Forest Canopy shawl

One of the handy things about clearing out your space, is that you find lots of WIP's that you had tried to forget about so you would feel less guilty about starting new projects:-) Not that these older projects weren't exciting when I started them, they were just put aside for a little bit whilst working something else out and then that little bit of time grew bigger and bigger until it got stashed and eventually forgotten about.

So, true to my new year's resolution of bringing these back into the light of day, we have the forest canopy shawl - work in progress.

Indeedy.  This was where we left it, oh, sometime last July..... :-) I put vivian aside for a day or two and decided it was time to get this finished. It was very easy to get back into the pattern too. All it took was a few evenings work and DONE! If I'd known it would have taken so little time, I may not have shelved it so readily. For someone who doesn't like old knitting projects hanging over her head, I do seem to have a fair number of them.

I left it wet blocking overnight and most of the next day and the cat didn't attack or try to eat the pins, thank goodness! She did think it was nice to sit on though - go figure! Personally I think it would be a bit wet on the bum but there you go. This was the best shot I could get as the light has been terrible here most of the week but you get the gist of the full shape and pattern - right? Apparently it's meant to stop raining by the weekend so fingers crossed we get a bit of sun so I can get some final photos outside. But I was trying to be creative inside as much as possible:-) So here you are, the finished forest canopy shawl in lovely Fuchsia pink;

Pattern and edging detailing

I think when I take some more photos I will get some help so I can show you what it looks like on. It was too difficult one handed in dodgy light so this is the best so far.....:-) It's a bit bigger in size than my magenta ishbel scarf which I like as it will be more versatile to wear.

As a shawl pattern, this is super easy and ideal for a first lace shawl knit. The pattern has very clear instructions and helpful how-to tips if you are just starting. I used a lifeline near the end in case I ran out of yarn before the pattern finished - another thing I've learned with this project;-)  

Using 4.5mm needles, I only used one skein (352m/385yrds) and managed to get 13 repeats and the edging pattern knitted comfortably with about two rows worth of extra yarn at the end. It's very quick to do (despite me having a few breaks in between) and very easy to increase its size being only an 8 row repeat. You can just keep going as big as you want or until your yarn runs out!  There are some gorgeous versions out there in ravelry and blogland to inspire. I quite fancy trying this out with a hand painted shawl blank - in colour bands with no colour repeated. Harmonious or contrasting colour palettes...... :-)

But I have promised myself to start the Luiza shawl first. Now that will be a little more challenging for me! At least I've got my hand back in knitting lace shawls. Maybe after knitting luiza, I will feel accomplished enough to sort out the mess I left poor nightingale in - all part dropped stitches on holders with no lifeline:( Sigh! But you live and learn!

Back soon with progress on Vivian!

Works in progress....

Well, here we are! Progress on the forest canopy shawl! I have left this so long, I'd pretty much forgotten the lace pattern repeats but it's very simple and didn't take long to get back into the swing of things. I even managed to watch some tv and not make too many mistakes:-) Now that is progress!

I've got to the end of the repeats now and I should be starting the edging border but I still have a bit more yarn than I'll need overall. I'm thinking I'll be able to add at least 2-4 extra repeats to make this a bit bigger - obviously remembering that the rows get bigger every time I increase and that will eat up more yarn!

I've also been working on and off on the stripey noro socks. This is attempt no 2 using two different colour schemes and it was going very well until after the short row heel. Then the colours started to go funny. That damn green/black bit again. But worse, it hits the equivalent yucky bit in the other ball. So altogether it's a bit bleh! Not wanting to be too hasty, I've lived with this for a week or so to see if I had a brainwave - or should I say miracle - before ripping it all back. While this was sitting cogitating its yukkiness, I decided to start another stripey sock.

Stripey sock no 3. After a while of mulling the problems of clashing stripes and colour schemes, I had a bit of a brainwave - just as I was drifting off to sleep. Of course, I wanted to get up and try my idea out straight away but I managed to restrain myself till the morning:-)

So, my brainwave was this. Instead of taking the original ball and splitting it into two which gave the green/black clash, instead of making them both go in the same direction - the very short lived yukky green and red toe - I decided to avoid all these problems and quarter the balls. I also did a bit of colour editing so I could start on a nice colour with both balls:-) If in doubt, take a chunk out!!!

So these are my half-knitted quarter balls, running very nicely thank you. I may not have quite an even length - due to my editing - but I should get a mid to knee length pair of socks out of just the original 100gm ball. To be honest, if I had thought about editing the yarn, I should have just taken out one of the green/black bits when knitting the original sock and saved myself all the hassle of ripping it all back and doing mental gymnastics with colour stripes.

But I was so into seeing how the yarn would knit up in its original state this never actually occurred to me, I must admit. Also, as Noro is expensive, it never occurred to me to be so, well, cavelier with it! In reality, noro sock yarn is rougher to the touch than most sock yarns, spun very thin in places and seems to have one yukky colour gradation, well to me anyway:-) But the bright, yumminess of the colours generally makes up for a lot!

