Anne—we’re meant to like her–but I always had a soft spot for Marilla Cuthbert. Prickly, practical, and tough, she protected a tender heart with a convincing façade. I like to think Marilla would have liked this shawl. It’s warm, knits up quickly, and the long Danish-style ties allow you to wrap and secure the shawl around your shoulders and waist. But, there’s just enough lace to make it pretty, too.

I made a shawl in this style a couple years ago, and I wore it all the time last winter. I loved how the ties held it in place, and allowed several different ways to wear it.  For cool days, I wore the shawl over my shoulders with the ties going directly under my arms and tied behind — like a shrug.  On frigid days, I crossed the shawl over my chest, wrapping the ties around myself before tying them behind. Both ways allowed great freedom of movement while staying warm, and pretty too!  I even wore this shawl to dog agility events.

My interpretation of this type of shawl is larger overall, with longer ties. I used worsted-weight yarn to make it warmer and faster to knit. I tried to streamline the construction to eliminate as many loose ends as possible.

2645 Marilla shawl

Design/Skills Needed: The shawl begins with the bottom edging, worked from right tip to left tip, with a short-row corner halfway through. Stitches are picked up along this bottom edge, leaving 8 repeats at both tips to form the ties. The body is worked from the bottom edge, with decreases to form the spine and top edge. After the body is completed, the neck edging is worked from right tip to left tip and joined to the body as you go.

It’s worth noting that the bottom edging uses about 40% of the yarn … so even though it takes a long time, you are nearly halfway done when you finish it! The pattern includes some charts; however, all charts are also completely written-out, for knitters who prefer to work from written directions.

Yarn: Almost any worsted-weight yarn will work with this pattern.

I would be delighted to answer any questions or help any knitters working on this project.

2639 Marilla shawl

2640 Marilla shawl (corner)

Cast-on Monday: Zaubershawl

remilyknits Leave a comment

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!
1950 Zauberball 1536

 

I took so long to decide on a color, he actually fell asleep upside down on the shop floor.  Aw, cute!

1948 Clewe asleep at yarn shop

 

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.

2837 Zaubershawl in progress

Test Knitters Needed: Marilla’s Very Practical Shawl

remilyknits 1 Comment

I just finished the sample for a pattern for Knit Picks IDP worked in their GORGEOUS Swish Tonal (Blue Violet colorway).  I need a few intrepid test knitters to help me ferret out any errors or confusing bits.  If you’re up for the task, send me a message!

Marilla’s Very Practical Shawl

2644 Marilla shawl 2639 Marilla shawl

Design details: The shawl begins with the bottom edging, worked from right tip to left tip, with a short-row corner halfway through.  Stitches are picked up along this bottom edge, leaving 8 repeats at both tips to form the ties.  The body is worked from the bottom edge, with decreases to form the spine and top edge. After the body is completed, the neck edging is worked from right tip to left tip and joined to the body as you go.

Craft(s): knitting
Number of Testers: 2 for charts, 2 for written directions
Approximate Hours to Complete: 30
Deadline: August 26th, 2011
Tools needed: #8 needles, tapestry needle
Material needed: 1100 yards of worsted-weight yarn
Pattern Difficulty: middling — skills needed include basic lace work, picking up stitches, short rows, and joining a lace edging to the body as you go
Formats Available: PDF
Pattern Style: full written directions, charts for some portions

Testing needs: Error checking for charts and written pattern; clarity of directions for construction; confirmation of yardage requirements.


FO Friday: Red Seas

remilyknits 4 Comments

2546 Red Seas Shawl

I brought yarn and needles for a number of new projects on my family vacation over the Fourth of July.  I promised myself that I could cast on ONE new project for every TWO that I finished.  Well, I finished socks and a cowl, so I rummaged through my knitting bag (and box, and 2nd bag) and brought out a skein of Stroll Tonal in “Gypsy,” along with the pattern I’d matched it with … at the same time, elsewhere in knitting-land, the Beginner Lace Knitters group on Ravelry chose a tempting pattern for their July Knit-A-Long. I looked at the yarn and needles I had in hand, and realized they were perfect for my very own Rough Seas. Out the window with my original plan! I cast on with glee, and given the results … I’m not a bit sorry. (Shawl is smaller than it appears here, modeled by my almost-9 son.)

