FO - Shawlette Part Two

Some readers may remember when, earlier this summer, I mentioned I had four FO's but ended up posting only two shawl projects (a solid and a striped version of the Sothia shawlette) and wondered where the heck the other two were.

I originally had two ideas for this shawlette in garter stitch stripes.  The question at the time was, which design should I use?  Answer - both! I decided I would publish Sothia first, and save the second version for later, to publish after wrapping up some other things this summer.  

The yarn used for the pattern design is the same as for Sothia - Madelinetosh Tosh Merino Light fingering weight yarn.  

The wide, shallow triangle shape remains, but the light, delicate knitted-on picot edging gives a substantially different look and feel to the piece from the deeply draping ruffle of Sothia. 

I love these little shawlettes and have worn them a lot since I made them.  They are easy to throw on with any top, and add a nice splash of color near the face.  Sorry for the crummy photos, but it was getting late when I shot them, I'll have better ones in the pattern release post soon.  Pattern is currently being test knit!

FO - Beach Glass Shawl

My most recent finished object is a shawl knit from the Tulips pattern designed by the talented Diana Rozenshteyn, aka Deenulya on Ravelry.  

Diana has designed several lovely knitting patterns, but this is the first I've had the opportunity to test knit and I really enjoyed it.

Although the name of the pattern is Tulips I was inspired to call it my Beach Glass shawl because the soft aqua color reminds me so much of the beautiful beach glass I've collected for years.

I love this large, bold, graphic stitch pattern.

A delicate edging provides a lovely finish and a very slight picot effect adds texture.  I blocked mine in a slightly different way just to try something different, but I may go back and do it with Diana's method the next time I block it.

Although it looks elaborate, the multiple is made up of k2tog, ssk, and yo stitches, and would make a perfect project for anyone wishing to make a beautiful shawl with just basic knowledge of these knitting stitches.  

As long as you can keep track of rows, you can knit this gorgeous, heirloom-quality shawl.  And this is truly a piece you will be proud of when you are finished.

Tulips is a clearly-written pattern with wonderful charts and directions that make it easy to modify size.  In my case, after the initial set-up portion, I made 5 full repeats of the stitch pattern before adding the edging.  

I used about 65 gr. (just over 800 yards) of a Russian, two-ply lace-weight, 'mystery' close-out wool/ angora blend I purchased from a vendor at a fiber show.  It was really nice to work with - slightly soft but not too fuzzy from the angora - and I likely will never find it again.  If anyone out there has a recommendation for a similar yarn, I'd love to know!

It blocked up on the 'crunchy' side, but softened as soon as I started to play around with it.  

Diana is a superb knitter - she did an amazing job on my Sothia shawl test knit - and I jumped at the chance to knit her new pattern.  Thank you Diana for letting me test knit this lovely design for you!  

I highly recommend this beautiful Tulips shawl pattern by Diana. 

Beach Glass

Designing new projects is always a lot of fun, but it's also a lot of work and I enjoy knitting other people's designs from time to time, especially in the summer when it's nice to slow down a bit and enjoy the season.  So I was thrilled to have the opportunity to test knit a new pattern for my blogging friend Diana.  

You may remember the fabulous job Diana did on my Sothia shawl test knit recently, 

and I love being able to knit her new design, shown on her Ravelry project page as Green Tulips.

I started later than most of the other testers so my shawl is not very large yet but I'm trying to make up some ground and hope to finish a lot of it this weekend.

Further delay was caused because I originally began this project with a vastly different lace yarn in pure alpaca.  The original yarn, which (because I intend to only publish positive reviews on this blog) shall remain nameless, caused me so much aggravation that I spent hours on just a few inches before I ripped it from the needles and started over again this week with something pulled from my stash. 

The new yarn is an unknown wool/ angora/ nylon  purchased at a wool festival last autumn from a vendor who imports closeouts from Russia.  

This yarn is terrific with great texture that is not overly soft or fuzzy, and it has wonderful stitch definition .  

The vendor only had one color available, a shade of aqua that reminds me of the sea glass I collect from trips to the beach.

I am really enjoying knitting this beautiful shawl, thank you Diana!  The pattern is easy to follow and clear, and the charts are excellent.  The stitch pattern is very large and slightly asymmetric so it took a few rows to get the rhythm, but now I am zooming right along and loving every minute.  

A 'favorite thing' I have been using for this project and that I must share with you is one of my favorite tools for chart knitting - highlighter tape.  

Found at some LYS, office supply stores, or in the school supply section of large stores, this semi-transparent tape comes in many colors, and can be adhered, lifted and moved over and over again as you progress through the chart, allowing you to easily see which row you are knitting and at the same time, where you have been and what is coming next.  

I usually put my paper pattern into a plastic sleeve then position the tape so that it covers the rows yet to be knitted and my current row is uncovered, just below the tape.  Then I move the tape up as I progress.  

I hope this tape tip makes your knitting just a little simpler and more fun.  And don't forget about my blogiversary free knitting pattern and yarn giveaway contest going on until July 21st, 2011, detailed in this post.

Look for Diana's new pattern to be released within a few weeks, I know you will love it!