Icelandic Shawl

I started this back in July as part of '10 Shawls in 2010' but couldn't quite get it done before 2011 rolled around. Almost made it - this would have been #20 for the year but shoulder and wrist pain made me rethink priorities. But it's now knit, soaked, blocked, guarded

Leia insisted on making her 'bed'
right beside where I had the shawl blocking

and modeled by Leia, and the cat, both indoors and in the great outdoors.

Pattern is 'Traditional Icelandic Three-Cornered Shawl' by Halldóra Skarphéðinsdóttir. The yarn is almost an entire skein* of Kauni 8/2 Effektgarn, a sport-weight Shetland-type wool that is fast becoming one of my favorite fibers. It's a little stiff straight from the skein, but it's heaven to work with - absolutely no splitting and the colors are wonderful - and softens up nicely when soaked in a bit of warm water and wool wash (I use SOAK but hair conditioner works too.) The finished shawl is light, airy, warm and wonderful. Can't wait to show it off at Guild Saturday.


* I had planned to use the entire skein but, with only two rows left to go, the d##n cable pulled out of the d##n KnitPicks interchangeable needles** and I had to carefully pick up the several dozen stitches that had fallen off while sitting in my knitting bag. Can you say 'not a happy camper'? I held my breath and didn't even dare to swear until I had them all safely back on the repaired d##n cable.

** I've had this happen before, on other projects. Which is why I'm switching to Addy Click Interchangeable needles. Love.Them.

10 Shawls in 2010 Wrap-up

My goal to make 10 Shawls in 2010 was a success - and then some. I ended up finishing 19 shawls, with the 20th almost done. Of that number:

• 1 was knit
• 1 was Tunisian crocheted
  
• 3 were made with yarn I handspun
• 8.5 were made with yarn that was already in my 'stash', which exceeded my goal to make 8 from stash. (I had to buy more yarn to finish the last half of the Handspun Granny shawl)
• 17 were crocheted
  
• and 8 were gifted to friends and family (along with 2 more that I made prior to 2010)

The complete list of shawls (with pictures) is here - or you can click '10 Shawls in 2010' over on the right under 'Labels'.

Ring In The New

While spending time with a few of my favorite peeps,

Naia and Leia with matching, well-loved Tiana dolls

I've been thinking about what I'd like to accomplish in 2011. I'm not big into making resolutions - they're usually broken by month's end - but I do like to set some fibery goals.

#1 - To do less crochet. Crochet is my comfort zone, my 'fall-back' position. Whenever I have free time, crochet is what I pick up. I'm going to do '11 Shawls in 2011'* on Ravelry, but when I crochet this year I'm going to concentrate on baby gifts for Leanne (due Feb. 17), samples for my classes and items for charity.

#2 - To do more of everything else - weaving, spinning and knitting. I want to challenge myself to learn new techniques and improve my skills. Each month, I want to:

• make one woven item - I'm going to start with sets of towels;
  
• spin and ply at least 8 ounces of roving/fleece;
• knit at least one item (and not in plain garter stitch!)

#3 - Get prints made of family photographs on a regular basis. I didn't do that this year and going back through all those raw files is scary daunting. I need to do it - they aren't doing anybody any good on my computer - but carving out a chunk of time to get it done is going to be a pain. I don't want to be faced with that again this time next year.

Since the little girls are spending a lot more time with us right now, meeting my goals is going to take some serious concentration and time management skills. But I'm up for the challenge. Soooo, what are your goals for the new year?

* But only 11 shawls, not the 19 (and most of #20) that I did in 2010.

Shawl #15

I've had this shawl finished for several days, but had to hold off posting it until it was gifted. Today was the day - and she liked it!
This is the same pattern as the Zauberball shawl (here), done in a solid color rather than wild and crazy. Still love the first one best (isn't that always the way with firstborns?) but this one is nice and soft and cozy. Plus it's purple; always a bonus.I've already started another crazy color shawl for another friend and I'm thinking about making yet another in Zauberball's hot pink. Can you tell I like this pattern?

