Remember the shawl competition that Jane was running last week over at Colours from chaos? Y'know, the one I said I'd never win as I was comment no 1? Yup, I WON!!!! I won this lovely shawl pattern - isn't that so cool? Totally amazing as I never win these things. There was a lot of happy dancing going on yesterday:-)) AND a lot of stash rummaging, hunting for the perfect yarn to use.
But I didn't find anything I thought was going to do this pattern the justice it deserves. So, I've decided I'm going to dye some especially for the occasion - maybe I'll call it 'Lucky Luiza' :-)) I'm thinking a lovely deep rich colourway, slightly variegated but only subtle tonal variations, and I think I may even push my limited shawl skills to work with 2ply laceweight instead of the safer 4ply/fingering! (I will dye some fingering too - just in case!) I'm also going to make extra long skeins of fingering (150gms) so I don't run out like I did with the nightsongs shawl - about 2 rows from the end.
I do love the cobweb look and feel of the finer gauge but I'm a bit dubious of my ability to achieve that quality - but if you don't try, you don't learn and this is so nice, I just have to try!!
This is going to be good for me as I really needed to get my ass in gear and start dyeing some more yarns for the shop. It's been languishing a bit so it could do with a revamp for spring. And of course, I may even have a little yarn giveaway nearer the time......:-) I have some new types of yarn to try out - silk/wool mixes in lace and fingering weight as well as some worsted weight wool, so lots of playing will be going on soon!
Thank you Jane for the opportunity to knit up your lovely shawl!
You deserved to win Elaine as I know that you will do the pattern the justice it warrants. Can't wait to see the result!
ReplyDeletewhen I began to read your post I was like "Wait! You dye such beautiful yarns. Why not do it for this shawl?". Then I read the rest :P
ReplyDeletethe original one was done in fingering yarn. I am doing another one with laceweight, but I think I chose the wrong size of needles...Mine will probably need to be 22 repeats long to work.
FYI, I used 120g of fingering for the original one. I can look up more specs if you need.
Whatever yarn weight you choose, I hope you have fun knitting it.
Oh, I can't WAIT to see what you do with this!!!
ReplyDelete(And congrats on your win!)
120gms - thanks Jane! My last skein was about 112gms so I was so close but yet so far.... :-)
ReplyDelete22 repeats with laceweight!! Goodness! Thats a lot of work but it will be truly stunning when its finished. I was going to play around with needle size too so I would be interested to know what you finally decide on.
I like nothing better than a complex pattern to knit so I'm sure I'll have fun!
Thanks Kit! Luiza is such a lovely pattern that I can't wait to get going. This has just skipped the queue and gone straight to the top of my to-do list. Ah well, I was never any good at sticking to WIP resolutions:-)) Vivian, sock knitting and Luiza on the needles all at once should be manageable......she says, LOL!
ReplyDeleteElaine,
ReplyDeleteI'm using 2.75mm needles and it's oh, so wrong...There is a person on Rav doing Luiza with a similar yarn (20/2) with 3.75mm and she told me she's liking the way it's coming along. If you're an average tension knitter, I'd go with a 3.25 or 3.5mm needles.
If you decide to go with fingering, 112g should be just about enough - if you like to live dangerously ;) As for laceweight...I don't know yet. I'll keep you posted.
Hi Jane,
ReplyDeleteI'm usually an average tension knitter but I haven't knitted enough shawls to know if that tension extends accurately to them. I think my 100gm skeins of laceweight average about 900mtrs in length so hopefully will be enough. I've never knitted with this thin a yarn as yet so knowing to try 3.25/3.5mm is very handy, thanks.
I'm thinking of playing a bit more cautious with the length of the fingering weight:-) Its on a cone so I can add on extra as needed - very handy! I keep an eye on Ravelry too to see how everyone elses is knitting up. Let you know how it goes once I get started.
Congratulations! Can't wait to see the combination of this beautiful pattern with your beautiful hand dyed yarn... it will be stunning!
ReplyDelete