Finished!

Beware - this post contains spoilers for those who have not received their Woolgirl June shipment!

First...Happy 4rth! Or at least happy belated 4rth! I was going to post yesterday but I wasn't feeling up for the task. This picture isn't from this year (it's from several years ago), but still appropriate. Greg and I went to the fireworks display this year in Boston. I had never been to the ones here and thought I really needed to go. It really was the best show I've seen. Totally worth the crowds and standing around waiting and the drunk people singing patriotic songs totally off key.

Now onto some knitting. And the spoiler shots. A couple weeks ago I received another Woolgirl sock club shipment. I love LOVE the package. It was well put together and the yarn is very pretty. Totally not something I would have chosen for myself, but I love it. I took some pics when I got it:




Since I'm on such a lace kick lately, I decided to make the Raindrop shawl that came with the package. It's a very cute shawl. Simple pattern repeats and super easy to size up or down just by doing more or less repeats. I was using a slightly smaller needle so I did an extra repeat. The sock pattern is very pretty, too. I'll make it later.

So, after finishing my Goddess Knits shawl I cast on for the Raindrop. About a week and a half later it's done! Some pics to prove it.



It's a totally wearable 52'' by 32''. I *think* I'll be keeping this for myself...but a bunch or other stuff I thought I was keeping is now being kept aside for Xmas gifts. So we'll see. The stats on this:

Yarn: Dream in Color Smooshy Sock Yarn
Colorway: Raining Cats & Dogs
Needles: Size 5 Lace Addi Turbos
Pattern: Raindrop Shawl by Renee Strouts
Notes: I think this would be a great beginner lace project. Easy pattern repeats and the designer was totally open for questions. I did one extra repeat of Chart B but could have done another since I had a generous amount left over.

Now, since I'm done with yet another project I've started another. This time it's a mindless lace scarf project that I found in my One-Skein Wonders book. I had 1.75 skeins of Knitpicks Shadow left over from my Goddess Knits shawl so I thought a leftover project would be good. Again, since I'm so enamored with lace lately, it had to be lace. So I chose the Razor Shell Lace Scarf. So far it's very pretty and totally mindless. I already have about 12 inches done after not knitting a whole lot. Not sure who this is for...again it may or may not be for me. The best part about this pattern is that it's reversible! Here's how it's coming along now:

The latest

My latest shawl. Finished it last Tuesday but with all the rain lately here in Boston I'm just now getting pictures. It's been hanging in my knitting area all week, though...for me to admire.

The stats:

Yarn: Knit Picks Shadow in Cattail Heather colorway
Needles: Size 5 Addi Lace turbo circs
Designer/Pattern: Goddess Knits from the Anniversary Mystery Shawl '09 KAL
Notes: Finished size is 72 inches across the widest point to point. Down the back is 35 inches.

Here's some more pics:

The Mystery Stole 3 is Finished!

WooHoo! My Mystery Stole 3 is finally finished and being blocked as I type. I finished knitting it last night, I did some end weaving when I got home from work and immediately soaked it and pinned it out.

If I were a patient person I'd wait until this weekend when I'm home while the sun is up and I could get some pictures that will do the stole justice. But, alas...I'm just not that patient. So, here is the stole being blocked. Try to see through the rotten pics and see the lusciousness of the finished knit...

Love the wing!

I have some more news...but I'll let the finished stole be it's own magnificent post!

UPDATE - (already?) While I'm sitting here reading my own blog post and admiring my stole...I got an email from the stole designer (well, really it's an email from her blog). And, as it turns out, this luscious pattern is now available on Melanie's site. I'm purchasing it! How 'bout you?

Another Shawl FO

I've finished my second One Skein shawl. Same pattern as the last but I used different yarn. This one is made using one skein (~400 yrds.) of hand dyed sock yarn from a local yarn shop. This one came out better then my first as I am more used to knitting with the large (LARGE) needles. It takes a bit of practice to keep your stitches even while knitting with such fine yarn on large needles. Much different then the way I usually knit. The above picture is taken with the unblocked shawl draped across the back of my knitting chair. The line that goes diagonally through the image is the center of the back of the shawl.

Since I've received several emails about where I got the pattern, how many strands I used and so on...I'll list the specs of these shawls below:

Yarn: 1 skein (~400 yards) of DK weight hand dyed sock yarn. As I mentioned above, I got mine at a local yarn shop but it's easy enough to find.
Color: The yarn was dyed a 1/2 and 1/2 purple and grey color. I wasn't sure how the 1/2 and 1/2 would look knitted, but I'm really happy with the result.
Needles: size 15 US, Denise Interchangeable Needles
Pattern: "The Secret of the One-Skein Shawl" - found on the Knitter's Review site. It's more a "formula" for a basic triangle shawl rather then a pattern.
Notes and Changes: I used one strand of yarn throughout the pattern. Since my yarn had a different gauge then the pattern used, I worked the plain stockinette portion for about 84 stitches on either side of the center stitch instead of the 64 it calls for. Mine came out about the same size as the one in the pattern.

