Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl

The Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl in handspun BFL.

Susan Lawrence’s pattern would be an ideal beginner lace project. The pattern is clearly written, gives complete instructions along with explanations of why things are done, includes both charts and written directions, has a small easily memorized repeat, and introduces several lace techniques. Best of all for new lace knitters, the pattern is written for sport weight yarn. For many who are new to lacy knitting, one of the most difficult things is to get used to very thin yarn on what seem like way too big needles. Knit in finer or heavier yarn, one would simply adjust needle size and number of repeats for as small or large a shawl as you wish, or have yarn for. So, another pattern good for skeins of handspun.

Beech trees make great shawl models

The shawl is knit from the center neck down, using a simple cast on, and four YO increases every right side row to create the triangle shape. The leaf lace pattern is composed simply of Knit, YO, and SSK, and the WS rows are plain purl. I like to use stitch markers on complex lace patterns, but Susan’s instructions were correct. This lace is so easy to read, markers really aren’t needed, and I think this would be a good pattern to help beginners learn to “read their knitting”.

More experienced lace knitters will find this pattern is practically like taking a vacation. And I mean that in a good way. It’s very relaxing and knits up quickly. For this project, I wanted to knit something in a simple, regular pattern so it wouldn’t compete with the striping I knew was going to occur with this handspun, and I think it worked out well

Knit as written, the shawl looked like it would be about the size stated in the pattern. But I knit a couple of extra repeats of the main chart for just a few extra inches in width and length. Since I’m planning to give this to a friend who is very tall, it’s still going to be a nice shoulder size. I made no other modifications. Though if I were to knit this again, in a solid color yarn, I would like to put some beads at the points of the scalloped edge.

The BFL has knit up very soft and warm, with just the teeniest bit of a halo. The fiber from Sakina Needles was great fun to spin, and has made a nice cozy shawl. I’m hoping my friend will see this a bright fun everyday scarf rather than some delicate dressy piece that languishes in a closet somewhere. Fortunately I have enough of the handspun left over to make myself some wristies. I’ve also got another 4oz of the fiber, but I’d like to spin that into a Navajo-plied 3-ply to maintain the long bands of color from roving to finished yarn.

Because of the small size, I blocked the shawl with blocking wires along the top edge, down the center “spine”, and through the points. The finished size is just right to sit comfortably and stay on the shoulders without a lot of fiddling.

Blocking Detail

Details:

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl, by Susan Pierce Lawrence
Yarn: Handspun BFL, Antigua colorway, fingering wt, approx 375 yds
Needles: US5/3.75mm, KnitPicks Options circs
Gauge: n/a
Started: Late-September 2007
Completed: 12/9/2007, and it only took that long because I set this aside for about six weeks
Finished Size: 56”w x 26”

Cleite Shawl in Handspun Alpaca

I started spinning last Friday night and finished knitting this Friday night. A new land speed record! See the related blog posts here, here, here, and here.

The Yarn

Spun from the November fiber in Wooly Wonka’s Exotic Fiber club, a lovely soft chocolate alpaca, a 2-ply ranging from heavy laceweight to fingering weight. Yes, I could have spun more evenly, but I don’t regret it for a second, I wanted to spin something and I wanted to finish it Now!

After the third time through Chart 2, I started to worry

I did come up a little bit short on yardage compared to the pattern specs which were for a much thinner laceweight. As a loose knitter though, on the same US3’s called for, I ended up with a nice size shoulder shawl, just a bit larger than Mim’s.

The Pattern

The Cleite Shawl pattern is currently only released to the fiber club. Keep an eye on MimKnits as she posted that she’s working on a full size version for her pattern shop.

The shawl is a triangular shape, worked from the center-neck down. The lace patterns form what look like feathers or spear-heads – appropriate I suppose for the Amazon Cleite’s journey to the Trojan War. Though it looks fairly complex, the lace was quite straightforward, with an easy repeat across each row that had a nice regular quality. So, it knit up fast. Don’t let my knitting friends tell you otherwise, I am really not a fast knitter. I have to take lots of breaks for my hand and arm, but I do have stubborn determination.

