A New Shawl on the Needles

I started a new shawl yesterday and so far, easy knitting.  It is almost mindless knitting.  The yarn I am using is one of my hand painted merino/silk sock yarns.  It is called Sugary Confection.  It reminds me of chocolate and a gooey centered truffle.  Yummy! 

The pattern is Multnomah by Kate Flagg and it is from Ravelry.  If you are on there, check it out, it is a nice pattern to work on.  It takes sock yarn so, if you haven't graduated to using lace weight yarn, sock yarn is easier to work with. 

I am on repeat 21 of the 35 repeats.  So far it isn't too big, I am hoping it will get bigger.  The bottom portion of the shawl is feather and fan, it looks to be the old shale pattern.  I love working feather and fan since it is truly unique. 

I am using size US4 needles for this project although the pattern does suggest US 3's.  I think the US 3's would have been too small for this yarn. 

The Shawl is Finished

Here is the shawl.  I haven't blocked it yet in these pictures.  I am blocking it right now and hopefully, it will be dry in a day or two.  I am so glad this project is taken care of.  Will I knit another one of these?  Not in this pattern but, in a different one, yes.  I need time to recover from this pattern for a while.  The worst part of this pattern...the picot bind off.  I had to deal with 309 stitches and then you add all of the cast on's I had to do.  Holy Smokes!  I already have another shawl picked out and I am about to look for the next yarn.  :) 

Almost to the Finish Line

I am almost finished with this shawl.  I can't wait to see the end of it.  Put it in the sink, get it all nice and wet and then block it.  It is pretty.  Pictures of the completed shawl will follow when it is blocked.  Now to find my blocking pins.  I have no idea where I put them. It has been a long time since I have blocked any shawls so, this is giong to be fun. 

I can't believe how well the yarn is doing for this pattern.  My yarn ball is getting smaller and smaller over here.  I am glad that I did choose this yarn, it is nice.  I wish I had more of it.  I think this will be the first of many shawls using my hand painted yarns.  I really want to write a shawl pattern for one of my unique skeins. 

Other plans are in the works over here for something unique and original for the shop.  More on that later....

Holden Shawlette, Stick to the Chart

I started the lace portion of this shawlette and I was using the directions...should have known to skip these and just work the chart.  Did I do this?  No.  I had to rip the row back twice and the third time, I decided to go with the chart.  I should have done this in the first place and saved myself from ripping.  I hate to rip but, it is a necessary part of knitting.  The chart is now my friend.  So, I will be sticking to it. 

I even grabbed my usual post it notes for charting.  Save your money, do not buy those magnetic strips with the ribbon on them...pain in the butt.  I have found that the post it note is absolutely the best thing for charts.  I do colorwork charts with them all of the time.  They are my go to item for charts. 

The yarn is holding out nicely.  I thought I was going to have to get another skein, nope, I am going to make it.  I looked to see how many times I have to do the chart and I will have enough yarn for it all. 

I am now on row 6 of the first round of the chart.  I have to say, the lace part is so much more exciting than the increasing section of this pattern.  I was bored out of my skull and put it down for a day.  I needed to get away or I was going to walk away from it. 

So, here I am now, working on it again.  I have no idea how long this is going to take me but, hopefully I will get a major portion of it taken care of this weekend. 

Hand Painted Effervescence

I am using a sock yarn that I had painted about a year ago for a friend's shop.  I have the yarn and I decided to go ahead and use it for something other than socks since it is a fine fingering weight.  I do not like to knit socks with fine fingering weight.  It is a quirk I have.  The yarn is shades of green and I painted it at a time when it was so hot here that I needed some relief from the heat and chose to paint a cool mixture of greens. 

My yarn reminds me of a cold mountain lake with tiny bubbles popping up at the surface.  Just so refreshing.  It is very refreshing to knit with.  I am sitting here in long sleeves and in pants to keep myself warm and I am using this cool yarn.  I am making the Holden Shawlette by Mindy Wilkes. 

I originally chose a different yarn but, I misplaced it.  So, I grabbed the effervescence and decided to make this shawlette with it.  I am in the socks squared group and we are doing a KAL with this pattern for the month instead of our usual pair of socks.  I am thankful for this break in socks since I just finished Gary's worsted mallard socks.  He loves them, by the way.  He was wearing them today and tonight.  He specified he would like another pair in another color when I have time.  Not right now.  I have a line of people who want socks. 

This shawlette is being knit with my Addi turbo clicks in US 6.  I love how well this yarn is showing off the stitches and the pattern so far.  Okay, so it is straight stockinette with a garter stitch edge but, still, it shows off the stitches quite nicely.  I have even poked a hole in my poor finger from knitting so much.  Last night was shoulder aches from knitting too much.  I took a small break from knitting tonight but, I will go on to work on it some more.  I need to get the 44 repeats done so, I can start the lace portion of this project and I even have another shawlette planned for later with yarn picked out for it.  :) 

I did notice that shawlettes seem to be very popular right now.  I think it is because so many women want something beautiful to drape around their necks and knitting a scarf can be very boring.  We knitters do love a challenge. 

Peruvian Highland Wool

I had some Peruvian Highland wool that I had purchased for cheap from Elann.  I decided to use this yarn to make my hubby a pair of socks.  He has a huge size 12 foot and the thought of restarting a pair of socks with sock yarn was seriously disheartening.  Then I realized I had read that socks could be knit out of worsted weight yarn.  I plugged in my gauge of 4.75 sts and 5.94 rows into my sock wizard and put in the needle size of US 6.  I got my cast on number and started to do the ribbing for the sock.  I started the sock on January 4, 2011 and finished the first one today. 

My hubby loves his first sock.  The yarn did a really great job for my sock.  It was super quick.  I chose the color Mallard.  It is a heathered wool.  As you can see the heel is a simple stockinette heel and I thought it turned out quite well.  Notice the heathering of the wool.  The stitches on this particular yarn show up quite nicely.  I even mentioned this to my hubby. 

The gusset of this sock was relatively short as well.  I think the worsted weight yarn is completely wonderful and makes beautiful socks.  Now, I want to see how well it holds up to carpet and the usual wear and tear that sock yarn holds up to.  That is my last test and if it does stand up as well or better than I will continue knitting socks out of worsted weight yarn for huge feet.