The triangular shawl I knitted out of Quince & Co Tern is now available on their website at www.quinceandco.com. And, boy, do they take a nice photo! You can get some close-up images if you go to their website and click on their blog.
Start the new year right–buy lots of patterns and lots of yarn!
A Finished Project! Read More »
I managed to finish the scarf I’ve been working on for the last few weeks in between hospital and nursing home visits. I used Quince & Co Tern in a lovely grape color (I’m sure it has an inspired name but I can’t find the label). I used size US 5 needles and about 1 1/2 skeins of yarn. This yarn contains 25% tussah silk, which gives the yarn a marvelous heathery appearance. I still need to write up the instructions, then the pattern (and yarn) will be available through Quince & Co soon.
Next up is a triangular shawl in my favorite olive green color.
What I’ve Been Up To Read More »
Just before I left town last week to teach in Washington State, I finished blocking and photographing the Boxleaf Triangle Shawl (designed by Anne Hanson at http://www.knitspot.com/; yarn by Briar Rose at http://www.briarrosefibers.net/). The lace wasn’t quite as open as it should be and the edges were sloppy when it came off the needles.
But the pattern blossomed when I threaded blocking wires through the points and stretched out the stitches. Sorry about the non-coordinating towels—I generally like to block on top of a striped towel so that I have a reference for straight lines. In this case, the shawl was too big and I had to forget about the stripes and add a second towel. Still, part of the shawl extended to the bare (read that, dirty) carpet.
The shawl is beautiful. It feels nice around my shoulders and keeps me warm at my desk. But rather than photograph it on me, my friend Connie offered her floor lamp that doubles as a high-fashion model.
What’s next? I’ve got to knit two pairs of socks for two different publications by April 15. Oy!
Boxleaf Triangle Shawl Read More »
Can you believe that in all the years I’ve been knitting, I have knitted only one shawl (and that was under duress for a staff project for Fall 1998 issue of Interweave Knits). Truth be told, I never thought of myself as a shawl person. But after shivering at my desk and at workshops and during knitting groups while my friends were snuggly wrapped in shawls, I decided that I must be missing something good. So, when I attended Clara Parkes’ Knitter’s Review Retreat last fall, I challenged myself to finally knit myself(!) a shawl.
I found the perfect yarn from Briar Rose (www.briarosefibers.net)—a luscious laceweight blend of 50% merino and 50% tencel called sea pearl—and the perfect pattern—Anne Hanson’s (www.knitspot.com) Boxleaf Triangle shawl. To mark the momentous occasion, Anne Hanson took a photo of me making the purchase (do I really look that awful?). There was no going back.
When I got home, I lovingly tucked the yarn and pattern in my stash while I finished (and started) other projects. But I’ve been nursing a cold (read that making excuses to do anything but sleep as much as possible) for the past few days and concluded that now was the time to start. Unfortunately, my head wasn’t clear enough to read lace charts and I had several false starts. But I’m happy to say that I’ve worked through a couple of pattern repeats and am most excited about the prospect.
Why are there two different colored tips on my circular needles, you ask? Many years ago I discovered that because I knit much tighter than I purl, my stitches are more uniform if I use a size larger needle for the knit rows. My set of Boye interchangeable needles lets me put together unmatched circular needles—in this case, size 7 (green) for right-side knit rows and size 6 (red) for wrong-side purl rows. Perfect!
I’ll keep you posted on my progress.
A Personal Challenge Read More »
