A Tale of Three Wedding Shawls

 My oldest friend, or rather the friend I've had the longest, recently got married. When I found out she was engaged I decided I was going to make her a wedding shawl. I rushed out with the idea in mind that I would make the Miami Beach Shawl by Vera Sanon. I got the Cascade Yarns Ultra Pima in white and set off. I picked this pattern because it had some lace on it, but not so much that I thought I couldn't get it done in time. I don't like to knit a lot of lace since I frequently get interrupted and stitches tend to fall off. I felt this pattern could be set aside fairly easy. Plus, this shawl could easily make the transition into being used as an everyday shawl. I did breeze through the pattern without any major mishaps and it was quickly sent to my friend.

Then my friend found her wedding dress. It was ivory, not white. Once again, I was looking for yarn and a pattern. My friend was very happy with the first shawl and was planning to use it, but I wanted something that would match her dress. Since time was now a bit of an issue I had to find a worsted weight yarn and a easier pattern.

 I found The Warm Way Shawl by Agrarian Artisan. It is a beautiful pattern made with a lovely warm wool. I went with Bernat Sequin yarn. Why? Well, budget was an issue as was time. I wanted a yarn that had a little sparkle to it. Overall, I think it turned out well and it is the one that Caroline used. I think she looks beautiful!

My biggest problem with the shawl was blocking it. I didn't have blocking wires so it didn't block out as large and the edges were not flat. Actually, the edge is more of a small ruffle. I'd love to make the pattern again with a warm, colorful wool and block it properly.

Blocking wires, or not having them, turned out to be a problem with the shawl I made for myself. I planned to wear it to the wedding, but instead used it the next day. I am going to have to re-block it and be a bit more aggressive with it. And getting some blocking wires before doing so will probably help.

I love the color and pattern. The yarn is Knit Picks Palette in the color tranquil. The pattern is Line Break by Veera Valimaki. I knit it with no problems until the end. An inch into the eyelet border I dropped two stitches. It turned into a crazy mess. I had to rip it back to the start of the eyelet section. Still, I like it a lot and once it is blocked properly I think I will use it frequently.

Three shawls made for one wedding! All great patterns resulting in lovely shawls.

My First Socks!

 I finally finished my first pair of socks. It took me a long time to finish them, but to be fair, I would knit on them and then set them aside while I did many other projects. Once I finished the first one I flew through the second and finished it in less than a week.
I am really quite pleased with them.

 The pattern is Basic Ribbed Socks by Kate Atherley and is a free pattern on Ravelry. The leg of the sock in knit in a knit 3, purl 1 rib. It is a great first-time sock knitter pattern and I highly recommend it. The directions are very well written and very easy for me, as a first-timer, to do.  

The yarn I used was a gift from the lovely Twikka that she sent to me in the Summertime Swap last year. The yarn is Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball in the color jade. I love the yarn and it comes in some fantastic colorways.

Overall, it was a great experience for a first time sock knitter!

Cephalopod Yarns

 In June Cephalopod Yarns was having an Afghans for Afghans fundraiser. They were collecting knitted and crocheted items like hats, socks, and scarves. If you made something and sent it to them by the end of the month they would send you a code that would get you a free skein of Bugga! yarn.

Bugga! is 380 yards of 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere and 10% nylon. It also costs $32. I admit, I wanted some of that yarn and I was willing to make a hat to get it. Normally, I would look at the yarn and say "someday" and end up never getting it. I just have a hard time spending that much on myself. Having this fundraiser enabled me to support their project, make a hat and get some kick ass yarn in return.

I paid $2.29 for shipping and got this beautiful yarn! The color is Ghost Moth and my pictures do not do it justice. I've just started a project with it, but you'll have to wait for it to be finished before I post any pictures.

If you get a chance check out Cephalopod Yarns. They have some great colors and the yarn is nice, too ;-)

Cakewalk Yarns

Back in May I participated in another swap with the A Swap in Time group on Ravelry. This swap had us making up a package based on what our partner liked to drink, coffee, tea, hot chocolate. We were also suppose to give a skein of indie dyed yarn made in the state we live in.

I checked Etsy and found Cakewalk Yarns. I picked out the superwash merino and nylon yarn in the color Cherry Blossom. It is 463 yards of sock weight yarn. It is very soft and looks quite nice when knitted up.

Check out and shipping was easy and fast and I totally want to get some yarn for myself! I recommend that you check out the Etsy site. There are a few worsted weight and DK weight yarn, too. The colors are fun and she updates the shop regularly. Enjoy!