Wet blocked, using blocking wires on snap-together foam flooring blocks

As soon as the pins came out, Ivy offered to help

As Miriam says in the pattern instructions, the scalloped edge is formed by the decreases and YO’s in the last rows so that a knitted on edging is not required. She also notes it is perfect for handspun as you can bind off when you run out of yarn. Which I did. I was only six rows short of finishing the last repeat of the second chart, so I had made it past the last decreases for the spear tips, with enough rows of eyelets after to get a nice pointy finished edge. Knit again in a finer yarn, I would love to place some beads at each of the points before binding off.

The Shawl

Sturdy yet soft. Lacy yet warm. Scarf size for a little coziness at the neck and shoulders.

Details

Yarn: Handspun alpaca from Wooly Wonka, 2-ply lace to fingering weight, 286+ yards, spun on the Lendrum DT, fast flyer
Needles: Addi Lace, US3/3.25mm
Pattern: Cleite Shawl, MimKnits
Started: November 23, 2007
Completed: November 30, 2007
Finished Size: 46” across, 22” deep

Thank You Anne and Miriam!

Scarf with Striped Border from Weldon’s Vol 5

Knit as a sample for my Intro to Lace class at The Needle Lady, I'm using this as the class project per the request of the owner. This pattern from Victorian Lace Today was also issued as a leaflet to shop owners when the book came out. The first border is knit in garter-based lace, bound off, and the edge stitches picked up for the scarf body.

The body of the scarf is a 4-stitch garter eyelet rib. As I seemed in no danger of running short of yarn, and wanted a nice long scarf, I knit an extra 10 repeats of the body. The second border uses the same chart as the first, is cast on from the last body stitch, and knit as an attached edging.

The merino/tencel worked up quite nicely, and has a very soft, warm hand. Any unevenness in my spinning is well-hidden by the laciness of the stitch patterns.

The pattern was quite straightforward, and other than the tedium of knitting the body (OK, that could be my short attention span talking), this is a quick easy knit. The end result has a lot more impact than the simplicity of the pattern would imply.

Closest to the true color

Details:

Pattern: Scarf with Striped Border from Weldon’s Vol 5, from Victorian Lace Today

Yarn: Handspun Merino/Tencel, 2-ply sport/DK wt, approx 400 yds, 3.5oz

Needles: KnitPicks Harmony, US6

Gauge: n/a

Started: 10/7/2007

Completed: 10/18/2007, Blocked 10/19/2007

Finished Size: 12” x 68”

Argosy Scarf

Argosy Scarf in handspun Corriedale

Argosy was a great pattern for my slightly tweedy stripey handspun. It’s funny that, as a somewhat experienced lace knitter, I kept outsmarting myself when I cast on, and took a couple of tries to get the pattern set. Once established though, this is very easy knit.

Mods:
I added an extra increase to make the scarf wider since my fingering weight yarn is a little lighter than the pattern’s DK or sport weight. But, I didn’t knit as many repeats as I didn’t want a six-foot scarf. I blocked it fairly strongly to open the lace.

I had plenty of help with the photos

Details:
Yarn: Handspun Corriedale pencil roving, from Crown Mountain Farm, color: Inspiration

Needles: US3 / 3.25mm

Pattern: Argosy Scarf from Knitty

Gauge: ~5 stitches/inch after blocking

Completed: September 15, 2007

Finished Size: 6 ½” x 64”

Autumn’s almost here

One-Skein Shawl

Pattern: Knitters Review One-Skein Shawl

Yarn: ArtYarns Silk Rhapsody, 100g-260yds, in a palest blue/silver colorway 149, one skein, used all but about 10yds

Needles: US11 / 8mm

Gauge: 9 stitches/4” unblocked

Started: April 12, 2007

Completed: April 18, 2007

Finished Size: 72” x 32”



Notes:
Mimi asked me to knit a sample of the One-Skein Shawl for the shop, and it had to be done in time for her to take to Stitches Camp. So Hurry!
I used all but about 10yds. Knit on US11’s rather than US13’s with three extra increase rows and one extra eyelet edging row.
This yarn is like knitting with kittens. It’s very soft with one ply of silk and a smaller ply of kid mohair. The halo isn’t very pronounced while knitting, but it has fuzzed up a little with blocking and wear.

