New Knitting Pattern - KATRIEL Shawl

Hi everyone, I'm very happy to announce the release of my newest knitting pattern - the Katriel shawl!

This pattern is part of a shawl duo I designed last spring (including my Sothia shawl pattern) and features some similar characteristics including Sothia's wide, shallow triangle shape, graphic garter-stitch stripes and neat eyelet border.   

Katriel, offers knitters who are pressed for time (or short on yarn!) the option of a quick-knit project with the same classic look of Sothia, but with a fast, easy picot bind off edging rather than Sothia's ruffle.  And adding to the easy-breezy nature of the Katriel pattern are lots of photos, tips and detailed instructions to help along the way.

This pattern has been extensively test knit by some super knitters - I want to give a giant THANK YOU to Jessica, Laurie, and Gerald. 

The new pattern calls for just two skeins of fingering-weight, madeleinetosh Tosh Merino Light yarn, but most fingering-weight yarns will work well for this design, making it a terrific stash-buster for all those gorgeous sock yarns you've been hoarding ('fess up now!).  And like Sothia, Katriel is a perfect showcase for those fantastic solid and semi-solid hand-dyed sock yarns for those not interested in stripes.

Both of these shawls used less than a full ball of every color - about 80 grams of each.

The light, fingering-weight yarn lends itself well to four-season wear, perfect for a cozy, extra layer during cold months, as well as for wearing over sleeveless tops and dresses during cool summer evenings or in air-conditioned settings. 

A wide triangle shape is truly versatile, giving the shawl a long, scarf-like proportion great for tucking into a coat, draping around the neck,

or simply throwing over the shoulders for a little extra warmth or as a colorful accent accessory.

Last April's verdant moss along a gravel trail inspired the gray and yellow-green (grellow?) version. 

I enjoyed knitting with Tosh Merino Light (see a full TML review here), and after a summer of use, all of my shawls look great, albeit slightly fuzzed, but in a nice way. For such a soft-touch singles yarn, TML has a good resistance to pilling so far.

However, those things said, TML relaxed and grew in gauge in varying degrees, with wet blocking, depending on color.  Some skeins from the same dye-lot seemed to have a lot more twist than the others, so blocking your swatch is an absolute must!

I knit a second version (or perhaps I should say first as it was the prototype) in lavender, rose and green Noro Taiyo Sock striped with soft heather gray Dale of Norway Baby Ull yarns. 

This version took it's cue from the spring cranesbill geranium and grape hyacinths growing near a rock in my garden.

A caveat about Taiyo Sock yarn - although it's very pretty, it was annoying to work with.  The fiber has a terrible tendency to stick to itself and become tangled in knots as the ball is pulled from the center. I much prefer Noro's lovely Silk Garden Sock for this sort of look and would choose that, rather than Taiyo, if knitting this shawl again.  

Both Katriel and Sothia are available as individual, stand-alone patterns, or as a value set of two patterns, at a special price, through the Ravelry shopping cart. To receive the discount, just add both patterns to your shopping cart first, then enter the coupon code Sothiaknitter at checkout.

I want to especially thank YOU, my blog-friends, for all the kind comments and enthusiasm for my design both here and on Ravelry, I really appreciate it!

FO - Fall Shawl

My Fall Shawl is finished just in time to wear for our Thanksgiving festivities!  I love how a colorful scarf dresses up the simplest of outfits.

This project was inspired by a photo of colorful autumn leaves and berries I took out in the woods this month,

using this Noro Kureyon Sock yarn,

 

as well as a skein of Isager Spinni (Wool 1) in a deep charcoal heather for an edging to ground the multi-color striping effect a bit.

The colors are rich, autumnal and more subtle than usual for many Noro yarns.

I used every scrap of the Noro and only had about 5 yards of the Isager left over.

The rustic, slightly rough feeling of both of these yarns has great appeal for me, although a few spots in the Noro yarn were a bit too slubby for my taste so I cut those out.  

These are not yarns for someone in love with soft, soft, soft, rather they are alive with texture and color in a way a smooth yarn cannot be.  However, I still cannot imagine wearing socks knit with the Kureyon Sock - too rough even for me!

