Tag Archive | shawls

Pink Lace Cowl

The pink yarn project was a bust. I got to the end on Saturday, and it just wasn’t long enough to wear like I wanted. I frogged, and I wasn’t sad because I adore the yarn and loved knitting with it. I found another pattern, and before we left for the girl’s recital yesterday, I grabbed the needles I needed. Unfortunately, within four rows I realized I didn’t like the fabric. It was too loose. I have an image in my head of what I want this scarf to be, and I just can’t find the pattern that fits that image. SO, I guess I’m going to try to figure it out myself. I want it to be a horizontal scarf with tapered ends but I don’t know how many stitches to cast on. That means my first step is a swatch. ACK! I’m not a swatcher. I mean, I know how, and I would do it for something like a sweater, but I kind of hate it. Still, I love this yarn enough that I want the final product to be as close to perfect as possible. For pink cashmere, I will swatch!

I needed a break from that project before trying to design the pattern, though. I realized yesterday that I have very few solid color scarves/cowls in my hand knits, and since I wear a lot of striped/patterned shirts, I need more solids. Plus it’s getting warmer, so I need something cooler than dense wool. Again, I had an image in my head, but this time I got lucky in finding a pattern, and I finished my Lace Summer Cowl this morning.

Pattern is Summer Lattice Cowl and the yarn is SMC Select Juliette, a bulky pink cotton. I modified it to work in the round, rather than having to deal with seaming, so I cast on 120 stitches and just knit until I decided it was done. It’s exactly what I wanted, and now I just want to make myself ten more solid color cowls! But instead, I’m going to balance my knitting by working on some commissions for a bit. I started the Marcelle Wrap by Little Church Knits for my sister this weekend and so far the pattern is flying along. I can’t wait to get to the stripe section so I can add in the dark green.

Maybe I’ll get there today! For the first time in weeks, my entire day is empty, and I’ve got a yucky cold, so I’m going to plant myself on the couch and enjoy some binge-watching and knitting. Pretty sure I’ll have some furry friends keeping my company too.

Fast Lace, Knit & Crochet

May13

I have two Finished Objects to show off this Friday! As expected, I finished the turquoise shawl for the mother. I sent her a picture and she seems pleased with it. I know I am. I never get tired of this pattern. This is the fifth time making it, I think, and they now take just a couple of hours.

There were a little over 100 yards left in the ball, so I decided to make a knit scarf with the leftovers. Again, I repeated a pattern: My So Called Life Lacey Scarf. It’s another one that’s super easy and super fast. I started it during Jeopardy and finished it during the boy’s band concert. It’s not as long as I would have liked, but it’s still a wearable length.Just for fun, I made Jack model for me. He wasn’t pleased.

Today I get to cast on for something new! Happy Friday, friends!

Stop: Knitting Time!

May12

I finished the proofreading job last night, and while I enjoyed it, and enjoyed doing something different, I’m ready to get back to my yarn. Do you want to see my new yarns? Of course you do! Remember I was taking the mother to my LYS the other day to pick out yarn for a scarf? We had a lovely time browsing. I should take some photos of this store; it’s HUGE. SO MUCH YARN. We quickly found the yarn for her scarf, but she also wants an afghan, so we started looking for yarn for that, and that was a lot harder. Finally, she picked out a variegated peach/teal acrylic, but they didn’t have enough, and she didn’t want to add a solid color. Thankfully, with some help, we found a different brand of variegated that will go really well. I’ll hold one strand of each, and once it’s done, we’ll go back to the yarn store to pick out a solid for a border.

Nope, no photo of that yarn yet. I forgot to take one and right now I’m outside with the puppies and it’s upstairs and I’m just too plain lazy to go do that. You’ll see it another time, I promise.

Of course we also had to admire and pet and drool over the other pretty yarns, and she even bought me a present! Look at my gorgeous Lorna’s Laces Shepherd Bulky in Rainbow! I know it will be a cowl for me but I haven’t picked out a pattern yet. Right now it just decorates my desk.

With all the yarn admired, we paid and packed up, and you’ll be AMAZED to know that I bought NO YARN. That’s right: I spent no money! It helped that I was getting a skein as a little gift, but still, I was quite impressed with myself! So we headed off to lunch and errands, and then I got a call: the yarn store had forgotten to put her scarf yarn in the bag. I would have to pick it up on the way home. No problem, it was convenient.