Wisteria Scarf

Pattern: My own using a basic top-down triangle shawl shape, with Evelyn Clark’s edging from the Shetland Triangle and Flower Basket Shawls

Yarn: My own homespun, fiber Australian wool roving from Holly Spring Homespun, color Dyers Delight. Finished yarn is 2-ply fingering weight 16wpi, 45g, approx 210yds, spun on Grafton Nina

Needles: Aero circular, US5 / 3.75mm

Gauge: Lace

Started: Spinning in fits and starts, plying April 6, 2007, Knitting started April 7, 2007

Completed: April 8, 2007

Finished Size: 38” x 20”



Notes:
I spun two spindles full of singles which I wound off onto PVC pipe. The pipe is part of my homemade lazy kate which worked perfectly. I added a CD to the underside of the spindle for added plying capacity. The yarn bloomed quite a bit after a soak to set the twist.

I wanted to use every bit of the plied yarn, and I did. Good thing I even plied the leftover yarn with itself from the second “half” of the singles.

I started with basic top-down triangle shawl construction and added grouped YO/decreases that flow into the edging since I didn’t want plain stockinette for the body. I plan to eliminate the partial groups from the chart for the future and also look at other simple lacy rib patterns that could be used instead.

More photos here.

Monkey Socks

Click for larger

Pattern: Monkey Sock from Knitty Winter 2006

Yarn: Claudia Hand Painted Yarn, Plumicious, 2 skeins, from Y2Knit in Funkstown

Needles: Two circs, Addi US0 / 2.0mm

Gauge: 8spi

Started: 2/21/2007

Completed: 3/25/2007

Finished Size: Womens US 11


Click for larger

Notes:
This pattern was a fast and easy knit for me. I found the stitch pattern easy to memorize and knit without full concentration. I knit the pattern as written except for using an eye of partridge stitch for the heel flap and picking up one more gusset stitch each side on the heel. I used six full repeats on the foot before decreasing for the toe.

The Claudia’s yarn was wonderful to knit with. The colors are hard to photograph and are more vibrant in person, ranging from a hot pink through soft mauve to chocolatey brown. Until now, I’ve resisted using a highly variegated yarn with a complex stitch pattern, but I think this combination really worked. The stitch pattern, though bordering on lace, is simple and geometric enough that it holds its own with the yarn.

Claudia uses a Louet Gems Pearl base and I love the tight twist while knitting. A soak and block by just patting into shape really softened and relaxed the yarn.

The pattern is knit top down, and I knit it long enough for a size 11 foot, yet had enough leftovers that I could have done an extra repeat or two on the leg. Leftovers, 20g approx 65yds.

Mystery Shawl 1: Mystery Diamond

As usual, I need help with blocking and Ivy is happy to oblige



Pattern: Yahoo Mystery Shawl 1, Now Goddess Knits Mystery Diamond

Yarn: Henry’s Attic Silk & Ivory, silk/merino blend, undyed, 4.9 oz = approx 625 yds. Cone purchased from Wool2Dye4 in Lynchburg.



Needles: Aero 32 in/80cm circular, US6/4.0mm
Gauge: Lace
Started: June 2005
Completed: August 2005
Finished Size: 76 inches x 36 inches



Notes:
The first mystery shawl, in five clues, one per week. Construction was simple, top down triangle, with each clue progressing from the previous. No border or edging. I modified the last two rows to exaggerate the scallop when blocked.

The Silk & Ivory is fingering wt, easy to work with, very soft, blocks well, with a beautiful sheen. It has continued to develop a bit of halo with wear. Holds its block well even packed away and traveling. It is very warm.

Won third prize at the 2005 State Fair of Virginia for Knitted Lace - Amateur

Mystery Shawl 2: Flowing River

Fortunately, I had lots of good help with blocking.



