What do you get when you combine a chance comment on an old piece of knitting. Once a swatch, now a small kerchief (swatches, especially lace one, used to be quite large).
Plus an unexpected find – later that same day – of three skeins of Rasta…
You get an opportunity to play hooky!
I wear this little kerchief quite a bit. It is one of the few neutral things in my wardrobe, as I have a fondness for colour.
I get more than a few positive comments on this. And that Friday was no different. What was different was when I got home I did a little work on my new yarn room.
And I found the Rasta.
And inspriration struck.
So I played hooky from my “real” knitting to create the Playing Hooky shawl/cape. Because it was Rasta, it only took the weekend to knit.
It has taken considerably longer to write the pattern. But here it is — Playing Hooky. Tapping on the link will take you to the pattern on Ravelry. Use the code HOOKY for a 30% discount.
Happy Knitting
Lynette
AI generated cartoon – computerized knitting machine confounded by hand-knitting designer
Have you noticed that there is a little chill in the air first thing in the morning? The day still heats up but it cools down again in the evening. The seasons are preparing for a change.
How do you celebrate the change? Are you pulling out your favourite knits and making sure that they are clean and ready to wear when you are ready to wear them. I am pulling mine out and trying them on and trying to convince myself that maybe it is time! Even as I throw them off knowing it is still too hot!
September Square
Even the September Square, I wanted to knit each row of “trees” (I see them as trees, you may see them as something else) in autumn tones to reflect the season ahead.
This stitch pattern is one of those patterns that can be knit to use up loads of colours. Each stripe of “trees” could be a different colour and the background colours could change as well. Instead I kept the background clean and uncluttered and the trees, simple rows of green.
This pattern is a very interesting knit without being complicated. Each “tree” is made by increasing drastically in one spot and then decreasing on each side of the tree over three rows. Throw in a few slipped stitches to keep the trees pointy and then offset each pattern row to keep the movement fluid.
Finding the name was a little more tricky – Tree Lines, Little Trees, and finally I settle on Tree Lined. Perhaps the name would have been more interesting had I seen something different in the pattern.
What I can pull out of my wardrobe in September are the shawlettes, kerchiefs and mini shawls that I have knit or been given over the years. It has been a while since I knit a small shawl and the fancy collection seemed to need one too!
Meet my new go-to small shawl – the Morning Glory Shawlette. Knit with Cascade 220 Fingering, Morning Glory weighs less than 85 grams. It will be perfect for fall.
You may recognize the border stitch from the August Bonus Square. Doesn’t it look pretty as the border here? If you need a little help with the border, a downloadable photo tutorial for the wrapped stitch technique (Daisy Chain Stitch) is available below the Morning Glory Pattern download.
For me, because of the edging. It is usually my favourite piece to knit, and on a small shawl it is so easy to see. Worn around the neck, it frames the face and draws all the attention up!
The Four Hundred Shawl is one of my most popular small shawls. It was designed for a solid colour yarn. I kept it interesting with some simple lace patterning to add texture and depth. I still have a few skeins of the Bison Merino sock yarn from the Buffalo Wool Co. I designed 400 with that yarn and yardage, 400yds, in mind. Sometimes a solid coloured piece is just what you want!
The Jazzy Shawl is a little bigger and really is something a little more special.
When the Colinton Lace yarn arrived at the store, I was captivated. It was beautiful. I had never worked with spun mohair before, only the fuzzy varieties. It was something like working with silk, but felt a little heavier. The drape was incredible and the sheen amazing.
The yarn wanted something different, and Jazzy grew out of that.
And now Morning Glory joins them.
Three small shawls, designed at different times and for quite different reasons. Four Hundred began with a particular yarn and 400 yards. Jazzy began with a yarn I couldn’t resist. Morning Glory began with an edging I wanted to see and wear.
Perhaps that is one of the things I like most about small shawls. There is enough room to play with an idea, a beautiful yarn or an interesting edging — but they remain small enough to throw around your shoulders on a September morning when autumn is almost, but not quite, here.