Except. I remembered they’d had a coupon on Facebook. I hadn’t printed it out but thought they might honor it.

And darn it all, she said they would. So my admirable restraint was diminished, and I bought yarn. Still, I only bought one skein, and it was on sale. And it’s gorgeous. I’m thinking this might become a Be Simple Shawl, or maybe the Be Simple Variations. Or who knows, I might stick with tried and true and make another Hitchhiker. I’ve got time to figure it out, since I’ve got one small and three bigger projects I need to focus on first.

First up is the scarf for the mother. She picked out Bamboo Pop in turquoise. The scarf is halfway done and might even be done today. It’s a lovely yarn, a bit slippery with the large hook I’m using (size N/P, 10mm) but it feels silky in my fingers and it will drape beautifully.

Then there’s the mermaid blanket of course, and my mother’s afghan, but at least I have until cooler weather before I need to worry about finishing that. So once the scarf is done, I’ll be casting on a project for my sister. I saw the new Marcelle Wrap pattern by Little Church Knits, and I think it’s gorgeous. I shared it on my Facebook page, and my sister saw it and has to have one for herself! Hooray, a reason to knit one! She picked out the colors and the yarn arrived yesterday. It’s hard to see it well, but the top one is called Forest Heather, I think. It’s a dark green with slight reddish/purple hints. I’m looking forward to starting this one soon.

So there you have it, all my yarn updates. That’s plenty, right? I certainly have enough to keep my needles and hooks busy for a while. Until next time, here’s a photo of Jack, our resident branch manager. I have no idea how he got this stick up the narrow deck stairs, but he’s pretty happy with himself.

Boring Knitting

Apr20

Well, obviously I didn’t write yesterday. I didn’t have a whole lot to say because I was just trucking along on my WIPs. I will show you the last set of blue fingerless gloves because I’m a bit pleased with myself. I made them a bit shorter in the cuff, but I also modified the thumb. Rather than putting the thumb stitches on waste yarn and knitting a taller thumb, I just bound off when I had the right number so I’ve got kind of a half-thumb, which is what I prefer anyway. I like to keep my hands warm while still having full movement of the digits. With the blue sets done, I made a pair with dark purple and black as a gift for my best author client. She’s had me proofread three of her books with the promise of more, and I really enjoy working with her. So even though it might be too warm for them right now, these will be on the way to her very soon.

With those done, I went back to my Citron shawl. It’s progressing nicely, though not growing as much as I expected. I’ve got plenty of yarn so I’ll probably do another section or two. And that’s really all. I kind of want to start a new project but nothing’s calling my name yet so I’m waiting.

The only other news of note is that I have started tapering off my happy pills, based on a schedule I worked out with my doctor. We all agree that I seem to be in a relatively stable place right now. Based on my history, my bout with depression seems to have been more of an isolated, situational incident caused by a lot of stressors hitting me in a short timespan, rather than a long history of repeated occurrences. I’m a little nervous, since the last thing I want to do is go back to how I felt before, but I think it’s the right time. I feel good now, calm and peaceful, and I’m really trying to get back to eating healthier and exercising regularly. Plus spring and summer are good seasons for me (probably all the sunshine). So I really think it’ll be okay. The best part is that my doctor is awesome and made sure I knew we could tinker with the schedule at any point based on how I feel. I just have to be aware of it and force myself to speak up if something goes awry.

And on that note, I’m going to sit outside and knit and soak up some of that wonderful, healing sunshine!

