Starting the week with a finished knit!

Whippoorwill by Carina Spencer has been in my Ravelry favourites for some time. I’ve been admiring lots of the projects with their great use of colour and mulling over the beauty of the simple ‘feather & fan’ edging without ever really intending to actually knit one for myself. Until a serendipitous meeting of two skeins of yarn on my knitting ‘table’ (the messy jumble of books, yarn and half knit socks that live on the wooden blanket box next to the sofa in the sitting room) made me think maybe this might be the perfect project…

The mousey mole brown is the skein of Shetland Lace from Well Manor Farm that I bought after much deliberation at Knit Nation last year – specifically to go with the gorgeous ‘Auld Gold’ Babylonglegs yarn that became my ‘Different Lines’ shawl. They didn’t work together and the Shetland, as wonderful as it was, got put to one side. The sandy gold is a cone of Habu Texrtiles ‘A-1 2/17 Tsumugi Silk’ bought on a whim with no particular project in mind but frankly who can resist silk on a cone!

I spied them in close proximity one evening and something just clicked!

It was a quick knit, with plenty of interest – although I did have a couple of later-than-strictly-sensible nights intent on getting to the end of a row of 400+ stitches of feather and fan pattern!

These photos are an illustration of the power of ‘blocking’. That mysterious transformation of knitwear achieved with soaking/steaming and a plethora of pins.

Pre-blocked shawl, finished and ready for a quick soak…

Soaked for 20 minutes in tepid water with a splash of Eucalan (gotta love a no-rinse wool wash!) then pinned to a folded bath towel – one of these days I’ll invest in some proper blocking mats and T-pins, until that day comes a folded bath towel and some dressmaking pins will have to do…

Magic!

Wrinkles gone and the true beauty of the edging pattern revealed for the first time. Lace knitting is truly rewarding with its magical ability to transform at the very end…

I like it!

All ravelled here

Silver & Gold

This cosy asymmetric shawl has seen a lot of action since it was finished a few weeks back:

A perfect accompaniment to ‘Agnes’, my standard grey/green/brown/gold collection of t-shirts and cardis and very welcome on nippy days (especially in the Meadow Yarn studio which has been a bit chilly this Winter!)

Knit with 1 skein of Babylonglegs Semi-precious in ‘Auld Gold’. I think the shade was a one-off that fell into my shopping basket when I was browsing Sarah’s own web site but similar colours are available from your favourite on-line yarn store . The pale silvery grey is Rowan Fine Tweed. I’ll definitely knit more with that, it was lovely to work with and the finished fabric is dense and warm yet lightweight.

The pattern is Different Lines by Veera Välimäki – one of my favourite knitwear designers – and the construction was a lot more interesting than it might first appear… The shape, a sort of ‘wing’ is created using short rows and the miles and miles of garter stitch flew by in a soothing, yet not monotonous manner. A very enjoyable knit and so nice to wear I’m tempted to cast on another one (if only there were more hours in the day and a few hundred patterns less on my ‘must-knit’ list…)

All the details are here on Ravely.

Stop.Start

It’s a funny time of year for knitting in the Meadow Yarn world! Just as my head fills with umpteen new ideas and ‘must knit’ projects are being published all over the place ready for the ‘season’ we get super busy in the shop, the weather means the boys are all hovering around inside much more and suddenly my knitting time is squeezed into stolen moments…

First thing in the morning while I’m drinking tea and ‘coming to’… Last thing at night after the boys are (hopefully!) asleep…

Almost mirroring the disjointed knitting time and the fizzy, full-up brain my projects have been stalling, unravelling and generally misbehaving!

These two beauties were all set to become a ‘Different Lines’ shawl. I’ve had them cosy together waiting for a free slot since Knit Nation back in July – where I purchased the rather lovely Shetland 2 ply from Well Manor Farm to pair up with the gorgeous Babylonglegs Semi Precious that I treated myself to earlier in the year… All that time they’d been nestled cosily in my project bag, looking lovely… the slightly rustic tweedy Shetland complimenting the warm silky glow of the silk blend. As I was winding the skeins into cakes I did have a fleeting moment of doubt but I cast on and set off regardless. Several ‘stripes’ down the line I had to accept the truth. The colors just don’t work together. The flat grey/brown of the Shetland sucked all the light out of the gold which became a dark ‘sludgy’ brass. Even here, side by side, they still look fine but knit in garter stitch the combination just didn’t work. So, off the needles it came. Back to the drawing board. I still have in mind to mix the silk with something tweedy and ‘rougher’. I want that contrast… but I think I need something lighter, brighter and I might just go for this;

It’s Rowan Fine Tweed, their new offering for this season and it comes in the cutest little 25g balls, designed especially for colourwork. I think it might do the trick!

If you’re drooling over the Babylonglegs yarn (and if not, why not?) then watch the shop… This bag of beauties arrived yesterday and are waiting to be photographed later today

When the photos are done you’ll find them here

A belated mystery catch-up

Back in early summer fans of the designer Stephen West were excited to hear him announce that he’d be running a ‘Mystery Knit-a-long’ through the month of August. Although I’ve long been a fan and have several of his patterns in my Ravelry queue I’ve never actually knit one so this seemed the perfect opportunity. It seems lots of knitters agreed and before long there were over 2000 (yes, you read that right!) projects up and running on Ravelry, eagerly awaiting the next instalment of the pattern.

If you’ve never participated in a KAL before I can highly recommend it! The beauty of Ravelry (well one of the many beauties!) is that it’s easy to form a quick mini-community to provide cameraderie and support for project of this nature.