I have noticed a nip in the air in the morning and have done my best to wear my knits – but I still end up pulling them off. Summer is not quite ready to let go!
I love working with beads in my knitting. I try to add them to lace knitting at every opportunity. These are a few of my favourite pieces. They each have a story.
Some, like the beaded lace hat, Galadriel’s Gift, I have knit multiple times. The painted circular shawl is the Garden Gate Shawl, showing my favourite pictures of one of my painted pieces. The Shetland Fascinator, the little lace shawl, has the prettiest little beaded tassels.
Rhiannon’s Wrap, the purple shawl, is the most beautiful thing that I ever knit, that never won a prize. A story for another day. I never wrote a pattern for this large version. But there is a pattern for a smaller version, the link is attached to the beaded tassel photo in another gallery in this post.
And Covid Be Damned – The Impulsive Shawl – rainbow, bees, butterfly’s and beads – there are so many ways to add beads.
If you want to know more about the pictures below click on the picture. Some of them are linked to patterns.
But when I discovered bead knitting (beads knit into every stitch) I thought that here was a pinnacle of achievement. I have been working towards that pinnacle every since. My inspiration and resolution just got a big boost.
Treasure
I was in Victoria not too long ago, spending some quality granny time looking after my Grandson. As he is in school I had some time to wander around during the day. I visited family, met up with a friend and got myself into trouble of the best kind.
My daughter lives close to a wonderful little second hand store. I have been there a few times but this last time I found something I had never seen in real life, not outside of a museum. I have seen pictures in books or magazine articles – I found a small, exquisite, circular knit, beaded bag!
I did not buy it immediately. I went back to my daughter’s and slept on it, as it was not cheap. It was not useful and I wanted it. So I didn’t do much sleeping! I kept thinking and thinking and in the morning rushed back to the store and looked at it again. Who was I kidding – it was mine!
It is tiny, only 3 inches across and about 2 and 1/2 inches high, maybe three inches high if you include the closure. But it is perfect. A perfect little coin purse.
Kid Leather lined, designed to sit upright on a table, lavender cotton lace top and a beautiful, twisted silk cord… And the BEAD work!
Micro Bead Knit bag with Pink and Yellow and roses, deep green leaves and the bottom is a beautiful spiraling bottom, in a leaf and bud pattern. There is just 1 loose bead, you can see it resting in the center of the bottom of the bag. For its age it is in great shape!
This bag is roughly dated to the 1920’s and 30’s and unlike most beaded bags, which were designed only to hang this bag was designed to sit on the table and hold a few essentials, a bit of “mad” money, a compact perhaps, just the necessities necessary for a evening on the town.
These bags were mostly knit in Europe at this time. I can see a woman in a garret apartment in Paris madly knitting away and creating a bag for her month’s wages. I have knit with beads, a lot. But knitting circularly with such fine thread and micro beads… it boggles the mind.
My other beaded treasure was a gift from a customer, someone who wanted the bag saved and appreciated. I call it the Napier-Hemy bag to reflect the name of the original owners. This bag came to me in pretty rough shape. It is losing beads and had started to fall apart. But it is still beautiful. The work that went into such creations. The beads are smaller in this bag than in my new treasure. That allows for greater detail in the design. The colours are stronger too – less light exposure perhaps.
You might have noticed that I have been creating a few things with a tiny circular cast-on. lately I am playing with a crazy idea – I think I want to try knitting a small bag like this one.
I won’t knit my bag with such tiny beads, I am thinking of size 8/0’s and then of course what kind of pattern do I want to tackle with my beads? It can’t be too complex – I am not totally insane.
So Many Styles of Working with Beads
I am not without some experience in working with beads. I have tried a great many different beading techniques over the years. I have knit quite a few other beaded bags. Or shawls and tassels with beaded details. Beaded bracelets as well. I could incorporate aspects of these into a circular bead knit bag.
Beaded Mesh – Knitting with Beads
The yarn is BC Garn Tussah Tweed Silk
This is the Victorian Beaded Mesh Bag. It is a lot of beads and not quite so much knitting. But is was the start of my fascination with beads and beaded bags in particular.