New Favorite

I have a new favorite shawl*. And favorite yarn. And favorite pattern. To say I love how this thing turned out would be a vast understatement.
I'd never tried Zauberball Starke 6 before; I bought it as 'souvenir' yarn because I hadn't seen it in any local shops and I liked the craziness of the colors. It's now one of my all time favorite yarns. Very soft, colorful, easy to work - and makes quite the dramatic statement. I'd make another shawl with it - if I could find anywhere to buy it locally. May have to take another road trip to N. Hollywood just for a Zauberball fix.

And I've already started another shawl in this pattern using some yarn I've had stashed for awhile (yummy alpaca silk). But I do have a bone to pick with Bernat Design Studio. What's up with the lack of descriptive names - this pattern is called #4922 - and the crummy pattern pictures that show no details at all of the stitch pattern?? If another Raveler hadn't started this and posted pictures of her gorgeous project, I never would have considered using this pattern. And that would have been a real shame - it's a great pattern, well-written and easy to follow, and makes a beautiful shawl. Did I mention it's my new favorite?

*I've lost count, but I think this is #13 for my 10 Shawls in 2010 challenge. Or 14. Definitely more than 10 though.

3 in 30

Since I finished my '10 Shawls in 2010' project in August, I thought I'd give myself another challenge - complete three shawls during the 30 days of September.

First up was the Green Lace Shawl, 800 yards, finished on the 12th.
Then there was the Angel Wings shawl, 735 yards, completed on Sept. 21. Both of those were gifted but #3 is all mine.

This is the South Bay Shawlette, 460 yards of luscious mink and cashmere (hurry over there while it's still on sale!) that I finished on the 28th but took off the blocking board this morning (with a little help from Lily. *#@&# cat). I love how the solid color yarn shows the pattern more clearly than the multi-color I used the first time around. And it is a lovely pattern, especially with the picot border I added. This is going to be a cold weather shawl - mink and cashmere is hot.

Fall is Here

Fall must be here - the mums are blooming and I've started another shawl. This is 'Gathering Leaves' (Rav link here) in Malabrigo Lace and I'm doing it as part of a crochet-along with two of my Thursday night spinning buddies. For anyone keeping count, this will be lucky #13 for my '10 Shawls in 2010' challenge. Unless I finish this or this first (not likely, since they're knit and it takes me longer.)

I took advantage of Colleen's visit yesterday to get some better pics of shawl #12. These show off the design a bit better, but the colors are much brighter in real life. Just can't seem to get everything together in one shot.

New Shawl

I made this for a friend who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. I wanted the brightest, most cheerful yarn I could find - this definitely qualifies on both counts - and a pattern that would wrap her in warmth but was also pretty and feminine. With the choice narrowed down to two, the pattern's name became the deciding factor - 'Angel Wings' was just too perfect.

This is 3 skeins (735 yds) of Crazy Monkey's 'HypnoMonkey' DK-weight yarn in 'Popsicle Drips'. I bought it 2 years ago because I loved the colors, but could never find the right project. Obviously, it knew what it wanted to be and was waiting for just the right time. I made a couple of modifications to the pattern, including adding a row of solid double crochet at odd intervals and putting a ruffle along the bottom edge. (My project notes are here.)Sure hope my friend likes it and that it cheers her up over the coming months and reminds her how much she's loved.

Green Lace Shawl

My 10th shawl for '10 Shawls in 2010' is done and gifted. It took me about 4 days to make, contains 800 yards of lace-weight Merino and weighs a whopping 2.2 ounces (62.5 grams). I love how delicate and light it is. I don't usually go for this color, but the recipient will (hopefully) love it.

The pattern is from 'Crochet Lace' by Mary Konior, a long out-of-print book that I bought a few months ago. (You can see other projects from the book here.) I've been dying to make something from it, but was waiting for the right project and the right yarn.

The yarn is Elegant Yarns 'Athena', 800 yards per skein of lace-weight Merino goodness. Lace-weight can be difficult to use - breaking easily, tangling easily, making-you-crazy easily - but this stuff was great. It slid easily along the hook, didn't tangle back on itself and broke only once when I pulled on it waaay too hard.
Although my '10 Shawls in 2010' are done, I already have another shawl (or 3 . . . or 4 . . . or 5) planned. Next up from this book, but not my next shawl project, is 'Old Shale', which has been on my radar for several years. And now that I have the book - it shall be mine.

