Caireen Finale

Project:  Caireen
Pattern:  Caireen by Susanna IC, Knitty Deep Fall 2010 
Yarn:  GGH Via Mala
Yardage: 511 yards in stash, used about half, unplied from 4-ply to 2-ply
Needles: Size 8
Cast on: March 25, 2012
Cast off: April 18, 2012
Cost: Less than $20
Previous Entry: here
Notes: The yarn doesn't have the right body for cables, and I mis-crossed one the cables. The shawl looks fine, but I know it's there. This is a lovely pattern, and I feel like I didn't do it justice. Will have to re-knit the pattern some day in a different yarn.


Happy Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog, Tami's blog, and leave me a comment! 

Spring Break Fiber Goodness

My son has the week off for Spring Break and the weather has been super nice, so we did some day trips. Monday we went to Carmel to visit my mom and go to the beach. Picked up a big stash of her finished charity knitting, and dropped off a huge bag of yarn donated from my local friends.

Thursday we went on a day trip to the east bay, and ended up at couple of yarn shops at my insist. A Verb for Keeping Warm has a strong presence at Stitches West, Ravelry, and carries their own line of yarns. It's my first visit and I was pleasant greeted by this gorgeous shawl.

It's a circular shawl from Doilyhead on Ravelry (designer Herbert Niebling), knitted in thread(!).

Then we hit Article Pract in Oakland. I've seen the shop from the outside on my previous tours but this is the first time to go in. It's much bigger than I imagined, and very well stocked. Best part, there is a sale room!

Sorry about the reflection of the bathroom door, I meant to capture the shelf across from the mirror, and there is yet another shelf full of yarn.

These came home with me. Three skeins of hand painted merino from Twisted Sisters, almost 1200 yards. I had a hard time deciding which colorway to get, they all look amazing!

Happy Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog, Tami's blog, and leave me a comment! 

Wingspan Knitalong

I forgot to take a picture of Caireen, but it's chugging along nicely. I'm on row 41, about 15 rows left for the main cable pattern, and then 22 rows of short row decrease and cast off.

I don't usually talk about my new projects until they are started, because I tend to be indecisive about what pattern to use. Sometimes a new pattern would catch my eye at the last moment and I'd change the plan right before casting on, or even after. On Sunday I posted a link of Wingspan on Facebook, asking if my knitting friends would like to join me for a knitalong. Eight people raised their hands, a few more than I anticipated. Couple hours later I started Wingspan Knitalong group on Ravelry and invited my friends to join. Four days later we have over 100 members in the group, including the pattern designer Maylin of Tri'Coterie Designs, who has been answering questions about the pattern.

Wingspan is a simple small shawl knitted all in garter stitch, with short row shaping. The pattern is a free download on Ravelry. People have knitted it in different weights of yarns, with huge variations for the design, even couple of crochet versions.

I'm going to use this Kauni for my Wingspan. The long color repeats would look very pretty in this design.

Happy Fiber Arts Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog and leave me a comment! 

New Project: Caireen

Project:  Caireen
Pattern:  Caireen by Susanna IC, Knitty Deep Fall 2010 
Yarn:  GGH Via Mala
Yardage:   511 yards in stash 
Needles: Size 8
Cast on: March 25, 2012 

Notes: Last year I made Oslo Walk shawl, also designed by Susanna IC. I love these crescent shaped shawls and her patterns are so pleasant to work with. The yarn is a heavy 4-ply wool that I bought from Knitting Arts in Saratoga (a neighboring town) right before they closed. It turned out too heavy for the pattern, but fortunately the plies are parallel (not twisted together), and I was able to easily rewind them into separate balls. I'm glad I did. There are gaps and knots in every ball so far, I hope it's just old age or poor production. 

working yarn on the left, original ball on the right

this little plant survived another winter

Happy Fiber Arts Friday! Join the party on Andrea's blog and leave me a comment!