Last week we attended another spin-in at Temptations in Dublin.  It was a small group but it made for interesting conversations.

One gal in the group owns Himalayan cats and is in the process of spinning up their fur into yarn to knit mittens.  For the kittens. Seriously.

ACHOO!!!!!!!!!

 

I am still slogging away on some boring Louet Coopworth roving that came with my wheel.  I'm planning a 3-ply and since I have 2 pounds of the stuff, probably something like a chunky cable sweater.  That's going to be a ways down the road though.

 

As I reflected on the many blessings I have to be thankful for - love, freedom, knitting! - it occurred to me that there are also some things that can go unappreciated.

These things can sometimes even be annoying or difficult to deal with, but viewed through a different lens, they can sometimes also represent good things.  I bring you my new Thanksgiving list of things I am grateful for:

1. A tangled mess of yarn - because this means I have the physical ability to knit and the yarn to do it with.

2. A mountain of laundry to wash - because this represents the fact that I have not only enough clothing to wear, but enough multiples of things like socks and shirts that I'm able to let them stay dirty (a few days at least) until I find time to wash them.

3. My husband's dirty underthings - (ugh!!) but really, it means I have someone this close enough to me in my life and still love him, and him me.

4. A dirty bathtub and toilet - because this means I have a home with clean, hot, running water with which to bathe and with which I am able to clean these things - something so many people in this world do not have. 

5. A sink full of dirty dishes - because they are evidence that I have had not just enough to eat to keep me alive, but abundant choices as well.

Wishing you a peaceful week of great cooking and knitting, safe journeys and lots of Thanksgiving goodies!

Autumn Inspiration on the Needles & Hook

This time of year it seems the calendar starts to fly by.  Wasn't it just hot as blazes?  Now the air is cool and crisp with curls of woodsmoke rising from chimneys, mornings are frosty and I'm in the mood for warm, woolie things to wear.  I've winnowed down my works-in-progress (WIP's), but still have a lot going on.

This morning I went to one of my favorite nearby parks and took this photo.

The silvery-frosted leaves and berries against the backdrop of golds, greens and oranges made me want to get stitching!  I went home and dug through my stash to find several candidates but the winner was, hands down, a skein of Noro Kureyon Sock yarn in colorway S242.  

It seems Eisaku Noro must have a penchant for these same shades of Autumn as I have.

I've used the Kureyon Sock to start a crocheted shawlette called Elise Shawl  by designer Evan Plevinski.  This photo shows his shawl, mine is shown in the photos above and at the top of the post.

After the set-up rows, the pattern is a simple two-row repeat worked from the neck down, using only basic crochet stitches like double and triple crochet.  I'm working it with a US size I hook. Fast and fun so far!

Also on my needles are a gazillion prototypes for a hat to match my Lavande neckwarmer pattern, 

a cardigan, from another designer, left over from my vacation (more details when I have photos to share) and a couple of versions of this pattern project.

I'm also playing around with yarns for a variation on the Greyhaven cowl.  And I am excited to announce...

...that Greyhaven was voted as the November knitalong free pattern project for the Ravelry Cowls group!  Thanks to everyone who voted for this pattern.  By the way, I uploaded a new version of the pattern on November 1st, 2010, so if you downloaded one before that date, go ahead and grab a new one. 

This cowl KAL will be going on all month, so it's not too late to join if you still want to.  Some members have already completed multiple versions and are still casting on for more, many looking ahead to making holiday gifts. 

As for KAL's, the Ravelry Anthropologie group Brandywine Falls KAL will continue for quite awhile, so there's plenty of time to join in on that one too.  

This week when I stopped at the post office to pick up my mail, I had a surprise package waiting from my very talented, Chicago-based Ravelry buddy Loren (Twisted1 on Ravelry).  It contained some awesome birthday goodies including cute project gift tags, a Vogue stitch pattern calendar, and most especially this gorgeous scarf she knit for me!

Loren has been working a lot lately with Jane Thornley's amazing tutorials using color and texture in multiple yarns, and designed this scarf herself and titled it Ephemera.  Thank you so much Loren, I love it!  You're so thoughtful! 

Happy stitching everyone!