Four New WIPs

Mar21

I kind of went crazy this weekend and started some new projects. Not just one, a few. The first is my fourth Hitchhiker. This one is for a former co-worker and a good friend, someone who was kind enough to read my manuscript and give me some feedback. She picked the yarn and I’m providing the manual labor. Fortunately, she has very good taste. The yarn is Araucania Huasco, a lovely crispy Merino. It’ll be my first fingering weight Hitchhiker but it’s going quickly enough. Still, I got a bit tired of the skinny yarn and tiny needles and needed a bulky fix. So I started this. Simple beanie in super-bulky wool on size 15s. This was so super fast to knit…but the sad part is that I got to the decreases and realized I have no size 15 DPNs and couldn’t finish. Joann doesn’t carry them in the store, but thankfully we’re testing Amazon Prime so I’ve got a set ordered that should arrive tomorrow. But just that hat wasn’t a long enough break from the Hitchhiker, so I *finally* cast on for my Color Block Bias Wrap in Chateau. Um, this yarn is AMAZING. It’s a bulky blend of 70% alpaca, 30% bamboo, and it’s a chainette yarn so it’s incredibly light and fluffy. I don’t even care that it’s spring and I’m knitting with alpaca. I might in a couple of weeks, but for now, this will be fantastic evening knitting.

Finally, this morning the girl had an early morning orthodontist appointment to have her braces removed (hooray!). Early, like 7:30. On spring break. Ugh. Anyway, I had a bag ready to go, and in my bag I had yarn and needles to start a new hat. I’m thinking it will be for me but I always think that and I never keep it. Still, I’ll pretend. I’m doing another Violet Waffles hat and using HiKoo Simpliworsted, a bouncy squishy merino/acrylic/nylon blend. It’s one of my favorite yarns, and I think it will make a great lightweight hat. But seriously, hot pink is a really hard color to photograph.

I managed to almost double my WIPs in two days, but I’m okay with it. I now have a nice mix of projects to meet almost any need. I’m not sure how much knitting I’ll get done this week, having both kids home all week for spring break, but it will surely be more than the writing/revising I’ll get done (which will be none, I’m guessing). And maybe that’s just as well. I’m up to three rejections, and each one stings a little more. So it might be best for me to take a break and not think about it for a while. Today, I’ll do that by taking the girl on a belated birthday-shopping trip. Maybe I’ll take the hat knitting with me!

Purple Moonstone Wrap

Mar19

I finished my wrap last night, just in time for a short blast of cold weather before spring hits for good. I thought I’d woven in all the ends but in taking photos this morning I saw two I missed. And it needs to be blocked: the point keeps curling up. Plus, I didn’t have enough yarn to do the i-cord edging, so I can either leave it off or add it in a contrasting color (maybe the odd color lot from this yarn?). I haven’t decided yet. Will it keep the edge from curling? What if I block it and then decide I want to add the i-cord, will that be ok?I love how big it turned out! I wanted it to be more like a wrap than a scarf, and that’s what I got. I cast on 175 stitches, using two strands of worsted held together and size 15 needles. Another nice thing: I found those interlocking foam mats at Aldi yesterday, a set of 4 for $10, and of course snagged a set. The ones I have were “borrowed” from my husband’s basement workout space, so they’re not exactly in the best of shape. This way I can return his and use pretty new ones!

Now I’m back to three WIPs. One is the Because I Love You Wrap, which I haven’t re-started after frogging. Not sure why I stalled on that one. I also have another Hitchhiker waiting to made as a thank-you for one of my early readers. She picked out really pretty rainbow yarn for it too. Maybe that will be my weekend knitting!

I’ve been reading a lot more lately too, and am in the middle of Stephen King’s On Writing. Fabulous book, that is. Don’t know how I missed it all this time. I’ll definitely need to get my own copy of that one.

Enjoy your weekend, friends!

Color Tipped Scarf

Feb17

As promised, I finished something from my list of lingering WIPs and have a new FO to show off! This is Purl Soho’s Color Tipped Scarf. I started this in November of last year, so it took about three months to make…because of that big boring stretch of gray! Overall it’s very simple and quick to make. I used Berroco Maya, a worsted weight cotton/alpaca blend. It used 2 skeins of gray, and about half a skein each of the teal and purple. I’d love to do another one in some softer, thicker, squishier yarn, maybe some Baby Alpaca Chunky. As it is, the cotton makes this a great crisp, lightweight spring or fall scarf.

Once this was done, I turned to my next WIP: my Hitchhiker! It felt so nice to get that back out, even if it is small needles for me (size 3). I’m still loving the colors and the dense fabric it’s creating. I’ve still got a ways to go, but if I focus on it, I should be wearing it within a week. But I have a distraction from my Hitchhiker. My mail carrier delivered a bit of yarn I ordered last week, a gorgeous super bulky skein of blue/purple/fuchsia from Vice Yarns that I’m itching to cast on: Isn’t that luscious?? Yum yum yum. 85% wool, 15% alpaca. A cowl for me, yes, it will be.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, we’re experiencing some unexpectedly warm weather, and I need to go outside and watch my puppies frolic. Happy knitting!

