Friday, July 29, 2011

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!

18 comments:

fleegle said...

All of them are more than stunning! Where is the Fruhling pattern? It's absolutely incredible! Thanks so much for posting these!

yarnlot said...

If I had to choose between these three it would a difficult matter! The handspun yarn is so beautiful, it does not conceal the pattern...

LittleBerry said...

they're all lovely but my favourite is the Hazel Carter one ;o) I love the colours and also I'm not a big fan of circular shawls ;o)

fluffbuff said...

Wow, 3 amazing shawls at the same time! I am glad fleegle convinced you to post your work in progress. :)

Erica said...

Thank you so much for this post! I too just like to see things that you're working on, it's so inspirational. As a matter of fact, I need to stop typing and go grab my Bossie and that Spunky tussah....

Anonymous said...

They are all gorgeous! Thanks for showing your works in progress.

Lacefreak said...

Dear fleegle,

I'm so glad you like looking at the "in progress" works. I sent you an e-mail about Fruhling. I know you already have it in your collection. You just forgot :-)

Lacefreak said...

Dear yarnlot,

Thank you! The Shetland patterns are really nice in hand spun yarn. It's a great use of yarns that color shift and it's a nice change of pace from the Nieblings!

Lacefreak said...

Dear LittleBerry,

I understand about the circular shawls. Most everyone who retires asks for a stole if I give them a choice. Much easier to wear and they look really pretty. I love Hazel Carter patterns.They are fun to knit and show off the yarn well.

Lacefreak said...

Dear fluffbuff,

I'm happy you are enjoying the works in progress so much :-)

Lacefreak said...

Dear Erica,

I'm glad looking at the projects makes you want to knit on yours :-)

Lacefreak said...

Dear Sue,

You are more than welcome! Thanks for stopping by!

Lou said...

Exquisite lace work.

Renee said...

Beautiful work. Lovely photos! Where do you find your needles? Such small sizes?

Lacefreak said...

Dear Renee,

Anything smaller than US 000 I knit using double pointed metal needles that I purchased at Lacis. Addi Lace makes needles down to US 000 so I have those in all lengths..HiyaHiya needles makes circular needles even smaller but I had an incident where the needle came away from the cable and I ended up with dropped stitches so I don't use them anymore. Good Luck!

Lacefreak said...

Dear Lou, Thank You!

Gebreidesjaals: Knitted Scarfs or Scarves said...

this all is so beautiful and so handsome! mieke

hawknitr13 said...

Goldregen is by far the most elegant lace shawl i've seen!!! it's gorgeous!!