I also designed a scarf, Victorian Beaded Mesh Scarf to co-ordinate with the bag. It is a little short scarf with beads at both ends. I have just started knitting myself a new version.
Being a small piece, knit in two pieces and grafted – it knits up relatively quickly and gives a great finish! It is also fun to wear!
I am making myself a new version just long enough to tie around my neck. You can see it’s progress in the pictures above.
You can use beads in so many ways in your knits! Below are just a few. Some of these are just pretty pictures of my work (well, I think they are pretty). If you want to know more about the pictures below click on the picture. Some of them are linked to patterns.
Just in case you want to be crazy too! Here is some information on different styles of working with beads in your knitting.
Beading Techniques:
Placed while Knitting – knitting with beads – beads are placed in pattern, but not creating a solid beaded surface
This technique is the most commonly used technique in modern knitting. A bead is carefully placed on a stitch as your knit. It can be placed before or after the stitch has been worked. When you place the bead determines which row it sits on.
The bead is placed with a small crochet hook or beading tool. The size of the hook is determined by the weight of the yarn and the size of the hole in the bead. I have a small collection of hooks from a .60mm to a 1.25mm. I always try to use the biggest hook possible, but some beads, especially the ones with the beautiful finishes have smaller holes.
.60mm hook with 8/0 bead – hook is ready to pick-up the stitchpicking up the stitchbead has been slipped onto the ststitch is ready to be worked
This technique allows you to place beads exactly where you want them as you knit. It requires a very small crochet hook – 0.6mm – 0.75mm most commonly (bead holes can vary, sometimes a bigger hook will work). Pick up a bead with the tip of your crochet hook, use the crochet hook to remove the next stitch from the left hand needle and then slide the bead down the hook and onto the stitch, return the stitch to the left hand needle and then work the stitch.
Beading Techniques: Pre-Strung Beads
Three beading techniques requiring pre-strung beads that I use; beaded long-tail cast-on, beads between purl stitches and knitted in beads. These are all pre-strung beads, easiest in one colour, more complicated with several colours.
Notes on Pre-stringing beads: All three of these techniques require that the beads be strung onto your yarn before you start knitting. The first time that you try knitting a pattern with beads I recommend that you work a pattern with knitted in beads, keep the pattern simple. A small repeat something that mistakes won’t show as much or will be easily fixed. That way as long as you have enough beads there won’t be any problem with beads not being strung in the right order. This is the simplest way of learning.
After the first time you will be able to decide if you want to knit in a coloured pattern. When working a coloured pattern the beads must be strung in the correct order. In order to do this you string the beads in the reverse order that they are being knit. The first bead knit is the last bead strung. Flip your chart upside down and use the reverse chart for the bead stringing order.
Pre-stringing Fixes: If the beads are out of order you will need to cut your yarn and fix the problem. An extra bead can be crushed with pliers. Work very carefully if crushing a bead the sharp edges can cut the yarn.
Beaded long-tail cast-on – beads are pre-strung and I usually bead every stitch or every other stitch, but for special beads, a different shape or size, the beads might be added less frequently. These beads are on the the tail (the length of yarn over your thumb). Start with your slip knot and immediately pull up 1 bead to rest close to the slip knot. *Cast on 1 (2 ) or desired number of stitches and then pull-up another bead.* Repeat from * to * until you have run out of beads and then finish your cast-on – this should give you the right number of stitches for your cast-on, if you had the right number of beads. Always check your count.
Beads between purl stitches – This is the easiest of the pre-strung beading techniques. The beads are pulled up and placed between your purl stitches The purl stitches hold them in place. This technique does not work well between knit stitches as they will fall to the purl side.
Fretwork mitten cuff – beads on the cast-on and beads between stitches in the ribbing.
Bead Knitting – creates a solid beaded surface
Method and rules: Knitted in Beads –
1) When knitting in your bead you will always knit into the back of the stitch on which you wish to place your bead. The twisting of the stitch by knitting through the back of the loop insures that the bead will be locked into place.
