My 7-Day Shawl (Week # 123)

With all of the Holiday gift knitting, I totally forgot to share with you one project I had quickly squeezed in before starting on gift knitting :)  I had posted it on my fb page, but forgot to share it here.

This past summer I knitted up two new summer tops which had been in my queue for one year and three years respectively!
It feels good to finally finish these and I am looking forward to years of  wear and enjoyment.  The two tops are "Sommer" by  Mari Chiba and the "Spring Garden Tee" by Alana Dakos.  To get to the pattern and for more extensive project notes you can click on the links below the pictures. 

Sommer

Spring Garden Tee

I had yarn left over from both projects and thought, it would be nice to knit up a shawl using both yarns and perhaps a third yarn as main color.
I found the pattern "Silence" by Melanie Mielinger.
Using the Cascade Ultra Pima in white  to tie it all together and on US#7 needles, it took me exactly 7 days from start to finish.  There are 7 sections to the shawl and with a little determination I finished one section per day.  I must say that in the end it took me a little more effort as the rows were getting longer and longer, but I did it and I think the shawl looks beautiful!

I am thinking that perhaps after the Holidays you want to treat yourself to a nice summery shawl and this one may just be the ticket.  While making it you may want to dream of warmer weather to come or warmer weather vacation destinations.  Click on the link above to get to the pattern or click on the link below the picture to see more pictures, read my pattern notes and get to the pattern.

Silence

 Happy Holidays, everyone!

How to knit 2-at-a-time

What's on my needles (week 104)

The Sock Knitting Class which started this week is off to a good start.

Everybody got their socks cast on and is working on the toe increases.
Working both socks at the same time seems daunting (hopefully just at first), but is so worth it:  

• Your two socks are guaranteed to be the same length.
• You won't have that second sock syndrome trying to count rows and making sure to knit up a replica of the first sock.  

• Also, working toe-up two at the time, you know how much yarn you have for the cuff.  You won't be running out of yarn while knitting the foot and could make the cuff a little shorter or finish it with a different yarn. 

If you missed signing up for this class:  I offer this class as private lessons or in a class when I have a group of at least two and no more than three. Please e-mail if you are interested.

I don't want to give away too many secrets, but here is a look at how to knit two socks at a time on two circular needles without getting your yarn tangled up:

Set-up:  Keep your yarn for sock #1 next to you on your right and keep your yarn for sock #2 next to you on your left.

WITH NEEDLE ONE:
Step 1:  Knit across the first half of the first sock.
Step 2:  Using your second ball of yarn knit across the first half of your second sock.

TURN YOUR WORK ANTI- CLOCKWISE  (your yarn will be criss-crossed for the second half of your round).

 

WITH NEEDLE TWO: 

Step 3:  Knit across the second half of the second sock. 

Step 4:  Using your first ball of yarn knit across the second half of your first sock.

TURN YOUR WORK CLOCKWISE (your yarn is no longer tangled and you are ready for the next round).

I will post some pictures of everybody's progress next week.
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A new store sample

After having knit the Ethereal Shawl in the Cascade Heritage Wave, I am now knitting up a shawl for the store in the same yarn.  This shawl is crescent shaped and shows off the subtle color changes really well. 
The pattern I am using for this comes in three sizes and just one skein will make the smallest size (55"x 15").


The pattern is available on ravelry for about $5 and here is the link to the pattern:  Pebble Beach Shawl
 

about 15% finished

 

Cashmere Love

What's on my needles (week 103)

Miya Shawl by Mari Chiba

 

One of the gifts I received over the holidays was this pattern and yarn. <3
The yarn is 100% Cashmere in a lace weight.  The finished shawl feels incredibly light, airy and soft.
I named my shawl "Cashmere Love", because part of the lace looks like a string of hearts.

The pattern takes a little more concentration than the last pattern I worked up (the Ethereal Shawl), but is fairly easy to work up with a little focus.
Here are some yarns I would suggest if you wanted to knit this shawl in a lace weight:  The Reywa Bloom which is a Yak Down and Silk blend or the Isager which is 100% Alpaca.  Both yarns come in skeins which give you enough yardage to complete your shawl.
I want to add that I think the shawl would also look gorgeous in a slightly heavier yarn.  A friend of mine is planning on knitting the shawl in a Madeline Tosh Light.  I even go as far as saying that it would be pretty neat in a Sport or worsted weight yarn. 