The Shawl After Blocking

Oct30

Today I unpinned my Chocolate Cherries shawl and took it outside for a photo shoot. It’s significantly bigger now, has much better drape, and the eyelets are nice and open. It still wants to curl a bit at the edge, but I expected that, and it doesn’t bother me. Here are a few more shots of my new pretty: If you’re interested in the details, the project is Ravelled here. I’ll probably wear it more as a scarf than a shawl, and I probably won’t wear it often. But when I do, I’ll think of Mother’s Day when I got the yarn, and of my dad, who loved chocolate covered cherries. ❤

Blocking a Wool Shawl

Oct29

Back in May, I finished this gorgeous shawlette in Baah! Sonoma Chocolate Cherries. Since then it’s lived folded up in my craft room waiting to be washed and blocked. Now that the weather is turning cooler, I decided I needed to get it ready to wear. Here’s what it looked like pre-blocking:A little bath in some Eucalan and here’s what I had: Not very encouraging, is it? But here’s the wonderful thing about wool: you can tug and pull it into shape and you end up with something like this:I’m not the best blocker; it may not be perfectly symmetrical. And the stockinette edge on the bottom will still curl up. But those tiny things won’t matter once it’s unpinned, and doing this will open up those little eyelets wonderfully. Since that’s why I picked this pattern, I think I’ll be happy with it.Stay tuned for photos once it’s dry!

Settling Into the New Groove

Aug25

4 a.m. comes awfully early. Grace is still thinking she needs to be an early riser, and it’s not too fun. This morning I got up with her so Alex could at least sleep until his alarm, and I didn’t even let them out. I just stretched out on the couch with a blanket, and Grace happily cuddled up with me, and Jack curled up on the floor in front of me, and we all went back to sleep. I guess she’s just lonely? I’d let her sleep in my room, except Alex isn’t a fan. Maybe we need to just put her upstairs with the girl and close the door. I don’t know. We’ll get some curtains for the dining room, and I’m seriously considering a noise machine for them, to block some of the outside noises. There’s got to be a solution, because I can’t get up at 4 a.m. every day for the rest of her life. Until then, forgive me if my posts are few and far between.

We’re all settling in nicely in our new hometown. The boy and I explored our local library recently and were delighted to find a TARDIS! That’s a good sign, for sure! The kids are happy with their new schools and teachers. We had high school open house last night and it was the first time I wished I could go too! The teachers were all so passionate and enthusiastic about their classes, and several were very blunt about saying their class would be hard, and the kids might not get A’s, at least at first. I don’t think that ever happened in our old district. Oh sure, we had some great teachers, but not *all* of them, and I only remember one teacher ever warning us that a class would be hard. I *want* the classes to be hard. This is why we moved; so the kids would be in classes that would challenge them, make them think and grow. The girl is in a Gifted English class that will actually read books! She had one class in either 6th or 7th grade that had her read one novel, and that’s it. That’s disgraceful, in my English-major book-nerd opinion. So yeah, I think this will be a good school year.

I spent another day in the yard over the weekend and cleared out one more side of the fence. Before:

After:And that’s the bulk of it! Now I need the husband’s help to clean out stumps and pull out the old fence, and we’ll do some tree-trimming, and then we can start building our new fence HOORAY! We will all be happy. See that water pump there? (No, it’s not functional.) The puppies are ALWAYS getting their chains wrapped around it. Then they get frustrated and bark. Then we have to go rescue them. It’s not a fun game.

Yesterday I sat outside with them for a while and let them laze in the sunshine while I worked on my newest project, another Hitchhiker. I have other projects on the needles, but none of them are as calming and soothing as this one. I’m in love with garter stitch. But I need to set it aside, because I have another request for a school-colors hat! The first three have been delivered and were quite popular, as I understand, and someone saw one of them and needs her own. How about that? My evil plan is working, bwahahaha! Give me time, and I’ll hat the whole school!