2) When the needle is in place in the back of the stitch, pull up the bead up to approx ¼ of an inch away from your knitting. As you knit the stitch, pull the bead through to rest on the front arm of your stitch.
3) The bead will be furthered anchored when the stitch on top of it is also knitted through the back of the loop. This is done when knitting the next row of beads in place. If beading the next row you will automatically twist the stitch with your current bead. If no bead is being knit into place simply knit into the back of the stitch above the bead to finish the anchoring process.
The beads have been knit in and are sitting on twisted stitches. You can see the twist below the beads. The bead have just been pulled through the stitch and the stitch is about to be removed from the LH needle.
If you are looking for more information on Knitting with Beads or Bead Knitting the Mary Thomas Knitting Book is still one of the best. It was originally published in 1936 and most of the modern writing on the topic references back to this book.
A New Project in the Planning Stage
I have collected so many colours of beads over my years of knitting. More than enough to create a completely bead knit bag. I would work it in Handmaiden Lace Silk. I have a good quantity of that to hand. It would certainly be easier to work with than a linen thread – if I could find some of this thread strong and long enough. The yarn for bead work like this has to be strong and long with no knots if I plan on stringing thousands of beads. And I am. Am I crazy?
So am I crazy? Or what? Are you crazy too?
If you are interested in more – I have just been looking at beads for the background. I usually order from Bead F/X in Toronto when I need a larger quantity of beads. They offer design size pkg of beads – approx 9000 beads per 250 grs of 8/0’s. These are the three possible colours that I am considering. Maybe you might want to check our some options for beading your knits.
Crystal AbSparkle PewterLight Steel Blue
I will probably only order two colours, but first I have to decide on my pattern colours and then pick the background! This may require some swatching. I dusted off my swatch instructions for bead knitting. If you are interested in giving it a try, this swatch is a fairly inoffensive way to begin.
Find Rain Shadow on Ravelry or on Etsy, whichever you prefer to shop!
I have been working on a year long Blanket Square project. Threads of Colour – a Year in Squares, each month a different square in a different stitch pattern and each month a “fancy”, a little extra something.
The April Square featured this stitch and once knit, I couldn’t stop thinking about making it up as a shawl. This is the result.
Rain Shadow shawl is a classic top-down triangular shawl with a twist. The Rain Shadow pattern is a ribbing pattern, with YO and bead details. The ribbing pattern and garter st details make the shawl totally reversible. As well, the pattern is mirrored from one side to the other giving extra movement to the lines of the rib. The shawl as shown has been beaded with size 6/0 beads. The beads are optional.
Almost classic – the increases along the sides and center line are a little faster than the average triangle shaping. There are six increases in every 10 rows of pattern.
Rain Shadow is both written and charted.
The yarn is Soft Silk, by BC Garn. A gorgeously blue bourette silk. And the beads are 6/0 beads by Miyuki.
The Wool Room …
… needs organization!
This is where it started, beautiful, clean, and empty!
A lot of organization.
On the up side to all of this – the storage locker is empty!
What kind of organization do you use for your stash – yarn, fabric, any kind of needle craft! Are you a neat and tidy type – or more on the disorganization side of thing. Right now I am strictly disorganized!
I am working on changing that. It is a slow process because knitting is still my priority. I will keep you up to date on my successes and failures!
Like the small stacks of boxes in every room that I am slowly going through! Now that I have time to open and check them. We have taken stacks of boxes to recycle places, the dump and book sales. I have donated some yarn to my daughters stash. So the cull is ongoing and closer to almost complete as opposed to just starting.
We love our new space already. I will show pictures as we clear and tidy each space!
And I am knitting up a storm or two!
Happy Knitting
Lynette
PS – Remember – there is a code included in the June Square download to purchase Rain Shadow from Ravelry at 50% off.
Gorgeous Roses in the Old City Quarter Neighbourhood!
I just picked up the Rain Shadow Shawl from my test knitter Jana. And I am so thrilled with how it turned out.
Rain Shadow Shawl was entirely inspired by the new to me stitch I chose for the April Square. I loved the way the stitches moved. It immediately inspired this triangular shawl.
