deja shawl

Remember this shawl that became a treat for some little bug?

Then:

Well, I finally ripped it out, washed the yarn and started reknitting this shawl. It’s going pretty well. It’s gives me lots of knitting therapy and the colors are pretty.

Now:

I lost several inches due to splicing the yarn back together, but all in all, it’s looking very much like it did originally.

working my way back

Hi. :) Yes, I’m still out here in the world. Is anybody out there?

It’s been a challenging year… during part of which, my favorite yarn store closed. I really only knit on one thing this for most of the summer – black rainbow shawl (the stripe study shawl) and I only finished it this past week.

These photos are pre-block. But I really like how it came out. Not really stripey, which I really like. This shawl is for me. Maybe one day I’ll make another one.

fo: monet shawl

*tap tap tap* Is this thing on? Anybody out there? ;-)

Yes, I’m still alive and breathing. I’m attempting to make some changes in my RL and unfortunately, blogging seems to be a casualty in this case. I am sad about that, but there’s only so much energy and time a person has.

So blogging for the next little while will be a bit sporadic. But I’m knitting up a storm and my spinning wheel is even getting a little attention these days. Hope you’ll hang in there with me. I miss sharing my fiber adventures with you. :)

I finished my shawl! I call it the ‘Monet Shawl’ ’cause the colors in the barber pole yarn remind me of impressionistic art. It looks different from far away than it does close up. (you can see the fiber and yarn in THIS POST)

Started: March 13 2011 – Completed: April 28 2011

a little knitting therapy

Lately, I’ve been a little stressed and a little overwhelmed… so I decided that I needed a little comfort. That, of course, meant knitting.

So I pulled out some handspun, wound it up and started knitting a very basic triangular shawl. No specific pattern but lots of mindless stockinette with lots of color. The color of the shawl reminds me of an impressionistic painting so I’m calling it my ‘Monet Shawl’.

Here’s are some photos of fiber, yarn and just a small peek at the beginning of the shawl. Enjoy! :)

fiber friday: mmmmm… cashmere

Buying new stuff for my stash is not currently in the budget so I am looking to my cherished stash to knit patterns that I’ve fallen in love with.

One such pattern is the Stripe Study Shawl. If you have not seen this recently released pattern, it is an asymmetrical triangular shawl knit in garter stitch.

I pondered a bit, trying to figure out what I wanted to use. I have some CCM Merino-Nylon that I could use, but the yarn said it didn’t want to be this pattern. (Yes, yarn can be pretty particular about what it wants to be.)

Then I remembered that I have some reclaimed/redyed yarn that I bought quite a while ago from AllSpunUp before all the lovely spinning fiber filled her shop. It’s this lovely, blue-purpley fingering weight yarn and oh so soft.

So the next question became what would I use for the contrasting color? Enter the cashmere/tussah silk fiber that I bought last year.

I originally had other plans for it but that did not come to fruition so, after I finish my current spinning project, I plan to spin a 2-ply fingering-ish weight yarn to use as a part of this shawl.

A cashmere/silk shawl…in garter stitch…can you imagine?

I’ll go now while you think about that.

Bye! :)

did I mention what I am knitting?

I am knitting a hat and a shawl….

:D

Need more details than that? Ok, ok. :)

The hat is true mindless knitting. It’s the Sockhead Hat pattern and I am used Cabin Cove Mercantile’s Ombre yarn in the colorway ‘Coal’.

The yarn has this cool spiral thing goin’ on and this has been a great project when life stresses me out and I need to calm down.

The shawl I am knitting is a kind of ‘fly-by-the-seat-of-pants’ project. I’m making it up as I go along and keep changing my mind on every row.

The yarn is Tosh Merino Light – pretty drool-worthy stuff – awesome yardage for the price.

alas, my poor handspun shawl

Don’t think I’ve forgotten about my handspun shawl. I truly haven’t. I had been hoping to spin more yarn for it. I’ve got one bobbin done and the 2nd is barely started.

But when I pulled the shawl out of the drawer, I discovered holes. YES! Some little bug chewed holes in my shawl over the summer! I had some other woolens in the same drawer and it seems the bug(s) have discriminating taste as they only went for the merino. (Yes, they went for my blue dream in color socks as well. :( )

So, I will have to rip this out. There’s not a lot of holes, but there’s no way to repair it so I basically would have to knit it again and compensate for the broken yarn (and keep it in a plastic bag).

