Cedar Leaf Shawlette

The Cedar Leaf Shawlette:  finished a few days late for my daughter-in-law's birthday but hopefully in time for her to take on their trip to Spain in a few days. I blocked it and sent it off after taking some quick photos. I wish I could take photos of her modeling it.

I'll be talking about the Cedar Leaf Shawlette by Alana Dakos (pattern gifted to me by one of my wonderful podcast listeners) on the next episode of Knitting Pipeline.

The pattern calls for DK weight but I used fingering weight/sock yarn from The Woolen Rabbit. The color is called Chimney Sweep. I love this color. It is a deep gray semi-solid with blue overtones. Fortunately, I have one whole skein plus a bit of the second leftover for a future project.

Episode 13 Elizabeth Writes from the Airport

Listen here or download on iTunes.

Show notes can be found here at http://www.knittingpipeline.blogspot.com/.

In this episode I talk about my finished Merope Shawl by Rosemary Hill, muse on the delight of good peaches, and read a letter by Elizabeth Zimmermann that was written to me on October 4, 1979.

Also, at the end of the podcast is a performance by the Dutch Pipes and Drums.

Enjoy!

Oh Maia!

Episodes 8 and 9 are up on the podcast, Knitting Pipeline.  Find it on iTunes or on the show blog...click on the episode title.  The feed is http://knittingpipeline.libsyn.com/rss
In both of these episodes I read letters that were written to me by Elizabeth Zimmermann, my knitting hero.

I just finished my first project with beads. I only knitted in the beads at the bottom of the shawl, which is good because the top part (where the shawl started) was a little too intense for me to manage along with beads.  I am being so selfish lately.  I want to keep all the shawls I am making.  Sigh.

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Maia is the second shawl in Rosemary Hill's book, Seven Small Shawls to Knit.

The heart motif is also carried across the top edge of the shawl and the neck.

The wool is luscious Kashmir from The Woolen Rabbit in the color Oh! Ruby! 

Weavers Wool Mini Shawl

Knitting this shawl was pure mindless pleasure. The pattern is a free one by Peggy Pignato. Knit Picks City Tweed is a very soft blend of merino and alpaca. I used the color Romance for the body of the sweater and edged it with Orca. (The 2nd and 3rd photos show the color most accurately. )I like the rustic, folksy aura of this shawl. It is very cozy and the shape keeps it on the shoulders.

I started the shawl in a different way than the pattern recommended. Basically I knit a long garter stitch strip and picked up stitches along the bottom edge and one side. Specific notes are on my Ravelry Projects page.

This weekend I'm going to try to finish the Fair Isle Vest!

Another Ishbel

It only took 6 days from start to finish on Ishbel in Old Maiden Aunt, Bracken (green).


I have laid the smaller red Ishbel on top of the larger one to show the size difference. The only difference is that I knit one more repeat of the charts A and B. As you can see there there is a considerable overall size difference with just this small change.

This is the amount of wool left after I bound off my second Ishbel. Whew! That was a close one. I was sweating it out on that last row. Needless to say, I can't run to Scotland for more wool. Or can I?

The lace detail is so pretty especially with this particular yarn. While it was on the guest bed in the blocking phase I kept going down there to admire it.

What I learned about Ishbel:

(1) Follow charts and ignore the written directions. On my first Ishbel I followed the charts but my stitch count was off so I tried to check it with the written directions. That only made things worse. The second time I stayed with the charts and had no problems.

(2) The pattern repeat is 8 stitches. Stitch markers don't work because the repeat shifts. At the center point, or before that point when the rows got very long, I counted the pattern repeats. The double decrease always lines up. That is important to note. Usually when I got off on the pattern it was because I forgot one of the YO's at the beginning and end of each row or forgot to psso on the double decrease.

(3) If you love garter stitch, as I do, it works fine to do the center portion in garter stitch. Make absolutely sure your stitch count is correct before starting on the lace.

(4) Pay particular attention to Chart C line 5. There is where you stop making the YO's in the center of the shawl.

(5) If you are accustomed to slipping the first stitch of each row, do not slip on Ishbel. The border is more flexible when this stitch is knitted loosely rather than slipped.

Proper photos will be coming shortly.

A Lovely Ishbel Shawl

Although Ishbel gave me fits for a while I believe it was due to my choice of yarn, or rather the color of the yarn. There is a strong contrast in the reds and purples which camouflaged the lace pattern. Araucania Sock isn't as soft as Malabrigo Sock but is still lovely and I do love the colorway. Since I bought two skeins of it back in June at A Sow's Ear in Verona WI, there is plenty left to make Damson or perhaps Aestlight by Gudrun Johnston. It is fantastic that designers are coming out with patterns for small shawls that can be knit with one skein of sock yarn. While I have knit my fair share of socks I do not consider myself a sock knitter. To me a Sock Knitter is one who always has a pair of socks on the needles and maybe even knits socks exclusively.

During these cool fall days a light wool scarf about one's shoulders takes off the chill, both indoors and out. We had our first frost last night. The woolens are coming out.

I enjoy wearing the shawl with the point on the side (top photo) or as Ysolda usually does, in the front.

To avoid a peasant or granny look (although I am old enough to be a granny), do your best to keep the point from aiming toward your backside. Since Ishbel has shaping to curve around the neck a shawl pin is not necessary to keep it in place.

I LOVE Ishbel and will soon post my tips for Ishbel along with photos of Ishbel #2 which is currently pinned on the guest bed.

A Finished Damson...Plum Dandy!

Just for laughs, this is me trying to look like Ysolda Teague, the young Scottish designer who created Damson, Ishbel, Liesl, and other clever designs. I am holding the camera out with one hand here. Ysolda has a winsome, wistful look in many of her photos and I just look plain ol' silly. And the worst part (or best) is that this was one of the better photos. Just so you know.

I am so in love with Damson that I wore it on Monday when the temperature was over 80 degrees.

There is not a single thing I would change in making this shawl. Well, I did do the edges slightly differently, a technique I have already mentioned in this blog. Instead of knitting or slipping the first stitch do as follows: Knit to last stitch. Bring yarn forward and leave it there. Slip the last stitch. Turn work. Knit into the back of the first stitch. Makes a lovely, tidy edge.

I feel like starting another Damson right away but I have been invited to two baby (girl) showers in the next two weeks so bring on the pink!