The pattern is available on line for $5.50.
Here is a link to the pattern:  http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/miya-shawl
And here are my notes I posted on ravelry:  http://ravel.me/Strickliese/ms2

"The yarn is a joy to work with and the pattern is fairly easy. I am looking forward to the finished shawl; it will feel scrumptious to wear around my neck.
2.23. Less than a week of knitting and I am half done! Yeah!!
2.27. Finished! The lace sections took a little more concentration, but that’s worth it with this pretty lace edge. BTW Did anyone else notice that looking at the lace upside down some of it definitely looks heart shaped <3 <3
One thing which helped me to keep track of my rows and sections was to count the middle stitches where the increases and decreases happen.
Section 1 1st pattern increase (7), 2nd (13), 3rd (19), 4th (25) total 28+25+3=56
Section 2: 1st (28), 2nd (31), 3rd (34), 4th (37), 5th (40), 6th (43), 7th (46), 8th (49), 9th (52) total 83
Section 3 four pattern repeats with no increases
Section 4 :1st (49), 2nd (46), 3rd (43), 4th (40), 5th (37), 6th (34), 7th (31), 8th (28), 9th (25) total 56
Section 5: 1st(19), 2nd (13), 3rd (7), 4th (1) take out second marker on row 9 total 32
I also marked rows 3, 7 and 11 in the chart to work YO, k2tog (rows circled blue) and rows 1,5 and 9 to work YO, k2tog, k2tog (rows circled pink) in the appropriate sections.
It helped to remember which rows to do the increases and decreases in.

 About the yarn: I was happy to see that I had enough yarn to finish the shawl and I even had some left over."

My Diamonds in the Sky Shawl

What's on my needles (week 101)

I finished knitting the shawl I was working on during my vacation.  It came out really pretty!!!

The pattern is a free pattern by Skacel :  http://www.skacelknitting.com/Lace-Ball-100-Ethereal-Wrap/

The yarn I used is Cascade Heritage Wave color Plume :)

Here are some of my pattern notes:

Notes

Lately I have been using a lot of BIG , WIDE, rectangular shawls. I totally fell in love with the pattern when I saw it in the Skacel vol. 8 2015/2016 booklet. The Cascade Wave with its long color run seems a good match and I was drawn to the gradient blue/ grey color scheme.
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”, but not too bad so far.
I have to read more carefully before plunging into knitting! I misread row 9 and did “YO, k2tog ” all across the row, basically repeating row 5…I am going to restart over :(
Please note:  The repeats in the written instructions don’t match up the repeats in the chart.
Also in the chart for the middle sections of 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 stitch repeats in the center (21+6x7+20=83)
Just to be on the safe side in case my calculations were incorrect, I put in a lifeline before starting the last pattern repeat and upper border. I had used one skein for a little over 14 repeats and took out several yards of yarn on the second skein so I would finish with the blue color.
I did have enough to finish this with 28 pattern repeats for the center section.
About the yarn:  I wound the first skein blue to grey and the second skein grey to blue. After finishing I notice that the colors don’t repeat exactly the same way in each ball of yarn, much like the crazy Zauberball by Schoppel. I kind of like it even better this way rather than having an exact mirror image.

At 22" x80" the shawl is so big that I pinned down half of the shawl for blocking first

then I pinned down the second half on top of it.

What's on my needles (week 69)

I finished my Leftie shawl!

 

This is my (almost) finished shawl using Martina Behm's pattern "Leftie".

In the end I had enough of the MC yarn for 29 leaves which I thought pretty amazing considering that I only had 436 yards of MC yarn and used a slightly bigger needle (Size US# 2 1/2 instead of Size US# 2). The yarn I used for the MC is the Artesano Definition Sock Yarn I had bought at The Good Wool Shop in Formby, England last April.

All the rest of the yarns are remnants from previous projects (mine and others) and I used a different left over yarn for each leaf.  I tried to remember which projects all the left over yarns came from, but drew a blank on some.  You can see a list in my pattern notes on ravelry here:  http://ravel.me/Strickliese/l4

 

I finished this last Saturday, but have to admit (very sheepishly at that) that I still have to weave in all the yarn ends.  I hid them as best as I could to show off my shawl to you:
HINT:  If you are using your smartphone and cannot open the video, try opening it on my fb page

 

If you want to use your left over yarns for something special, this is the pattern for you!  I suggest the "Wildfoote" Sock yarn by Brown Sheep which we sell at Stickles for the MC.  You would need three skeins,  but could make a slightly shorter shawl with just two.   And if you don't have any leftover yarns you can buy 4-5  Madeline Tosh Unicorn Tails for your own spectacular Leftie Shawl.

 

 

 

What's on my needles (week 68)

At The Knitting Garage

 The Summer Wrap is finished.