Look for the pattern to be released at the same time as the June Square. There may be a discount code attached to the Square pattern… just saying.
I haven’t had much time for writing this month. I have been emptying the storage locker and that job is almost complete. There is maybe 3 or 4 loads left. Some to Restore, some to the dump and some home. My challenge, and the biggest job, has been fitting everything into our new, smaller space..
I have a couple of quiet corners in the house, but most still hold boxes of “bits” looking for a home. My tea shelf is organized. But my book shelves are overflowing and the yarn room… the less said the better. I have more yarn than I thought. Maybe I have more yarn than I wanted to think. That might be more accurate. It will take a little while to organize that area.
I am having fun working on the square and fancy for June. How you started a new square recently? I am really looking forward to seeing how everything comes together for us all.
Happy Knitting
Lynette
A very busy bee indeed. Look at the colour of that Rhododendron. I love watching my plants bloom. Especially now, in a new garden.
My last few posts have all focused around the the Make-A-Blanket project. Getting the first couple of squares up and available, using them to describe some of the possibilities for blanket construction, setting up the start of the design process for all the knitters involved.
Hopefully getting everyone, including myself thinking forward to what they/I want to do with our squares. At the same time as all that it going on …The rest of life keeps on happening!
Now I am focusing on the Winter/Spring Class session. Also my designing. I haven’t felt much like lace knitting lately but I think that is changing. I have a couple of big projects to finish! My Lace Dress and the GreenMan Shawl still need to be finished. Those are going to be done this year!
Projects for the classes at Mad About Ewe are all under construction or ready for the class.
Current projects for the classes, the Twinned Mittens and Socks on Circs are class ready, but not completed yet. That will happen during and after the classes.
I did a swatch to display for the Puffy Vest, and I am currently knitting the first piece. I am really pleased with the way it is knitting up. Right now it looks like a cozy cowl! The thrums make it so bright and colourful!
You can see the swatch for the puffy vest, the Twinned Knit Mitten sample and Socks on Circs at Mad About Ewe, hanging up behind the counter if you want to check things out! All of the classes are up on the website as well!
And there are always future projects!
Like the Chintz Hap I have started knitting.
Last fall I went to the Chintz exhibit at the RBCM and it inspired me in so many ways! The history, the colours and the shapes of some of the motifs really made my sit up and take notice. I want to take those shapes and colours and knit them into one of my favourite shawl shapes – the Shetland Hap! I am working on the center square right now. I am loving the center so far and once the border and edging are complete… In my head it is gorgeous!
I am working with B.C.Garn Loch Lomond Lace! The colours are perfect for this. I may need to add that warm creamy tone, but that is still under consideration.
So life is busy at work, and in my designing and it looks like things are about to get busy around the house as well!
We downsized last year and have been waiting to get the kitchen and few areas around our new home renovated. And it is all about to start! And with my yarn room! Can I say that I am somewhat excited!
The yarn room won’t be big once finished, around 7.5 by 7.5 square feet! But it will be all mine! With shelves and storage and even room for my Grandson to come and visit.
I have it all planned out! The Daybed is for my grandson to sleep on, with a light and small bookcase for his books it will be perfect for me to block my knitting on. It is also right by the window so I can check my yarn colours under the natural light!
One of my resolutions for this year was to be more forward thinking about my classes. So I am already thinking ahead to the Summer Classes. Something light and fun and under the sun in the courtyard. Maybe some beaded fingerless mitts in a really hot colour! What do you think?
Or maybe a light and airy lace scarf in something silky? Any suggestions?
Do you plan your knitting for the year ahead or are you a knit by the moment and yarn you discover?
In the meantime I certainly don’t lack for stuff to do! LOL!
I bet that you have lots of knitting options to as well!
Right now I am working on a few different ideas. A cabled hat, a dress and a shawl (both have been hibernation for too long), a headband, a couple of sweaters, and way too many others projects that need assessment!
I think this one exceeds the sum of its parts! What do you think? More pictures below.
