Lady Bertram

I wish I knit like Wendy of Wendyknits.net. She can crank out projects every day or two. Her project page on ravelry goes on forever.

She has started putting out a few of her shawlette patterns, and I thought the Lady Bertram looked like a good shawl for a yarn that had multiple colors in it.

Perfect, let's say, for a skein of teal/cream/orange fingering weight that was purchased with SisterLoo in mind at Stitches from Pagewood Farms.

This was an easy knit, and one I will likely do again.

Heart to Heart

Here were are at Shawl Number 4. Not too bad for the end of March. This shawl was really putting the "ette" in shawlette since it was fairly narrow. It was Sivia Harding's Heart to Heart Shawl/Scarf pattern, constructed from end to end. It had an edging, a garter stitch section that grew progressively wider as it got towards the middle and back to narrow again, and a heart lace edging, which was repeated 29 times.


A fun knit, this one has beads too. The yarn is Malabrigo Sock in Impressionist Sky, the color, as you can see, that Janice should wear ALL THE TIME it is so perfect for her. She chose the yarn so she gets all the credit for that. I was merely the knitter.



I decided that 1) Malabrigo sock is wonderful, 2) I like beads, and 3) I am addicted to lace. Not too bad.

She's a Traveling Woman

My friend Lisa is awesome. When she wants to do something, instead of talking about it, she does it.

She started a website, Catholicmom.com. Then came a podcast, speaking at conferences, writing for other blogs, etc. etc. etc.

Now she wrote a book. Cool huh? Look here. She will be off circling the country soon on a whirlwind of speaking engagements and book signings, as our newest celebrity.

Her only fault? She's allergic to wool. I know, not really her fault, but I had to find some imperfection. Anyway, she is the lucky winner of shawl #3 of my 10 shawls in 2010, aptly named "Traveling Woman".


This little shawlette is made from Berroco Comfort sock yarn, which has no wool in it for Lisa and her sensitivity, but is still soft and was lovely to work with. The pattern is from Liz Abinante, a nice gal I was fortunate to meet at Stitches last month.



Happy traveling Lisa!

Shawl #2 or How to Give Yourself a Yarn Heart Attack

I was given a lovely skein of pink silk/seacell blend laceweight. 700 yards. Good stuff. And I wanted to make Haruni. What a beautiful shawl! The perfect combination for Ravelympics, a challenge to make something during the Olympics - something that wouldn't be too easy, but doable. You have to finish before the torch is extinguished - to get your virtual medal. I would be at Stitches, but armed with an iphone and a little help from Alex to get the photo posted, it should all work out. Right?



I cast on as the opening ceremonies began, and started my project. It went well. The pattern calls for arond 450 yards of sock yarn, so I knew I had plenty (red flag! Danger!) so I made it bigger. The first section has "stems" and the pattern called for 12 and to make it bigger you had to increase in increments of two stems. I made 16. On to the edging.

"Ooooh, this is taking lots of yarn," she thinks to herself while knitting merrily along. (danger! danger!) "Oh, but I have 700 yards!" NO PROBLEM. By the time we were leaving for Stitches I had a wee little ball left and about 5 rows to go. Five LONG rows. I knit in the car, keeping the little ball hidden from Tracy so she wouldn't shriek in horror at the amount I had left. After every row I squeezed and felt how much I used, and it seemed like it could POSSIBLY work. Right? Gotta have faith, right?



I was on my last row during the opening session at Stitches. While listening to Jane Slicer Smith talk miters and design options, I started the bind off. The pattern calls for a crochet loop bind off which is really pretty, but I knew I was pushing it to have enough for a regular bind off. It took most of the session, since it was close to 500 stitches, and the wee ball was now more of a wee lump, but I did it (and resisted the urge to stand up and cheer when the last stitch was done!).

I steam ironed/blocked it in the hotel room and wore it the next day. Photo below taken on the bed in the hotel.



With several days of the Olympics to spare, I might add.

Now I want to make one with the loops.

Cindy Pressure

Oh, those Cindy Knitters! They innocently mention a little knit a long and Boom! I'm off.

This time it is 10 shawls in 2010. Clever, right? Doable, right? I hope so. I enjoy lace, am sick of socks, so seems good. And the new crop of shawlette patterns use up around a skein of sock yarn, and BOY do I have some to choose from.

I started January 1 in the spirit of the thing, and cast on the Valentine Shawl. I figured it would get done by Valentine's Day. I had some lovely red Hana Silk that had been waiting for me to use it, so it was a match.

I finished on January 21. It was an easy knit, starting at the tip and increasing at the sides until a triangle was formed, at the same time knitting in little hearts. A snap.



I gave it to Mom, since she's my Valentine and all. She likes red, and is my number 1 fan, so why not start at the top? Here she is at Whole Foods (where we meet and knit on Fridays) modeling the shawl while other people buy carrots.



Note: all links are to Ravelry. You have to sign up to see them, but it is free and instant, so go look!!

Shawl #2 next post.

Happy Knitting New Year

This post is going to be knitter ramblings, so if you aren't one of my knitter friends, just go back to getting ready for the bowling party (you know who you are) and you won't notice how much of a one track mind I have.

Okay, now, I must say that knitting resolutions are great. No real fear of failure, since even if you don't do what you planned, you do something else which is usually just as good, so NO STRESS! Plus, other than a little Christmas present stress, knitting is usually relaxing. Right?

I joined the 10 shawls in 2010 group on Ravelry. And joined a few (ahem, we won't count how many) Ravelympics teams. So I have stuff planned. I am getting the feeling this will be the year of lace. I'm not supposed to start until tomorrow, but swatching is okay, so I started a little swatch (or point of the shawl shh, don't tell) of one of the starting projects, the Valentine Shawl, made from Hana silk that I got a long time ago at Artfibers in SF.

I have a lovely stash of laceweight, and it is begging me to use it, so I will try to just knit from my stash whenever possible. The only glaring exception to this will be Stitches, and I plan on being very PICKY with purchases. One thing experience brings you is the ability to not get so caught up in the moment with impulse buys. Especially when you have a few past purchases still hanging around.

I have printed most of the potential patterns for what I want to make and stuck them in one binder, so I am organized and ready to go. I need to spend a little time with my new ball winder I got for Christmas, but other than that I'm at the starting gate ready for the ball to drop.

Happy Knitter New Year!

Tracy had a birthday!

And I have been knitting her a little something without her even knowing about it. Aren't I sneaky?

It is a little shawlette/scarf called Damson, designed by Ysolda Teague, a favorite designer of mine who lives in Scotland and must have a cool life - living in Scotland and designing knitwear.
It uses one skein of sock yarn, and I chose a skein of Malabrigo sock in a lovely blue/black color that I hope goes with jeans or black or both.

I modified the original pattern by inserting a lace pattern into every other little triangle at the bottom. I had seen this on ravelry, and the originator had permission to give it out to others which she did, and there you have it! I think it made a lovely addition to the overall look. I also like the scallop edge.

Such a fun knit, and it looks good on Tracy. She modeled it for me at Whole Foods (our knitting group spot). The folks at the grocery store are getting used to a bunch of knitters being there, and now they are getting to see a bunch of knitters photographing shawls in front of the carrots. Good times!