2547 Red Seas Shawl

Project: Red Seas

Pattern: Rough Seas

Designer: Preita Salyer

Available: FREE! on Ravelry

Yarn: Knit Picks Stroll Tonal

Although I’m in love with my finished shawl — I even wore it while I waited in line for 3 hours for a signing of the new “Game of Thrones” book! outside, in July! — I have to say, with all respect, the pattern as it is currently available is almost unusable.  It is rife with errors, omissions, and confusing instructions.  Were it not for great notes on existing projects on Ravelry, it would have been nearly impossible to follow. Even with those notes, I still had trouble sorting out which parts of the pattern were right and which were wrong.  The lace charts included in the pattern were non-standard and had errors and conflicting design (right vs. left half of shawl). I ended up making fresh charts in excel to show how I decided to do the pattern … I made enough changes that you could argue that my shawl isn’t really a “rough seas” at all.

2551 Red Seas (greenery)

Corrections I used for my shawl:

  • Inserted a WS row between Rows 7 & 8
  • Repeated Rows 1 thru 10, eleven times total — 231 sts altogether, 113 on each “side” (not including 2 edge sts and center spine st).
  • I saw no reason to use the increase rows as written, since I already had the right # of sts.

Lace charts:

  • I used the ssk/k2tog orientation from the “right side of shawl” chart (they are reversed on the “left side” chart).
  • I opted for a s2kp rather than a sk2p, because I like the more centered look with a vertical line.
  • I extended the lace pattern into the corners to avoid a big chunk of un-patterned stockinette.
  • I added an increasing section on the edge (to use the edging YOs).
  • I used my corrected/altered “right side” chart for both sides, thus avoiding the problems with the “left side” chart, including the pattern repeat box being one stitch too large, and also the missing column of ssk’s near the center increases.
  • I decided to do three (rather than two) repeats of the edging to better balance the shawl (and use up more of my skein).
  • I finished with one additional repeat of row #1 to “finish” the points on the pattern.
  • I used a decorative crochet finish rather than just binding off, for prettiness and to avert curling on the FO.

Crochet edge:

  • In the “points” I (DC, ch5, DC) in the stitch below the point.
  • Between points, I (DC, ch3), with the DC going through TWO stitches…
  • … except for the THREE sts at the point of the lozenges, where I (DC, ch3) with the DC going through THREE sts (so it would be centered.

I’ve made my version of the rough seas charts available on Google docs.

2552 Red Seas (point)

I thought this shawl is a great example of how much blocking can change a knitted object.  Here you see the unblocked shawl: you can barely see the eyelet rows in the body, and the lace and crochet edging looks lumpy and curled. You can see that it is about six boards across the wingspan.

2531 red seas (unblocked)

Here is a photo of the shawl while being blocked: you can see that I’ve straightened the top edge, and pulled out the points severely. I kept the triangle shape rather than morphing it into a more curved shape.

2534 rough seas (blocking)

Here is the fully blocked and dried shawl — nearly 10 boards across! The yarn (superwash sock yarn) has held the blocking better than it has any right to. The points especially have stayed crisp and dramatic.  Yay!

