What's on my needles (week 99)

My bags are packed, I am ready to go; I am leaving on a road trip...

 

I am taking three easy projects, one of them the "Ethereal Shawl"

Tony and I are leaving on a road trip to the Florida Keys this morning instead of tomorrow, trying to bypass the storm...
I will check in with all of you after I get back in February; I may post some things on my facebook page while on vacation, so you may want to stay connected with me on :  

Knit With Doris /Discover Your Inner Knitter 

I do have a parting Valentine's Day gift for everyone:

 

I published my pattern "Tides" on ravelry and it is available for free until February 14th   <3

After that date it will be still very reasonably priced at $2.99.  A LOT of work and thought and heart went into writing it...

Here is the link and a few pictures.  I think that you do have to be logged into ravelry to get to the pattern.

TIDES by Doris Formby 

I am quite overwhelmed by the  positive feedback; after less than 12 hours this pattern had 380 likes, 16 comments, is in 68 queues and Dreamer08 on ravelry started her own TIDES project!

 

What's on my needles (week 98)

Don't miss the Vogue Knitting Show in NY city this weekend

At the NY Marriot Marquis in the <3 of Times Square 

Leah Stickle (owner of "The Knitting Garage at Stickles") will be at booth 415.

Leah has been sewing non-stop and from what I hear the result is awesome:  A lot of project bags, some with unusual design and fabric.

Between Julie, Julibeth and myself, we also just finished a poncho as a sample for the show.  It is the Easy Folded Churchmouse pattern, but striped in the beautiful Acadia Yarn by The Fibre Company!  You will be able to buy a kit which has the pattern and yarn.  This is a great project for even the beginner knitter and with the added striping it won't be a boring knit even for the advanced knitter.

The poncho is knitted up in light grey...

...with two accent colors

très chic !

These are just a few of the things you will be able to see at booth 415;  stop by to say hello and check it out :)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aurita Shawl

I finished the Aurita Shawl for my friend yesterday and am even more pleased with it than with my own.
I used the Madeline Tosh Sock yarn which gives a different feel  to the shawl.  The yarn adds a little weight , has great stitch definition ( it is spun in a tight twist) and has a bit of a sheen; lovely drape, too.  I will definitely keep this yarn in mind for future projects.
And the pattern really is easy to remember!  Here is the link again to the pattern:  Aurita by Susanna IC

Click here for my pattern notes on ravelry:  AURITA

A close-up of the beaded lace edging

What's on my needles (week 97)

 Tullamore by Emily Ringelman (click on the link to get to the pattern on ravelry)

With the holidays and gift knitting behind me, I picked up the "Cullimore" cardigan again and am happy to say that I finished the sleeves.  Now the only thing left are the fronts and finishing :)

The back and sleeves are done

Aurita by Susanna IC  (click on the link to get to the pattern)

I also started on a shawl I had promised a friend of mine a while back (last Spring!). 
I am so glad that I am finally working on this and am making good progress.  The pattern is "Aurita" by Susanna IC.

I have gotten the pattern down pretty well and am using a little trick.  Each 12 row pattern repeat gets one bead added on each of the RS rows.  I line up my 6 beads in groups of 2 and know that when I pick up the first of two, I will M1 (or later in the decrease rows k2tog) and end with k1, YO, k1.  When I pick up the second of the two beads I end the row with k1, k2tog.

More than half done!

Etheral by Evelyn A Clark (click on the link for the free pattern)

I also started a shawl for myself which I am planning to take with me later this month when I go on a road trip with my husband.
Lately I have been wearing a lot of BIG, WIDE, RECTANGULAR shawls. I made two in neutral colors:  The Rosebud Shawl by Iris Schreier and the Wrap to go by Zelda ThreeOhFour. (click on the links below the pictures for more pattern information on ravelry)

Rosebud Shawl

Wrap to go

I totally fell in love with the Etheral shawl when I saw it in the Skacel vol. 8 2015/2016 booklet.
The Cascade Wave with its long color run seems a good match for this pattern and I was drawn to the gradient blue/ grey color.

Since the yarn is heavier 200g for the 874 yards (two balls), and as I am a tight knitter I am using a needle size 6. The yarn is a little bit “splitty” at first, but after getting used to having to be careful it is not too bad.
This is a great pattern which is free to boot, but watch out about a couple of points:

• The repeats in the written instructions don’t match up the repeats in the chart. Also in the chart for the beginning and ending borders, it should say “8 stitch repeat” NOT “6 stitch repeat”. 
• There is also a small errata to the numbering of the stitches in the Chart 2- Center Body& Borders. The left border should start with 64,65,66 etc (66 is missing and the left border is 20sts, the right border 21 sts and seven 6 st repeats in the center (21+6x7+20=83)
• If you are like me and put markers between each 6 stitch repeat, you will have to move your markers over in row 5 and row 13 following the chart instructions, but personally I still prefer having the markers even if I have to move them over every eighth row.

Other than that- once you are working the center body and borders-, it is easy knitting following either the written instructions or the chart.

Cowl/ New pattern in progress

Last not least I started to write a new pattern for a cowl using two colors of the Lana Grossa Lace Lux.  This is a 67% Viscose, 33% Virgin Wool blend with a lovely sheen.and comes in many pretty colors.  Stay posted, I am planning to have the pattern written out within the next two weeks before my road trip.