Pattern: Yahoo Mystery Shawl 2, now Goddess Knits - Flowing River

Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr, laceweight silk & wool, hand-dyed with Gaywool acid-dyes to a medium lavender/periwinkle, 2.6 oz = approx 825 yds. Cone purchased from Textura Trading



Needles: Aero 32in/80cm circular, US5/3.75mm

Gauge: Lace

Started: September 2005

Completed: January 2006

Finished Size: 80 inches x 34 inches



Notes:

The second mystery shawl, in five clues, one per week. Construction was quite a bit more complex than MS1. Center triangle was worked, then a wide border, finally a knitted on 25st edging. Started September 30, 2005, I kept pace well with the first four clues, then lost steam with the endless edging. This shawl went with me to Dominica in late October, was put away for xmas knitting, then finally finished on a trip to Dad’s in Jan 2006.

The Zephyr is a fine laceweight, easy to knit, quite soft, with a nice subtle sheen. It seems warm for its weight. Finished wt of shawl is just 2.6oz.

This shawl won a First Prize for Knitted Lace and Best of Section for Lace - Amateur

EZ Pi Shawl

Blocked so Severely it is larger than the queen-size bed.



Done! This was knit at a very loose gauge for the laceweight yarn and is quite light and lacy.




Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill Merino Lace, in their heathered-solid Burgundy, ordered from Fuzzy Mabel, used about half a skein or 1200 yds (I’ll update this when I can weigh the remaining yarn)

Needles: US5 at the center to US7 at the perimeter, Edging US5, Aero and KnitPicks Circulars

Pattern: Pi Shawl, Elizabeth Zimmerman, Knitters Almanac

Gauge: Lace

Started: September 2005 (I put this down for quite a while)

Completed: February 2007

Finished Size: 60 inches diameter

Notes:
The CTH laceweight is smooth and very easy to knit. While not quite as fine and soft as Zephyr, which is a merino/silk blend, it seems very sturdy, light, and warm.

I modified the last lace section of the original EZ pattern to add another set of petals and diamonds.

The edging is Doris from Heirloom Knitting.

A related post HERE.

Mystery Shawl 3: Summer Into Fall

It's so big, I can't get the whole thing in the frame.



This was Mystery Shawl #3 on a Yahoo group. I set it aside for a bit, but with the deadline of the Virginia State Fair, and Arm Surgery #3 rehab underway, I had to get it done. Just finishing was reward enough and I really wasn't even going to send this shawl and another over to Richmond. Well, last minute I put them in an overnight box and off they went. Good thing too.



First prize for Knitted Shawls, and Best of Section for Knitting



Pattern: Mystery Shawl 3, now the Goddes Knits Summer Into Fall pattern

Yarn: Anny Blatt Fine Kid, heavy laceweight mohair/wool/nylon, almost 6 balls

Needles: US6/4mm, I think

Gauge: Lace

Started: March 2006

Completed: September 2006

Finished Size: 60in square

Notes: By the time I was done, I didn't care if I ever saw mohair again! There were nearly 800 stitches on the final rounds. It's a lovely color, but the yarn has teensy slubs that mean I would probably not use it again. The shawl is very warm yet light, and is beautiful.

Swallowtail Shawl

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl, Evelyn Clark, Interweave Knits, Fall 2006

Yarn: MOCO Yarns Qiviut, 45% Qiviut/45% Merino/10% Silk laceweight, less than one 425yd skein used, approx 350 yds, natural taupe, purchased at Stitches East November 2006 from Caryll Designs

Needles: KnitPicks Classic Circulars US3 / 3.25mm

Gauge: It’s lace

Started: December 2006

Completed: January 2007 after xmas hiatus

Finished Size: 48” x 24”

Notes:
The qiviut-blend yarn is as soft as that spot behind a cat’s ear, featherweight, but amazingly warm. With a bit of wear it’s already developing some of the characteristic halo.

I knit the patterns exactly as written. Evelyn Clark’s patterns are straightforward, and lovely. The upper section was easily memorized and went quickly. The nupps are a bit slow and fiddly but definitely worth the effort. The finished size is perfect as a little shoulder shawl or scarf.