Wednesday 6 June 2012

Wedding Ring Shawl and other madness.

In case you think that I have nothing to do except visit places and photograph them I thought I would shared some of my handwork that has been in the making over the last couple of months.

The Jubilee weekend afforded me the opportunity to finish the amazing Everlasting Love Shawl by Tiziana Sammuri. I started it in October last year as my travel knitting for its light weight and knitting potential if I could not get around a lot.

Every time I look at it I think of New York and a wonderful holiday. 


I love all the details of this pattern and the superb way it is written. I am both a 'char't and a 'written directions' knitter depending where my brain is on the day, so often bounce between the two and Tiziana's patterns are wonderful for this strange affliction of mine.


The flowers make me think of water lilies floating on rippling water and I love the last rows that look like Baobab trees and remind me of Africa. 


All these thoughts and details kept me knitting even when I had to tink back several times as life lines did not work well with the very fine stitches of gossamer silk lace thread that ran away if a stitch was dropped or grabbed at lifelines never to let them go... Knitting with 2 strands together was not the sensible choice either.

My greatest delight came after the blocking when the shawl passed effortlessly through a wedding ring. I am still grinning.


I love the patterns in Textured Stitches by Connie Chang Chinchio. I feel they are timeless and suited to a number of different body shapes. I have knitted 2 this year. This one, the latest, Anna Maria knitted in King Cole Alpaca. It is a dream to wear and very cosy.



The Bobbin Monster (Indigo-dyed Coopworth from Rhinebeck) spun up into this gorgeous yarn that I am looking forward to knitting when 'the pattern' appears.....



My Native American Hexigon, inspired by the gorgeous work of Lucy of Attic24, is progressing and I so enjoy making it. It turns into real 'potato chip' crochet.


I completed another Melpomene by Romi Hill in Hedgehog Fibre Sock yarn which was gifted to me. As it is the second one I have made, I must love knitting this pattern when there are plenty of others to choose from out there. Another fabulously written pattern.


Off the loom is a Handpun Handwoven Teal Stole of my own design. I am thrilled with it. I discovered that it is very satisfying to weave my handspun lace weight yarn and am looking forward to repeating this in the future. The colour is closer to the bottom photograph.



I am currently spindle spinning a 5 Fiber Sampler from Susan Spinning Bunny in the Clematis Vine colour way.

I can inform you that I will not be buying anything with tencel fibre again, the sample was quite enough. If it was not for my love of the colour way and wanting to knit a small shawl, the tencel sample might have 'disappeared'.

This is not the fault of the fibre pack in any way! The rest of it is lovely and I have loved spinning it. I just don't like tencel. I am spinning Merino/bamboo currently and the jury is out on bamboo...


On my knitting needles is 'the ever present' pair of socks. New techniques are 2-at-a-time on 2 cirs, the jury is out on that one too. I also tried Cat Bordhi's tomato heel. It fits me like a dream and may just become my heel of choice! Now it is all plain sailing to the toes.


The Lakefront Cardigan in Noro laceweight by Elizabeth Helmich is my easy knitting delight. This was also a NY holiday project and memories washed over me when I rescued it from hibernation. I knitted this in the car whereever we travelled. I started on the sleeves last night and plan monogamous knitting till it is complete, unless another pattern jumps out and grabs me. Yes, I know I am a fickle knitter....


I have been enabled by all the chatter on the Knitmore Girls Podcast about a SPAKAL and at Wonderwool 2 sweater's worth of tops came into my possession...

Easy Knits hooked me with 800g of Falkland and Corriedale in the Woodland Spring Colourway.


which I have spun onto 16 bobbins now and I am currently plying it as a 3ply. It is very varied and interesting and I am planning a Calligraphy Cardigan by Hannah Fettig depending on how the swatch turns out.


 The inkle loom is decorated with a pretty little Andean Pebble weave pattern that I get to work on about once a week when I am fed up with everything else. I must say that I love to sit in the garden and work on it and the weather lately has not co-operated.


 Lastly, if this was not all enough to keep me out of mischief, in some mad moment, I decided to start a patchwork quilt out of a jelly roll that the Saint gave me for Christmas.

I planned on an easy little piece which is now turning into a monster as he commented 'it looked lovely on the bed' when I laid it out. Suddenly I am working on a huge quilt that will  be 2.75m x 2.75m. I am totally insane and groaning a bit but enjoying it too:)




I need to press the pieces and join the 4 main sections together and then the top layer will be finished. This will happen between 12am and 2 am when I have nothing better to do...

2 comments:

  1. You have been one busy woman my dear friend! I love all your projects, especially the sweater that you finished ~ it's quite lovely! Your spinning is fantastic and I'm so envious :)

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    1. Thanks, Tina. I do love the spinning and miss it when the weaving takes over:)

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