A couple more pics for you...

I've been bitten

I've heard of the "shawl bug"...but I never thought it would happen to me. Some people are bitten and are never the same again...knitting shawl, after shawl, after shawl...never satisfied and always inspired to create another and another. Until I finished my first big shawl - the Bed of Roses shawl, I didn't really get the fascination.

Well I finished my second shawl (pictured on the right) at the beginning of this past week. It's a super basic classic triangle shawl made from one skein (400 yards) of DK weight yarn. It was made on large (size 15) needles and has a beautiful drape and airiness.

The large needles made it a quick knit, 1 week, and therefore was very satisfying. In fact, I visited a local yarn shop on Saturday that I haven't been able to catch open (they have crazy summer hours) and have already purchased two more skeins for two more shawls. I've already started one in a gorgeous hand painted yarn in purples and greys. I literally can't wait to have another one in my wardrobe

Now here are a couple more pics for your shawl biting pleasure:



PS: you can also see my new haircut in these pics...super short for summer. With 90 degree heat here in Boston this past week...the cut came in handy!

Finished Bed of Roses

I actually finished the shawl last Sunday. I know, I know....I was just too lazy to take the time to get a good picture until this morning. In my defense, however, it's hard to get a good picture when I have to leave early in the morning for work when it's still kinda dark. That will get much better tomorrow after the clocks get turned ahead. Being a morning person I love it when the clocks get turned ahead. I get bright sunshine in the best part of the day when no one else is awake!

Anywho...back to the shawl! Since the shawl is so big, almost 60 inches wide, it's hard to get a good shot of the entire thing at once. So I opted for the safer "me-wearing-it" shot. What I didn't show you is how difficult a shawl is to wear...I mean, really wear.

I wore it to work this week and the morning I wore it I took a long time trying to figure out how to wear it and not look totally stupid. This is my first shawl (and, mind you, I will be making more) so I finally figured out why they make those stupid shawl pins. Here I was thinking they were shwag that was just not necessary. Wrong! Now I'm scouring the interwebs looking for stupid shawl pins. - Side note: as I was looking for pins I came across this posting over on the Knit and Tonic blog. This is funny and right on target!

I found some nice pins while googling. Some are way more expensive then I want to pay for something that is just going to keep my shawl on...but that's a whole other "I'm cheap" discussion. Here's a list of some good options:

• GeekGirlGlass.com - Scroll all the way down for the stick pins. The women who makes all of this beautiful stuff is actually a good friend of mine. We used to be coworkers out in Colorado. Great lady, nice work at reasonable prices!
• lesliewind.com - I like these designs...but I'd have to go for the more expensive silver ones just 'cause I don't like the gold color of the bronze ones. Gold with my skin coloration don't mix.
• Various shops in Etsy have some good ones. This will take some more searching.
• YarnMarket.com- these are OK and more in my price range

This list could go on and on and on. I hate googling for things sometimes. It could take an entire afternoon!

So I'll get on with it and just tell you more about the shawl. Here's the stats:

Needles: size 7 dpn's and 40 inch circulars
Yarn: Sirdar Country Style DK Yarn, I think I used 6 or 7 balls
Pattern: "Bed of Roses Shawl" free from Elann.com. You have to be logged in to see the free patterns but it's well worth the sign up!
Notes: Beautiful finished and an easy knit. For my first shawl it was super easy to follow the pattern. I didn't make any changes to the pattern while knitting.

And, with that...a couple more pics for your viewing pleasure:

This last one is a bit off in color, but it shows more of the finished product.

Bed of Roses shawl - update

My needle knit Bed of Roses Shawl is growing. The more I knit, the slower it grows however. Since it's getting larger as I go, though, this is normal :) I figure I'm about 2/3 of the way done - 1/2 of the way through the last pattern repeat.

This is the first shawl I've made for myself, so the anticipation of seeing the finished and blocked outcome is killing me. The finished shawl pictured in the pattern is beautiful. I only hope mine is as nice.

Below is a slightly blurry pic of the laciness. I haven't had my coffee yet....you'll get blurriness until then :) The color in the picture above is more true.


Stay tuned for more of the Bed of Roses. This will get done...