Evening Entertainment

My evenings over the last couple of weeks have been taken up with a few rows on the Aeolian Wedding shawl and I have reached the end of the Yucca repeats (I've done 6)


I really like the way the decreases stand out in lines

The beads are so shiny when they catch the light!

Rows are taking a lot longer now - I only managed the first 4 of the transition chart last night before I was too tired to concentrate - I need to cast on for a "simple project" - maybe my other knee high sock?
Some evenings I have also managed to fit in a few rows of Kristi from Cookie A's new book.
Slow going, possibly more complex than the lace! Colour coding the cables has definitely worked. Now by brain thinks - Green cable - hold at front k1tbl, p1! I still don't get those little cable symbols. I do love the Toddy yarn from The Yarn Yard - look how well the cables stand out!

Ishbel

I'm back from a wonderful week in the Lake District with lots of finished items to show you. Firstly, Ishbel from Ysolda's Whimsical Little Knits collection.

It has been cold in the office recently and I have been wearing my swallowtail shawl to death. I fancied a little bit of lace and fell in love with this simple scarf/shawl.

It is knit using The Yarn Yard "Beautiful - BFL" yarn we got as our end of September Solids club parcel. This photo below is about as true a likeness as I can get. The yarn has been overdyed so has a purply sheen to it. I wanted to make a shawl from this, it is too good to be hidden away in shoes.

An easily memorised lace pattern made this just fly along on my commute to work and made a nice change from socks!

So I had a lovely new scarf to wear in chilly Keswick last week!
Started: 15th February
Finished: 27th February
Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda
Yarn: The Yarn yard "Beautiful" in September solids club
Needles: 3.75mm addi lace turbos
Comments: A quick and simple lace pattern. Not as soft as my swallowtail (well that is silk and cashmere) but this will no doubt get a lot of wear.

Secret of the Stole III - Clue 1

I finished this on Thursday evening, just before the next clue was released but I haven't picked it up again since. I don't think I'll be able to keep up this week as I'm out every night until Friday. Maybe I can do some next weekend...

Secret of the Stole III Swatch

As promised, it have completed my swatch for Secret of the Stole III


I tried a number of different beads, but these are the ones I am going to use. They are from Beads Direct.
I have two colours, the ones with a coppery/greenish tinge at top are the ones I used on my Swallowtail shawl and the ones at the bottom are more purple... I think I'm going to mix the two.
Yarn: Malabrigo Lace weight in "Cuarzo"
Needles: 3.75mm addi turbos

Just a quick update today as I have a birthday present to finish and it is 21:40 already!
I have next week off work, and I have great plans to do lots of knitting and sewing. I'm getting braver with my driving so I am even considering a trip to the Colinette Mill Shop on Wednesday.... however I'm not sure if my bank balance can take it (especially as I had to fix said car last month)! Have you been? Let me know what you thought...

Lacy chevrons.

Another pair of socks from my enormous sock yarn stash
Summer Chevron Socks:

Started: May 18th
Finished: June 11th
Pattern: My own, using a stitch pattern from 200 Ripple Stitches by Jan Eaton. This is the chevron pattern -
Row 1: k1, yo, k3, sl1 k2tog psso, k3, yo* repeat.
Row 2: Knit.
I cast on 60 stitches and did 5 rows of garter stitch.
The heel is a normal heelflap.
Yarn: Online Supersocke 100 in Holiday which I bought in Toronto last September.
Needles: 2.5mm
Comments: A quick knit, I think the second sock only took about 3 days in total. The pattern is really easy and it works really well with the self-striping yarn. They are lovely and colourful and summery, which is exactly what I wanted!

And now for something completely different.... I have chosen my next lace project...

This is Muir from Knitty in pink Eva 2ply Posh Yarn. I'm just over 1 repeat in and wondering if I can finish it before a wedding on the 20th July. Here is a close up of the pattern.

Swallowtail

So at last the sun has come out and I've managed to take some photos of my blocked Swallowtail Shawl. I knit this as part of a Knit-a-long on the Posh Yarn Ravelry group.

Pattern: Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn Clark from Interweave Knits Fall 2006.
Yarn: Posh Yarn Eva 2ply (silk and cashmere) in Tinkerbell from my round one UK Swap pal.
Needles: 3.75mm Addi lace Turbos
Started: 17th April 2008
Finished: 26th May 2008
Modifications: I used beads instead of doing the nupps.
Comments: I thoroughly enjoyed knitting Swallowtail and I am thrilled with the results. The Eva is a dream to knit with, it has a fabulous drape and sheen. The colours is one I would never have chosen myself but I love it! The beads work really well too. I couldn't be faffed with knitting the nupps, however I do think the nupps look more like Lily of the Valley than the beads do. This project has made me want to knit more and more lace.