Quickie Update
Well it is obvious that Quickie needs a new name. For starters it really wasn’t that quick and really it doesn’t suit the beauty that this project turned into! It is blocking right now – and I am rushing it along with a few blasts of warm air from the blow dryer so that I can share some pictures.
So lets have a little competition. I am looking for a name for this very pretty, textured, and quite happy shawl. It has beautiful stripes highlighted with waves of lace patterning and is finished with cheerful, bouncy bobbles! I think that it has quite the playful vibe. The winner can pick one of my patterns on Ravelry and I will gift it to you! (You would need to be on Ravelry for this as I would need a rav name to send it to!) So put your thinking caps on and come up with something that you think appropriate.
I cannot say enough great things about the Poema Stripes yarn that I used for this. The colours move beautifully and the merino is very soft and bouncy. It made for a very satisfying knit. This yarn is not cheap, but at 150 grs and 450m, there was value for the cost. It is a non superwash which was important to me as well. Some other things on my knitting list (you know the one – it is never ending), were pushed to the side while I played with this yarn. The way this yarn has been spun is amazing. The average yardage in 300grs of worsted weight wool is approx 600m or 660yds. Poema has 900m, which makes for a very light, but cozy shawl.
Basic Stats: 300 grs, or 900M worsted weight yarn, 5.5mm US#9 long circular needle. The bind-off round took almost 35 -40grs (approx 100 – 120 yds) of yarn. I had only 13 grs left after the bind-off. Bobbles do eat up yardage. The pattern will need to be updated, but that might take a while. It was approx 50 inches by 18 inches before blocking. After a relaxed blocking; it was wet blocked but not pinned or stretched, just smoothed out onto the towels. After a relaxed blocking it was 68 inches long and 22 inches wide. Each lace pattern measures 4inches across.
The bobbles as a closures was a complete fluke! But it looks deliberate! Sometimes in design things just happen!I chose bobbles for the border simply because I think of them as happy and fun and a little playful. Which is how I think of this piece.
Next Year at Mad About Ewe
I have been working on the theme for next years classes at Mad About Ewe Fine Yarns and I think I have come up with a bit of theme. I am going to spend the year looking at socks. I haven’t designed any in a while and there seems to be a renewed interest in knitting the more interesting kinds. So are you interested in socks? Did you try them and go “never again”, or did you become hooked?
When I started knitting socks I think I knit over a hundred pairs of heavy socks to give away, sell and wear. Once I move onto 4-ply socks the knitting slowed down, but I still have over 20 pairs in my sock drawer that are worn in rotation. This way very few of them wear out. I also have a few pairs umm, only half done or some just started – It is the way of socks.
There are sooo many options for socks; different heels, classic, dutch, afterthought, short-rowed and toes, box, blossom, grafted; different ways of construction including top-down and toe-up, with double points, long circs, short circs etc. Tube Socks (perfect for kids), Spiral Socks, Work Socks, Dress Socks, Slip-Stitch Socks and even the lowly basic sock, which takes on a new life in all of the fabulous socks yarns we have today.
I love the Fall, the changing of the leaves, the cooling of the temperatures and even the way the skies darken so much earlier. Even in the Fall the lingering flowers have great beauty. I have been watching the hydrangea in my new place slowly fade as the cold progresses and isn’t it beautiful?
Last Wednesday I was out at Rathtrevor with a friend. It was glorious, the wind was howling, the waves had whitecaps and the clouds were racing across the sky. There were a couple of kite surfers on the water and we watched them for a while. The eagles and gulls were gliding on the winds and the small birds were darting around the tangled rose bushes. It was an amazingly exhilarating walk! It started to rain just as we left. What a day.
Are you a soup person? I have noticed that some people don’t like soups. I love soup. I could easily have soup every day for lunch, even in the Summer. Soup with crackers, soup with bread, soup with croutons – just soup!
I baked a ham earlier in the week so I am currently making a stock with the bone and vegetables and herbs. I will most likely make a pot of split pea soup this evening. Something for lunches this week at work. There should be enough broth for me to freeze so that I can make a pot of split pea soup another weekend. Ham, at the end of the day, is a very economical purchase and now-a-days that is important. It does dinner, breakfast and lunches and then offers up a couple of meals of soup!
