In The Works (Slow Progress)

Lately, I have only been posting when I finish something but I'm so slow that there are long gaps between posts so, with fleegle's encouragement, I am putting up an "in progress" post of things I'm actively working on. These three projects all use different weights of yarns and different size needles.The variety helps not only with boredom but to ease up on my hands.

At the top you have Wisenflor or "Violettes". This is another Herbert Niebling pattern that has been re-printed in English by Doilyhead I'm knitting on US 3 with "Shimming" 100% Tussah Silk from A Verb For Keeping Warm in the Royale colorway. At 218 rows, it will make a good sized circular shawl though this would not count as one of my "favorite" knits. I'm not crazy about the center of this lace. There is another version of the pattern with a better center out there but I somehow settled on this one. Still, I'm half way through the pattern so I will finish this one eventually. The yarn is great at least.

Next up is Fruhling which is another Niebling pattern. I'm using a silk thread to knit this one which was custom dyed for me by the folks at Verb in the "Tidepools" colorway. Kristine offered to do this for me because I wanted to knit the larger Nieblings without ending up with an Afghan instead of a shawl and most of the yarn at Verb would be too big. Fruhling is a 370 row pattern and I knit the center small leaves using US 0000 and then switched to US 000. I will continue with this size needle for the bulk of the shawl but I may switch to US 00 needles towards the end if it looks like it will not lie flat. I wish the pictures were better because this yarn has subtle color shifts in it. It's fantastic to knit with too:-)

The last picture is of another retirement shawl I'm making. The co-worker asked me to make something that was like "Legends Of The Shetland Seas" so I spun a standard lace weight yarn out of Lisa Souza Cash/Merino roving in the "Mahogany" colorway and I'm knitting Hazel Carters Sampler Shawl again. I knit this once before out of a Yarn Place yarn but my hand spun yarn is heavier and will fluff up a bit because of the Cashmere. I'm using US 0 needles but plan to block it aggressively when I'm done.

That's it for now! Maybe next time I post I will have actually finished something!

Angus' Dream Shawl (Back In The Saddle Again)

It's been some time since I last posted. I had to take a break from knitting because of pain in my arms. Like many others out there, I've had to work out ways to avoid injury so I now alternate with a non knitting related hobby to give my arms a rest. Now that I can knit lace again, here is a little shawl made from yarn left overs that did not make the cut when I was making Legends of the Shetland Seas.

The pattern is Angus' Dream by Tiziana Sammuri on Ravelry. Knit from the center back of the neck outwards it's a cleaver little shawlette that uses Shetland Lace motifs. It's a great way to use up small amounts of yarn.

The fiber is Lisa Souza BFL and Merino when I spun into lace weight singles then plied. The colorway s Petroglyph. It blocked beautifully and is warmer than you might think!

Until next time!

Retirement Gift (Madli's Shawl)

It's been a good long time since I posted but much of what I've been doing has not been lace related. This however, is the most recently finished project. Madli's Shawl is another Estonian lace project from the Nancy Bush book. Since it was knit for a co-worker who is to retire, she picked the color and shape as well as the fiber content if not the actual pattern. The Madli's Shawl is a simple but pretty knit which can be worn casually if desired.

I had fleegle dye me purple silk yarn in her AK47 base and it knit up beautifully with spectacular drape and softness. It almost feels as if there must be cashmere in it only it's 100% silk. I love silk because it blocks and holds shape so well. It's wonderful for a stole because it's not too warm to wear a stole is easy for people to wear.

Because of the time-frame, I had to put aside any other knitting to finish this one in time. Now that it's finally done, I'm trying to finish up on three shawls before I start anything new so there should be more for me to post soon!