Yet Another Shawl

I should have been working on class samples this week, but this shawl caught my eye and I had.to.make.it.right.now. Actually, I needed something soothing to work on in the hospital while my father-in-law had his (successful!) hip surgery. This fit the bill perfectly. There are three sections, each a different pattern, but each a simple 2-row repeat. Easy to remember but changing often enough to keep my interest. The scallops in the third section are what caught my eye and made this a 'hafta have'.

The pattern is 'Juliette Shawl' from Dora Ohrenstein's new book "Creating Crochet Fabric". The yarn is Lambspun's 'Prism', a 50/50 wool/silk blend that I bought probably 4 years ago in Colorado. I've tried to use this yarn a couple of times but always ended up frogging the project. Guess it was just waiting for the perfect pattern to come along. This is shawl #9 for '10 Shawls in 2010' - only one more to go. Details on my 'Juliette' are here.

10 Shawls in 2010

I finished shawl #8 this week, so that makes one shawl completed every month this year. I'm still on track to do 10 12 shawls in 2010. (Want to see some seriously gorgeous shawls? Check out the August submissions in Ravelry's '10 Shawls in 2010' group here.)

This is Lion Brand's 'South Bay Shawlette' done in 100% silk Araucania 'Chaiten'. Love this pattern; so easy to do and so pretty. Details are on my Ravelry page (here). I made this one larger than the pattern and I think it's a little too big for me. I'm seriously thinking about ripping out 8-10 rows and making it more the shawlette it was intended to be. Hmmmmm, decisions, decisions. I think I'll wear it this weekend and see how I feel after that.

My pretty Lily, 'helping' me block the shawl.
At almost a year, she's getting to be a very big girl.

What's on the Hook

Now that Fair stuff is done, I'm all about getting samples ready for Fall classes - I have 12 on the calendar over the next 3 months at my favorite LYS - and making new stuff. So far I've started a sweater - a remake of the Caffe Cardigan I did last year, using a thinner yarn and changing a few things I didn't care for in the original -
and a silk shawl. This is #8 for '10 Shawls in 2010', using Lion Brand's popular South Bay Shawlette pattern, an easy 2-row repeat that is flying off the hook. Love this yarn - 'Chaiten' by Araucania, a DK-weight, 100% silk yarn that is just yummy.

After this? Scarves and shawls and samples, oh my!

Handspun Shawl

Got the bug to start a new shawl tonight - since I don't have enough projects going already (yeah, right). The pattern is Magnificent Mantle by Crochet Kitten (Ravelry link; non-Ravelry link) and I'm using the 550 yards of Louet Northern Lights wool top in 'Mulled Wine' that I finished spinning in June.
I want to enter this in the county fair so it has to be done by Sunday, July 26 at the very latest. Along with two afghans and a sweater that are also still in the works. Piece.Of.Cake.

Shawl, Shawl, Sweater

Lion Brand's 'Bridal Shawl' - my 6th shawl for '10 Shawls in 2010' - made with sport-weight Madelinetosh Pashmina, not the bulky-weight yarn called for in the original pattern. I used a little less than 2 full 360-yard skeins, so this is probably 680 or so yards. Pashmina is NICE; it gives the shawl a nice weight and elegant feel. Highly recommend this pattern and yarn. Y'all will like it, I promise. (link to LB pattern here) (link to shawl on Ravelry here)

I didn't make this, Ginny did - but it's all mine. We worked a swap and she knit me this February Lady sweater using Manos del Uraguay's yummy 'Silk Blend' yarn and abalone shell buttons that Susie gave me a while back. The pattern is available as a free download on Ravelry (here). Almost 9000 people have made this and the pattern has been translated into 7 languages besides English. Think this thing is just a little popular?? And with good reason - I *love* it. Thanks again, Ginny!

I didn't make this shawl either - Melinda did - but it's all mine too. This was another swap. I picked the pattern (Peace Shawl) and the yarn - Melinda had recycled it from a man's sweater she found at a thrift store. She held the yarn double for the top section, making it warmer around the shoulders, and then used a single strand for the bottom section, making it light and airy. Most Peace Shawls shown on Ravelry are small, dainty kerchief-like things. This one is a shawl. I've already worn this a bunch of times and I see it getting a lot of day-to-day use.

Love the flecks of color throughout the predominately brown yarn.