I want one in my size

Mark's cousin's daughter is having a baby in early August. I was invited to the baby shower that was being given for her, but I knew I would not be able to go to it. Instead, I knit a sweet little summer sweater for the baby. This pattern is the Abagail Sweater and is a free pattern on Ravelry. It is very similar to the February Lady Sweater.

The yarn used was EuroBaby Cuddly Cotton in a light pinkish color. I did change the closure of this sweater. I added the three buttons instead of using the band closure that the patterns calls for. It was mainly just a personal preference in doing so. I found some small buttons that were very close in color.

I sent the sweater to the shower with the grandma (soon to be great-grandma!) of the girl having the baby. At the shower one of grandma's sisters said she wanted a sweater just like this but in her size. Later that message was passed to me. I have to admit I am very flattered by the request. It means that someone thought my little baby sweater was beautiful. Of course, it does make me laugh because the amount of time that goes into making an adult sweater is a lot more than a baby one.

My plan after finishing this little sweater was to finish the 4 projects I still have on needles. Then I have a baby sweater for another friend (she's due in August, too) and after that I have two more friends that are due around December. I plan to make each a baby sweater for their little ones. Of course, I really want to make a cardigan for myself and I had a couple of patterns for the kids that I wanted to make before school starts. I really do have a lot of projects that I want to make!

I feel a little guilty for not wanting to make her a sweater. In a way I feel like I couldn't ask for her to pay for more than the yarn since she is Mark's aunt. So, for now, I am treating it as a compliment.

Yes, More Baby Knitting

Another pregnant friend means more baby knitting. Not that I mind! I do have one more friend that is expecting so I will have to make some more baby items before August.

 I made the Puerperium Cardigan again. I think it is easy, fast, and super cute. I used Lion Brand Babysoft yarn. It is not the softest yarn, although it did soften after a soak.

I wanted to have a hat to go with the sweater and I settled on the Berry Baby Hat. It is a cute hat and the pattern worked with the yarn I had available.

The Evening Baby Booties are from a vintage pattern that Danielle put up on her blog with my bare hands. The booties are darling and a quick knit. I crocheted a small chain to use as the tie.

Overall, I think the three pieces made an adorable set. My friend was thrilled with them and sent me a lovely thank you card.

Colonnade Shawl

I finally got to make one of the shawls that has been in my favorites list on Ravelry for some time. This is the Colonnade Shawl by Stephen West. I love the way it is constructed. It stays on your shoulders very well. It was very windy on the day I wore it and yet it stayed put.

After reading the project notes by other knitters, I wrote out each row of the four row repeat. Then after I finished each row I would check it off. This helped keep me clear as to which row I was on. Plus, it made the rows with all the yarn overs easy to navigate. I did a total of ten times through the openwork repeats. For the cast off I used Jeny's surprisingly stretchy bind off.

An interesting little note about yarn for this shawl...when the shawl pattern was first published the yarn used was Manos del Uruguay. It has been 3 or 4 years since then. I don't know if the quality of that yarn has changed or if the author just got a good batch. I bought Manos del Uruguay for this shawl, but my finished shawl is not knitted in it. The Manos I had was terrible. It ranged from being so thick it was like unspun wool to being so thin that it was like thread. Then in a couple of spots there would be a tiny knot and in those places there was no dye. So every so often there would be a tiny stitch in white.

The Manos yarn was a splurge for me. I liked the shawl enough that I wanted to use the same yarn and have a warm, comfy shawl. Instead, I paid a lot of money for yarn I hate. I did try to knit with it. I made it all the way through 3 repeats before I frogged it. I just could not make this beautiful shawl with yarn that looked so terrible. The stitches were all over the place and some yarn overs would be huge, others very small. I ended up using some Shepherd's Wool from Stonehedge Fiber Mill. I use this yarn a lot, I love it, but it wasn't the right yarn for how I wanted this shawl to turn out. I wanted a bulkier, larger shawl. The Shepherd's Wool, while lovely, seems to behave more like a DK weight than an Aran weight. I do love my shawl and I use it, but I want to make this pattern again using a bulky weight yarn. In fact, I found some yarn at the Clever Ewe in a nearby town. Now I just have to save for it! The Manos yarn is up for sale if anyone wants it. It is a lovely dark teal color. I have three balls of it (138 yards per ball). I paid almost $40 for it and will happily sell it for $20 (or a $20 gift card to Knit Picks). Of course, after telling you everything that is wrong with it, I don't expect any takers! Oh well!!