So, now sock no 2 is no more, ripped back into a lovely roll of colour to become the matching second sock for stripey no 3. I had actually come to hate that icky top bit so I took great pleasure in ripping it back this morning:-) So, hopefully, this means I can get these stripey WIP's finished and off the needles.

Saying that, I've just found a new way to turn heels that looks better than the method I have been using. It is tempting to rip back just a little to try out the smoother join, don't you think?

Self-striping sunflower

It's really interesting how this yarn is knitting up. It was difficult to tell in the previous small sample but now I've knitted up a bit more, you can see how the colours are meandering around creating lovely stripes in the fabric. It's a lovely subtle contrast with the greens complimenting the yellow ochres and browns. Yum. Very subtle for me ;-)

That's what's so fascinating about hand dyed yarns. How will they knit up if the colour is painted just so. And if the length of skein is different you just add new variables. And do you weave, knit or crochet it? Crochet tends to eat yarn so I try not to use it with variegated's and if you can get the right pattern knit is lovely, but weave I think shows these complex coloured yarns off the best. Again you mustn't kill it with over complex patterning but I think this is something I would love to explore more sometime soon. Playing with colour could keep me occupied forever!

As for the sunflower scarf, I think I have quite a bit to do yet! It has grown, a little, since the photo but I just knit away on it as I can, a few inches at a time and we're getting there. But the pattern now seems so easy! What was I making all that fuss about before? No idea. Maybe a solid year of knitting is actually improving my skills and it takes something like this for me to notice. Isn't that the way, going back to old stuff. You see just how far you have come but only when you really look!

Anyway, the scarf has been suffering these last few days as I have impulsively started a new project. A much bigger knitting project than normal and I've been furiously knitting away to feel like I'm making any progress. But more on that tomorrow when I'll take some pics for a sneek peek! - if I knit enough tonight, that is:-)

Fushia forest canopy shawl

Just on the needles this last week is this lovely lace shawl called 'forest canopy' designed by Susan Lawrence. The yarn is the fingering/4ply weight sock yarn from Needlefood called 'kitchen's on fire'. As this yarn is such a lovely blend of fushias, this has now become known as the Fushia shawl (original). The yarn is 80% merino and 20% nylon and has a lovely soft feel as you're knitting. I also decided to knit this on larger needles - 4.5mm instead of 4mm - as I think the lace pattern would benefit and actually stretch more when it's ready to be blocked. The Ishbel didn't have quite as much give so hopefully I'm gauging this one better. If not, I'll try 5mm the next time!

I've knitted about 5 pattern repeats so far and it's knitting up very easily. I've realised the Ishbel shawl maybe wasn't the best lace shawl pattern to start with but that's all the better as this feels a nice and easy knit now! The pattern is nice and logical to follow and visually symmetrical so it's easy to remember and see any mistakes as you go. As usual, lace on the needles doesn't make for very inspiring or clear photographs but I think the colour is pretty close to the real thing this time:-)

I decided to block the sample so far to give me a clearer idea of the finished lace pattern. So, unblocked - above, blocked - below.......

Okay, the pink of the playmat is totally ruining the subtlties of the colours in the yarn - again - but it does give you a much better look at the lace design, doesn't it? Look at the s-t-r-e-t-c-h!!

Much better! This has a light floaty feel to it, unlike Ishbel which is a denser knit. But I bet Ishbel would be this floatly in laceweight:-) You can see the slight colour variations in these close-ups too. Enough to keep the yarn from looking too solid but not too contrastly to fight the pattern. Excellent.

Of course, I know what's going to happen with this shawl. The pattern can be knitted small or large and I'm going to get to the end of the skein and want to go for the biggie. Maybe I should just give in to the inevitable and order another skein now!

Sunflower scarf - take two

Okay, so this is where we left the sunflower scarf last week. About an inch or so of the so-called scarf pattern. This was just a sample to help me work out what this lovely yarn would look like knitted up and I was super-pleased with it. So, just before I ripped this back and cast on for real this time, a friend suggested another pattern that I might like to try with this yarn. Yup, you just know what's coming.....

This is the scotty's sunflower yarn knitted up using the Prismatic scarf pattern. A lovely pattern and it has great stitch definition in the original pictures so I'm thinking - great! This will be one for me! I do like this knitted up and I think there is great subtlety using this yarn with this stitch. But is it showing the gorgeousness of the yarn as much as the so-called scarf? I don't think so. But if you want subtle then definitely yes.

As this isn't actually for me, I decided to ask my partner (his pressie), which one he would prefer to wear as a scarf. He liked the so-called scarf, then he was swayed by the prismatic scarf's subtleties and then swayed back again to the so-called scarf as the colours looked better. So, I'm going - whew! Sorted. Now I can get knitting. But..... you know what's coming next, don't you?

Yup. Yet another pattern. This time it's a lovely star stitch pattern called holding hands, feeding ducks. The original picture following the link looked perfect. Even better stitch definition and a lovely textural finish. Excellent, I'm thinking. I'll just knit an inch to see what it looks like and then we can decide - again.

But somehow, my stars just don't look as defined as theirs. I know I'm using much thinner yarn but it shouldn't matter. After persevering for a bit, I had to conclude the stars were fighting my lovely colourway and the pattern was doing the yarn no favours. So, back to the so-called scarf. Again.