Finishitis

It seems a wet bank holiday weekend with no real plans means a case of "Finishitis" has taken hold.
First up - Stashbuster Spirals in a combination of Yarn Yard and Lorna's laces.

You can definitely see lines where I changed yarn, but this may even out when worn. I would try, but they are too small for me!
Next, my first sewn garment made for me! This is a Simplicity pattern, number 4589.
Mainly a product of my sewing class, however I did spend yesterday putting the sleeves in all by myself. I hope my teacher is proud!

What's more, it fits and is really comfortable. I may make more if I can find some more cute prints for the summer.
Next up is another sock - this is called Summer Chevron until I come up with something better.

I wanted a lacy chevron pattern to go with this self-striping Online Supersocke I bought in Toronto last September. I thought that theyarn was so summery that it needed some yarn overs! I looked in my Jan Eaton Ripple Pattern book and came up with this. What do you think?
I've saved the best until last.... my Swallowtail shawl is finished and blocking as we speak.



Made in Posh yarn Eva 2ply laceweight. I'll save more photos for when it is dry and I can do it justice!
Now, what to cast on next.... hmmmmmmmmmmmm.

Yet more socks...

The 30th Birthday Posh Spiral Socks are finished on time!
It is Julie's 30th today, I'm going on holiday with her and James on Friday so they will be gifted then.

Pattern: Adapted from Probably Jane's Spiral Socks
Yarn: Posh Lucia in Trim (about 50g) and The Yarn Yard in TdF Dix Huit (about 15-20g)
Needles: 2.5mm
Started: 7th April
Finished: 30th April
Comments: I wanted to use a contrasting yarn to the Lucia as I wasn't sure I had enough for a complete pair of socks. The mosaic pattern was really easy and the second sock flew by (knitted in 2 days!) However I did one less decrease on the second one and look how the yarn pools with 2 extra stitches. It isn't as noticeable in real life so it is here to stay. I'm not convinced I like them, but I think (hope) Julie will!

Speedway Socks

One down, one to go. This pattern is fab, like Jaywalkers but stretchy. I love the Kaffe Fassett Regia too.

My holiday knitting is going to be some simple Stashbuster Spirals with The Yarn Yard Ravelry group. Anyone else tempted to join in? There are lots of 25g skeins in the shop.I asked Natalie to dye some sunshine yellow yarn to go with my pink and turquoise and look what a great job she did.

I think these should be easy car/lazing around knitting for my trip to Exmoor on Friday.
For the more quiet times I am going to be taking my Swallowtail Shawl. 1o (or maybe 11) repeats of the budding lace chart done....

See you all when I'm back from Exmoor, hopefully with some exciting news about the second round of the UK Swap!

Speedway and Swallowtail

This weeekend I have been using the beautiful yarn Sarah sent me in the recent UK Swap.
First we have Speedway socks (pattern sent to be by Adele in the Hogwarts Sock Kit swap a few months ago) in Regia Kaffe Fassett sock yarn. Beautifully modelled by a roll of kitchen towel! The pattern is very much like a jaywalker, but has a little bit of ribbing to make them stretchier. A perfect combination.

Sarah also sent me a skein of Eva 2ply from Posh Yarn in the Tinkerbell colourway.
I have been itching to cast on some lace, so when I saw the Swallowtail shawl KAL on the Posh Yarn Ravelry group I had to cast on. Here is the progress made on Saturday.

I'm a bit further on than this now, with 8 out of 14 repeats of the budding lace pattern completed. I wonder how much I can get done this week? I've got the pattern memorised and am finding it quite a relaxing knit.
Here is a close up of the beautiful colours.

Thank you Sarah for such fab yarn...

How hard is lace?

I am in a bit of a quandry at the moment. I want to knit a lace stole. I want a lace stole to go with my brown silk dress I intend to wear to the only wedding we have this year (30th September). However, since I found out about Mystery Stole 3, I really want to knit THIS stole (even though I have no idea what it looks like, it sounds fun).
I've followed lace patterns for socks, and read charts, but I've never knit with laceweight yarn. In fact there are only 4 skeins in my stash - 2 Knitpicks from a SP and 2 lilac skeins from Posh Yarns. Neither of these add up to enough, so I have asked Natalie over at the Yarn Yard to custom dye me some organic laceweight merino in a light brown that will go with my dress and the left over beads I have from Odessa.
I'm worried I won't be able to do it and then I'll be really disappointed.
Do you think I should start with something smaller - like Branching Out from Knitty?
I think I need to practice some lace before I start... maybe I'll do some swatches on the trip down south this weekend. Unfortunately I think they'll have to be in leftover sock yarn as that's all I have with me. Have a lovely weekend and I'll be back on Sunday with a picture of my home-made swift!