This is a quick and easy knit and makes a lovely summer shawl for those cool summer nights or when you are in an air-conditioned room and need just a little something to cover your neck.

The yarn comes in many pretty colors

Here is Donna's shawl; it looks so pretty in this color, too.

Boxy Lacy Top Class

Sylvia and I had a great time last Saturday and although her head may have been spinning at the end of it, taking in all the new lace stitches she learned, I think she is very inspired by the project and will look stunning in the white top she is knitting up.

This is how far I got on the top I am knitting.  Remember, I am knitting both front and back at the same time.

At Home

Last week I was sharing about how worried I was to figure out whether or not I have enough yarn.  I just finished the 28th leaf and I have enough MC yarn left for one (possibly shorter) section and will finish with a pink-orange colored leaf.
I should have it done by next week and am planning to post a list of where all the leftover yarns came from ;)

LEFTIE

What's on my needles (week 67)

At The Knitting Garage

Store sample

Every time I wear my Summer Wrap shawl, I am asked about the pattern.  So I thought that it is time to knit one up for the store especially since we have the perfect yarn for it:  The Lana Grossa Linea Pura California.  This yarn comes in so many pretty colors, you will decide to knit up more than one of these. This yarn is 80% Cotton and 20% Silk and feels incredibly luxurious; perfect to wear even on the hottest summer day.
Already one customer / knitterly friend, Donna, started on her shawl as a confidence booster project and walked home with five repeats finished (six row repeats). 
This is an easy pattern knitted on US#10.5 needles with just two skeins of the yarn.
The pattern is in the book "Gifted: Lovely Little Things to Knit and Crochet"

by Mags Kandis and is easily available from your local library.

Summer Wrap

 This week's class

Lacy Layered tops seem very popular this summer..
That is why I am offering two classes :  One for the beginner and one for the more advanced knitter.

This lacy top is in the latest pompom booklet and would knit up very well in the Shibui Linen

 This is the boxy lace top I will  be giving instructions to in my Saturday class this Saturday (June 13).
THERE ARE STILL SPOTS AVAILABLE IF YOU WANT TO SIGN UP!

 I am knitting one of these for my daughter-in-law and decided to use two techniques a little different:

1. I used the long tail cast on with two strands of yarn, I had mentioned this method previously, but here is a refresher:  Long Tail Cast On without the tail.  The nice thing about this method is that you do not need to calculate how long the tail should be and don't waste any yarn.
2. I am knitting the two pieces (front and back) at the same time.  This is my preferred method whenever I have to make two identical pieces such as two socks, two mittens, two sleeves etc. I mark the RS of the pieces.  The first to be worked when on the RS I mark in green and the second to be worked when on the RS I mark in orange.

1 1/2 inches of garter stitch completed.

Sample piece of the four different lace sections.

SIZING:  This is a boxy loose fitting top (one size fits all) , but I have changed the sizing for Sylvia who will be taking the class and wants it a little more fitted and for Rachel to have it a little more loose.  I did check with the designer about the gauge.  The 4.5 sts per inch is the gauge in st st, but the finished gauge after blocking your pieces is closer to 3.7 sts per inch.
For more information read my notes on ravery: http://ravel.me/Strickliese/cblt

There are many patterns out there for this kind of garment.  Here is another one which is for the confident beginner :) :
 Siesta Tee.  We carry both suggested yarns at the shop:  Trendsetter Lino and Cascade Ultra Pima.

At Home

Ready to mail

I am ready to mail the baby blanket, bonnet and shawl!

 

Leftie

With the gifts out of the way, I am working on the Leftie full steam ahead.
I want to use each yarn just once and have the color changes gradually.
Most of the yarns are from my stash with a couple of exceptions.

This yarn was too thick.  Since it is a 4-ply yarn I am changed it into a 3-ply.

This yarn (left over from my sister's shawl) was bleeding a lot, so I set the color by soaking it in a water/ vinegar solution and now hope for the best that it will no longer run

Loving it so far

I have realized a little problem with this.  The pattern calls for 130g in the Wollmeise Pure for the MC which is 497 yards.  I have 437 yards and so far I used close to half of it after 19 leaves.  It is a little tricky now to decide on the color sequence if I want to finish it once I run out of yarn, but I will keep weighing how much I am using and will decide as I go along.  There are some who knitted this project with just 26 leaf repeats instead of 29.
Another solution would be to ask Isabel at the Good Wool Shop to mail another skein.
A third solution, if I want to have the 29 leaves, is to flip the colors and start making the leaves in the MC and the stripes in between in the CC.  I will see how it plays out best.