2549 Red Seas

Cast-On Monday

remilyknits Leave a comment

While on vacation I finished several projects, which meant I could cast on new projects! I brought several yarn+needle combinations with me, including leftover Swish DK in Hollyberry and Marble Heather that my youngest son picked out for his requested cowl.  He wanted it to be “half red and half grey,” and I wanted it to be cabled (so it would stand up better). I conjured up a way to knit it without seaming ….  and it was so fast and easy I finished it while on vacation! I’ll write up a pattern and test knit it later, but here is the prototype of my Two-Color Knit-Flat In-The-Round Cabled Cowl:

2524 two-color cowl

I also had with me yarn and needles destined to be Bertha’s Mad, Mysterious Mobius, but then the Beginning Lace Knitters chose Rough Seas as there July KAL, and I couldn’t resist!  My Stroll Tonal in Gypsy was too perfect for words, so I gave up the mobius (at least for now) and cast on my Red Seas Shawl:

2505 Red Seas

As of today, I’ve finished the body and done three repeats of the lace edging (I’m weighting my yarn after each repeat — I’ll make it as big as I can). I have to say, there are a LOT of problems with this pattern — confusing parts, mis-count stitches, missing rows, poorly-formatted charts with several different types of errors — BUT, the finished shawl is so pretty, it’s worth the effort to muddle through the pattern + helpful notes to figure out how to get it done.

FO Friday: Silky ZigZag Shawl

remilyknits 1 Comment

2415 Zig Zag

Last week I finished my “purse project” — a portable project that I carry with me and work on in tiny increments when I have time on my hands. I bought a skein of Tonos Pima Silk after reading a review in Interweave Knits, and I totally love it.  The hand-painted colorway is subtle and intriguing. The soft, soft yarn is lovely to work with and lovely to behold in the finished item.  I’ll talk more about the yarn in an upcoming yarn review post.

2416 Zig Zag

Project: Silky ZigZag Shawl

Pattern: ZigZag Shawl

Designer: Marion Bulin

Available: FREE! on Ravelry

Yarn: Misti Alpaca Tonos Pima Silk

2418 Zig Zag

I let the yarn determine pattern choice for this project. I wanted something with a lot of stockinette and uncomplicated structure so that the hand-painted colors could take center stage. However, it couldn’t be TOO boring to knit, or it would never get done! I also wanted a pattern that was flexible, so I could use as much of the skein as possible.

The ZigZag Shawl fit all my requirements! It is worked from point to point, and is easily adapted to be larger or smaller. I knit until my skein was half gone, then decreased down. I have a tiny bit leftover, which is perfect. The wide swath of stockinette is beautiful, and the garter-stitch edging helped speed the knitting along and helped me keep track of the increases and decreases.

2419 Zig Zag

Cast-On Monday

remilyknits Leave a comment

This week I added two new projects to my needles.  One is a design project that was accepted for publication through Knit Picks IDP, and the other is a test knit for one of my favorite designers.

The new project of mine is a “practical” shawl — worked mostly in garter stitch with superwash worsted-weight yarn, it should be warm and cozy, and knit up quickly, too.  I’m using the Danish wrap-style shawl as a basis for the shape.  To make it pretty and fun to knit, I’m adding a bit of lace here and there — but not so much as to make it un-practical, or slow down a knitter too much.  Knit Picks granted my every wish when they accepted the pattern, and then gave me Swish Worsted in Blue Violet:

2389 KP Swish Worsted in Blue Violet
I’m lucky enough to be on Kate Oates (of Tot Toppers) test-knitter list.  Periodically she puts  out photos and descriptions of patterns she needs tested, and it is a tribute to her and her designs how quickly the tests fill up!  Lately I’ve been too slow to respond, and have missed out on testing a number of great patterns, but this time I got lucky! If you read Kate’s group on Ravelry, you already know about her knitpon — a chance to pre-order her fall collection for only $33.  Today (Mon 13th) is the absolute last chance to take advantage of this deal — check out the awesome patterns:

See that stripey boy’s sweater in the top row?  That’s the pattern I’m test knitting. I ordered some great Wool of the Andes in the new Tonal colorways,  and I’m already halfway through the body.  It looks great on my youngest boy, who is very into dinosaurs.  Here’s my pretty yarn, in Blue Yonder, Springtime, and Deep Waters.

2385 Dino Sweater Test Knit