Happy Knitting! I am hoping for a few good names to show up!
This trip to Knit City was both utterly fabulous – the best ever – and bittersweet – because it will be the last at the forum. I was there at the first one, teaching and talking! At that time I felt totally overwhelmed by the whole event. I really was uncertain of myself and my abilities back then. I regret that I did not seize that moment and walk out of my shell.
Now! I could do better. Now! I could rock the joint. What a difference a few years can make.
This year was fabulous! I met up with customers, exchanged stories and felt connected. I think that when Knit City comes back – I want to teach or organize a group visit or just Wow! myself again!
These were my Knit City investments. I love each and every one and I don’t know when I will have time to knit any of them.
Some links are included with the pictures in case you want to find out more about the farms and yarns.
This was the yarn I went to Knit City to find. If I bought nothing else (who was I kidding) I wanted this!
And I was not disappointed.
Merino lace weight, non superwash 8-plys of heaven. I am not sure what I am doing with it but I know that I bought enough for a big project!
There has been a lot of time taken in talking about not having enough time lately for all of the things in my mind that I want to accomplish. I have spoken to friends and colleagues, online acquaintences, family, and customers. We all tell the same story. Perhaps we all need to slow down and step back…
No. I am not ready yet!
I have been having fun, working hard and sometimes even not having fun! But life is still zooming on by.
Quickie update – because I have decided that my Quickie project needed to become a shawl – this is no longer really a quickie! It will need a new name. But I am beyond thrilled with the yarn and how it has transitioned from the first ball to the next. The transition is perfect. The end of the first ball matched up perfectly with the middle of the next ball! That beautiful bright blue is the transition point! Poema Stripes rocks it!
I hope that you are using up and enjoying every bit of the time you have! Nothing is wasted if we have experienced the time – both good and bad. All of it makes us who we are! Every experience teaches, enriches, and grows us. We learn from both good and bad. What to do better. What to avoid and what to embrace.
It is time to start thinking about Christmas Knitting. I made a few of these Shetland Stars last year. I think that I will knit some more this year.
Well I am at that point where a decision needs to be made! I have enough yarn to cast-off nicely or I need another ball to make a bigger shawl.
I am really leaning towards another ball. Right now I am at about 12 inches wide and about 5 feet long, without minor blocking. I really do not want to block it at all! I will lose all of that glorious texture – so make it bigger so I do not have to block at all!
While I have been considering my options – I was also knitting the November Hat for the Year of Hats. Meet Bobbity, especially created for Angie who really wanted to learn how to knit bobbles! I think this will fit the bill!
Bobbity was knit with Estelle Yarns Highland Alpaca Tweed Chunky. A lovely alpaca/wool blend chunky, new this year.
This morning we went for a walk around Neck Point Park. It was the perfect morning, perfectly clear skies and a gleaming sun reflecting off the water. Neck Point has long been one of my favourite walks. We lived close to it when we first moved to to town, 35 years ago. It wasn’t even an official park then. I used to take the kids there when they were little and we would have picnics. Such a beautiful place.
I hope that you are having a wonderful Thanksgiving Day as well1
The painted Fan is my first attempt at hand painting with dyes. It has become the basis of my header for the patterns I create and inspiration to keep on trying new things. Pattern was Nightfall Fan by Deborah Robinson.
Ok – everything is set up and I am at the knit until I am done stage. The only decision left is do I make a scarf or a shawl – I am thinking a shawl! So I will need another ball!
I already have a plan for the finishing. But I won’t need that for a while.
Isn’t technical stuff fascinating? My phone has an app. It is AI based of course. But it will take my rough sketch and turn it into art. If only I could really illustrate my knitting pattern ideas so well! It has been really fun to play with so I will be trying this out more!
Use the slider to see my sketch of “Quickie” and compare to the AI finish!
I have written up Quickie as a PDF. Click HERE to download the pattern for free.