Despite this reality, I can’t bring myself to rip it out… yet. *le sigh* :(

an ending and a beginning

I finished the pink shawl… FINALLY! Geez, it took me six months. I’m so happy that it is completed ’cause now I can gift it! :)

To celebrate it’s completion, I joined a knit-a-long … sort of. The SpinDoctor podcast is having a knit-a-long – Maine Morning Mitts using handspun. My ‘kinda-sorta-maybe-in-a-way-but-not-really’ participation is to make fingerless mitts with my handspun … but not use that pattern but more making it up as I go along.

But you can’t see ‘em until I’m done.

Really.

Don’t look at me like that.

Well…

Ok … here’s a peek. ;)

:D

it’s all about shawls, y’all

I’ve been fighting it. Casting on for more shawls, I mean. It’s not that I’ve been taken over by all the wonderful shawl patterns that have been published recently, it’s that my yarn is being noisy again. It all seems to want to be shawls. I generally try not to cast on TOO many things, but now I think it’s beyond my control.

I have at least four shawls that I want to knit next – all from my stash. So … if I listen to my noisy stash and cast on for these shawls, I will have a total of about six shawls on the needles. I think juggling that many projects would make my head explode. … but all the potential projects that I want to knit are already driving me crazy(er) …

Ok … let’s see…

  1. Simple Yet Effective Shawl – on the needles – stalled again because I need the spin more yarn for it. It’s still not big enough.
  2. Ulmus – on the needles – almost to the lace edge
  3. Show Your Colors Shawl – in that pink Blue Sky Alpacas Skinny Dyed Cotton. ‘Tis a gift, just took a while to settle on a pattern.
  4. Attabi Wrap – Some handspun yarn I just bought cried out to be part of this shawl. I will have to buy some yarn to be a contrasting color.
  5. Daybreak – Use the ‘Doesn’t Want To Be Socks‘ Handspun and maybe the purpley ‘Yummy‘ yarn I have.
  6. Impatience – A beautiful pattern, perfect for the Dream In Color ‘Starry’ I just bought. … What? It was Romeo Blue. I couldn’t resist.

*looks at list* Omigosh!

Do you see my dilemma? *thinks for a moment* Maybe I will cast on for the ‘Show Your Colors Shawl’ and that will drown out the noise from the other three. But alas, I know that in the end, Resistance Is Futile.

And finally… you didn’t think I’d mention stash in the list above without showing it to you, did ya?

‘Spectrum’ – spun by DebbieB. I’ve admired her spinning for awhile and I finally had to buy a skein.

Dream in Color ‘Starry’ in the colorway ‘Romeo Blue’. Oooo… Sparkles!

Ta ta for now!

can’t… stop… knitting…

There has been a major shift here at saffronknits. But, before I get to that, I want to you show the last yarn I finished.

I had 4 ounces of ‘Cotton Candy’ mini batts from Spincerely Yours

I chain-plied this yarn, being very conscious about the amount of twist I was putting into it and I am very pleased with the results. I’d say this is a pretty woolen yarn as I spun this with a supported long draw. I call it ‘Pink Parasol’. (Inspired by line in The Sound of Music).


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But back to that ‘major shift’. After finishing that last yarn, my spinning mojo went on vacation but an obsession with knitting has taken it’s place. Want proof?

I bought that Dream in Color Smooshy – Visual Purple and made the ‘Simple Yet Effective Shawl‘.

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I saw someone knitting an Ulmus shawl (designed by Through The Loops) at my LYS and went home and started one of my own. I’m using Claudia Handpainted Yarn fingering in the colorway ‘Carousel’ and Koigu Premium Merino in Black, both from my stash. I’m so glad to finally be using this yarn.

My issues with reading patterns reared it ugly head and I misread the chart so my Ulmus is more of a stockinette version. I really like it!

I’ve had to rip out about 16 rows to fix a mistake, but that hasn’t really slowed me down. I still love knitting this shawl.

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And finally, a shawl made out of my own handspun. The very first time I’m knitting with my own handspun. I’m so in love with knitting this, I almost can’t stand it!

Once again, it’s the Simple Yet Effective Shawl. It’s completely in stockinette and I completely love it! (The picture shows the shawl upside down – The navy is the top of the shawl.)

I’m going to knit all of color blocks then add black at the bottom. I’m still deciding if I want the garter stitch edging to be in color or in black.

Ok … enough blogging … gotta get back to my knitting.