You know, there's a lot to be said for going with your gut feeling! But then if I hadn't explored I wouldn't have found two new patterns that are lovely and can be saved for another day - with a different yarn:-)

Sunflower scarf

Well, I didn't wait long to wind my new skeins into balls ready to knit:-) I thought long and hard about patterns that would show up the lovely tones in this yarn and after looking at a lot of scarves, socks and gloves patterns, I decided to go for the so-called scarf design by Allison Isaacs. Yes, this is something I have started before, if it sounds familiar. I never got round to finishing my first one as I kept losing stitches and got fed up having to keep taking it back. So why am I setting myself up for this? Didn't I learn the last time that me and so-called scarf don't get along?

Well, two reasons really. One, is that my disaster could have been just me watching tv when I should have been concentrating more and it is a lovely pattern and should be given a chance. Two, I'm damned if I am going to let this pattern beat me!!! So look! A full inch at least with no mistakes or lost stitches! Okay, I did have one false start where I dropped a stitch two rows down to the cast on so I just ripped it back and started again. But this inch is perfect - tada!

I even used a long tail cast-on to get a neater and stronger edge - liking it a lot. But the best thing, the absolutely best thing is the way this yarn just blends and contrasts as you go along. The PSSO st that makes the sloped pattern contrasts with the blended tones underneath. Every row, every stitch is different and it's fascinating to watch it all emerge. I haven't knitted enough yet to decide whether the overall look is what I want but at the moment, it's all looking good.

The only thing that is a teensie weensie problem is the gauge. I'm not using the given weight - quite a drop to 4ply/fingering weight actually - so I'm estimating the number of stitches needed. I increased the number from 30 to 50 thinking that would be plenty for a scarf but I forgot to account for the type of stitch this is. Your normal stocking st, garter or rib would stretch and have some give but this is much more dense, more like a woven fabric and it pulls the knitting in from the cast on. So I'm averaging about 10sts per inch. That means my scarf is now only 5 inches wide - not so good. So, I'm considering this my gauge sample and now I can start the real thing:-)))

Rip, rip, rip..... Back soon. I've a so-called scarf to master!

Needlefood!!

I'm so excited! My new yarn has arrived from Needlefood and it is GORGEOUS! I always look forward to actually holding the yarns and seeing all the subtleties in the colour for myself. And these are stunning. I bought Scotty's sunflower (the ochers and umbers) and Kitchen's on fire (the reds and fushias - of course:-).

They arrived beautifully wrapped with little stitch markers on a ribbon binding the top - what a beautiful idea! My own stitch markers:-)

Here's a close-up of the top of the bag and the stitch markers. The whole package is so well presented down to the last detail, it really makes you feel special and valued to get such a super pressie through the post!

Out of the wrapping, the yarn feels so soft to the touch - 80% merino, 20% Nylon. Both these skeins are 4ply/fingering weight and have approx. 352 metres per 100gms. So that should be enough for a lovely pair of socks or a small shawl. I'm beginning to see how lovely sock yarn can be in wraps and lace shawls and I think I will be torn whether to knit the fushia skein into socks, which I would love, or a wrap, which I would also love. Sigh! Choices, choices!

The colour blending close up has so many more colours to it - ochres, green/bluey/greys, red ochres, umbers, siennas - all rolled into one. I just can't wait to see this one knitted up. I will have to choose very carefully as I want all these colours to stand out in their full glory and some patterns can be too busy and kill a variegated yarn.

The Scotty's sunflower was a pleasure to photograph and I managed to get some lovely colour perfect close-ups but the fushia! I always have trouble photographing strong pinks and magentas and you would think with how often I use the colour I would have cracked photographing it! I used a polarizing filter which used to work well on my old non-digital camera but I think it was just a bad combination of poor light and - well, me! I'll have to crack this. Any suggestions welcome:-)

So this is as close to the true intensity of the colour as I could get even though the depth of colour and clarity isn't as good as I would like. But it is really bright:-) Well, it is called 'Kitchen's on fire'!! If you like to look closely at the colours before buying yarn, then it would be worth popping over to Needlefood's site to have a look at her excellent photos - and she has close-ups of all her semi solids and variegated yarns. Here's her better picture of this fushia yarn! (told you it was a lot better!)

What was also a lovely surprise was a free goodie bag with my order as it is their first month of trading. Look! Soak! I haven't tried that yet - another major excitement:-) I know, it doesn't take much, but Soak! Yay!

I also got a little lavendar bag as a moth repellant for my yarn:-) Nice touch and smells gorgeous too. I must also admit the sweeties in the background were pretty much gone by the first day - yum!

These lovely yarns came all the way from New Zealand and were only a few days in the post. And the postage was comparable to UK prices if not cheaper. The yarn prices themselves are very reasonable for a hand painted skein too. It's always easy to forget to look outside your own area for yarns as it's natural to presume it is too costly but international buying is now very competitive and very good value for money.

With all the care and attention to detail and, of course the quality of the lovely hand painted yarns themselves, I will definitely be returning when I need some more Needlefood!