I have to admit that after keeping track with the first 3 clues (emailed each Friday through August) I fell behind for the last – I think my gold wedding stole ended up taking priority! – but a couple of weeks after the KAL was officially over I wove in my ends and declared my ‘Earth & Sky’ shawl a success!

I knit the medium size, perfect for a slightly Autumnal trip to a local beach… my colour choice coordinating perfectly with the nuclear reactor in the background! Yes, that’s Sizewell B, one of our local ‘landmarks’. We don’t visit the beach nearby very often – too spoilt for ‘unspoilt’ choice with Southwold, Walberswick, Dunwich and Aldeburgh also nearby – but we do occasionally take a stroll here and partake of a toasty and a pot of tea and the little beach cafe. It’s a strange other-worldy type place with the power station perched behind and the recent news that it will be added to is cause for debate for sure…

Pattern: West Knits ‘Earth & Sky’

Yarn: Manos del Uruguay ‘Serena’ in Azure, Emporer & Tezpi

All Ravelled here

Spun Gold…

My Ostrich Plume Stole is finished (and had a successful ‘posh’ first outing too!)

The stitch pattern was incredibly easy to memorise – which is always a bonus but doesn’t mean it’s free from mistakes, obviously…

The gold Fyberspates Lace weight yarn was a dream to work with and the colour sang out from the depths of my knitting bag as it accompanied me here, there and everywhere! This was knitting with a deadline after all… the family wedding with the slightly scruffy ‘vintage’ (read second-hand-up-cycled!) dress, the shiny new shoes (orange!) and the finishing touch – the ta-da flourish – the gold stole! It was, amazingly, finished, ends woven in and steam blocked with a whole 4 days to spare! I am wondering if maybe I have been abducted by aliens it’s so unlike me not to work right up to (and possibly beyond) an important deadline

The outfit was declared a success, the stole garnered the odd compliment (without casting a shadow over the bridesmaids who were resplendent in purple!) and it will be a welcome addition to my Autumn wardrobe for it is light, airy and the perfect length to accessorise my usual – slightly less posh – jeans and scruffy t-shirt!

All details ‘ravelled’ here

Mystery Shawl

Now, it’s no secret that I have an ever-expanding collection of scarves, shawls, cowls and other neck adornments (well, a lady can never have too many scarves…) so I was very excited to stumble across a fabulous Shawl KAL (knit-a-long) running this August.

If you’ve not taken part in a KAL before I can highly recommend it! Patterns are divided into chunks that are released weekly and it’s a fun game of show-and-tell as mystery projects emerge in a multitude of amazing yarns! Not knowing quite what you’re making (aside from the obvious ‘sock’ or ‘shawl’) just adds to the interest. Hunt Ravelry for ‘KAL’ patterns to get more of an idea about this addictive communal knitting process…

Stephen West is a fabulous designer of all things neck-related, if you haven’t come across him before please do check out his amazing designs. Even so, I’ve somehow managed not to knit any of his patterns thus far! To rectify this sorry situation I shall shortly be casting on for the Mystery Shawl KAL. With these…

Azure/Tezpi/Emperor

It’s Manos Serena, which I’ve been dying to knit with ever sice it arrived this Spring. Local customers from my Tuesday night ‘Stitch & Sip’ have been suitably wowed by its drape and general knitterly behaviour so i am sure I won’t be disappointed…

I just need to turn those beautiful skeins into something more manageable (the ball winder and swift will be in action tomorrow!) and then I will be off. Watch this space for weekly updates!

A very Precious Swallowtail

Our most local yarn artisan is the wonderful Natural Dye Studio who dye their amazing yarns just a hop, skip and a jump from the Meadow…

As might be expected they are very popular with my local customers, in fact some find it just too hard to say ‘No’ when the new delivery arrives (you know who you are!!)

And who can blame them when it’s possible (seemingly in the blink of an eye) to turn a skein of Precious Lace silk yarn into this amazing thing of beauty…

My friend Liz is a very talented (and very prodigious!) knitter and the evidence is right here for all to see! Kindly loaned to me so that I may capture its beauty and share it with you all (apologies for the second-rate model, I couldn’t possibly do it justice!!)

The pattern is Evelyn Clarke’s Swallowtail shawl which is a free download available via her web site here

I will be carefully delivering the shawl back to Liz this evening at the regular Stitch & Sip at Main’s restaurant in Yoxford where no doubt it will again solicit gasps of wonder and admiration.

Just one little cloud in a blue blue sky…

Well, Enid is almost finished bar some jigging around with the neck, weaving in ends and blocking… Now we’ve hit mid-summer I wonder how many weeks it will languish before those final finishing touches are applied – ahem!!

Having worked with the gorgeous Alpaca 4 ply for so many weeks and with the arrival of some much needed summer weather I had been contemplating a little ‘lighter’ knitting for my next project. Enter Cloud…

This cake of dreamy Merino Silk lace weight from the Natural Dye Studio in a subtle heathery shade of dusky pinky beige is destined to become a gorgeous Annis shawl. As soon as this pattern appeared as a Knitty ‘surprise’ recently I knew it would be on the needles before long.  A nice, lightweight, airy knit for hot summer days spent lounging under a tree (well, a girl can dream!) and hopefully complete in time for cooler evenings when its Merino warmth will be just the thing…

Casting on 363 stitches ‘German’ style was challenging but the first few rows of the lace pattern are settling into a nice rhythm and I have a good feeling about Annis. I’ll keep you in the loop!