Playing around with colours and yarns

While I was reading some of my lace knitting books recently, I came across a comment from the author about the choice of yarns and colours to be used for knitting lace. According to the author, lace should be knit in either white or ecru mercerized or plain crochet cotton, an equivalent white or natural fine linen thread, or with 1 ply or fine 2 ply wool. Yarns with conspicuous colour, or a polished surface -- e.g. silk, or rayon -- are definitely to be avoided as they are not part of the lace making tradition.

I think I'm in trouble.

I've been breaking the rules.

None of the lace I've been knitting lately has been white, natural or ecru.

Some of it has been shiny in appearance, or even downright fuzzy.

I've even deliberately used yarn which is heavier than lace weight.

And as if that wasn't bad enough, very little of the yarn I have earmarked for future lace projects could be described as white, natural or ecru, and most of what I do have will be dyed before it is used.

I'm obviously a deviant and a rebel.

Oh, well. It's far too late to go back now.

So here is a list of some future transgressions I have in mind.

A few years ago now, I jumped on an already overcrowded bandwagon and knit a Charlotte's Web Shawl for myself. It was quite an interesting experience, mostly because I was unable to locate anywhere locally that stocks Koigu yarn, so all of the yarn had to be ordered from online stores. Ordering different colourways of hand-painted yarns based solely on small photographs on a computer screen with a view to having five of them co-ordinate with one another in some way is insanity of course, but that's never stopped me before. So I went ahead and did it. The shawl that resulted from this experiment -- after three attempts to get the yarn order right -- is lovingly referred to by my eldest daughter as my hippy shawl, and for anyone who is interested there are some photos of it here.

For various reasons, I've always wanted to have another go at this project, but, if anything, obtaining Koigu has become even more problematic since the Charlotte's Web craze died down -- certainly, there seems to be much less available online now in the darker, deeper, cooler tones of blue, green, purple and red, which are the colours I tend to lean towards.

Anyway... I received a few more hanks of Koigu 'Painter's Palette Premium Merino' yarn in the post last week, so I decided it was time to take my box of Koigu PPPM yarn outside so I could play around with different combinations of colourways in an environment where the light was better -- I'm sure my neighbours where amused by this, but at least they were able to continue to resist the urge to have me hauled away by the men in white coats -- at least for now.

I took some photographs of what I consider to be the better combinations -- and I've layed them all out in the order they would be used in the shawl, just in case it isn't obvious. Apologies for the colourways which have already been wound into balls ready for use, but turning them back into hanks just for the photographs was way too obsessive even for me. ;)

I think this one is my favourite...


... and perhaps not surprisingly it features purples and greens.

From left to right,

Colour P217 Lot 27
Colour P305 Lot 267
Colour P609 Lot 87
Colour P528 Lot 22
Colour P429 Lot 29
Colour P609 Lot 40

I included an additional colourway beyond the number specified in the pattern in this one because I've noticed that my original Charlotte's Web Shawl has a tendency to relax and lose some of its size quite soon after it is blocked, and I'd quite like to have one that is a little larger. Plus I just had to take advantage of the fact that I actually had six colourways in my possession that looked like they just might play nicely together.

And as I actually started out trying to put something together that features some red...


From left to right,

Colour P426 Lot 320
Colour P426 Lot 221
Colour P102 Lot 174
Colour P428 Lot 82
Colour P408 Lot 65

My camera has given this one a bit of a pink tinge that wasn't there in real life, but you'll just have to take my word that in reality it's redder than it probably looks in the photograph. Just for my own information... the blue hank was included because it seemed a little flat without it, and because I haven't been able to find any suitable deep, dark red colourways anywhere.

Just by way of comparison, here is a photograph of the colourways I used in my original Charlotte's Web Shawl...


From left to right,

Colour P426 Lot 221
Colour P417 Lot 3
Colour P428 Lot 82
Colour P405 Lot 108
Colour P217 Lot 27

One thing I did notice while I was playing with my Koigu yarn on the table outside was that several of the colourways are now a lot lighter than they were a few years ago, which was something I had already suspected from the difficulties I've been having finding the fully saturated colourways that used to a trademark of the Koigu dye artists a few years ago. Note in particular the two examples of colourway P609 in the first photograph, and of colourway P426 in the second. In both cases, the very much lighter version is the more recent offering. Just in case any of Koigu's dye artists ever accidentally stop by here, I know things move on but I'd really appreciate it if there could be a few more deeper, darker colourways in cooler toned colours put back in the range -- and if there could be a dark, moody Goth-inspired colourway with purples and blacks, my daughter would finally be able to have the socks of her dreams knit for her. Of course, it's also possible that these colourways are still available, but they're just not making it online where I can find them...

Anyway... That's enough of that, and it's time to move on.

When one of the local yarn stores was closing down, I bought some yarn at a very good price during their final sale...


It's nine skeins of Rare Yarns Rare Fire 'Jewel' yarn, which is a 14 ply 50% Australian alpaca, 30% mohair, 20% super fine merino yarn, which is actually made up of a mix of the four 'Cool Jewel' colours (Jade, Amethyst, Sapphire, and Topaz) from their 'Essentials' range.

So...

What have I decided to knit with this yarn?


Why, 'Claddach' from Alice Starmore's 'In the Hebrides', of course!

Having seen how this yarn looks when used to knit simple lace stitches in some of the 'Rare Yarns' patterns, I really do think this should be a match made in heaven, even though the yarn is a fair bit thicker than the 'Scottish Heather' specified in the pattern.

And having seen this description of the inspiration behind the design and the meaning of the name...


... I think the colourway is a really appropriate match too.

Note to myself... As the yarn label specifies 7.00mm needles, 8.00mm needles might be a good place to start as the lace fabric for the wrap will need to have a softer drape than normal. And as this yarn is chunkier than the original and will be worked on much larger needles, eliminating two of the 9 stitch repeats would probably be a good idea too.

As if this project isn't deviant enough, I'm still seriously thinking about knitting a Hap Shawl using the ColourMart lace weight smooth silk yarn.

As the pattern I would like to use is the 2 Ply Grey Shawl pattern from Heirloom Knitting...


... and it uses four co-ordinating colours, I've acquired two more shades in the 3/50nm smooth silk yarn...


... which I plan to knit with two strands held together, exactly as I've been doing with my 'Candle Flame Shawl'. From left to right, the colours are 'Pale Silver', 'Pale Steel', 'Pale Navy 2' and 'Dark Navy 2', and I can see these working together really well in this shawl. :) I know knitting it in silk is a really decadent idea -- particularly in view of the history behind Hap Shawls -- but I do think Sharon's beautiful pattern is more than worthy of this luxurious yarn, and that the silky softness and added sheen will make for quite a spectacular finished shawl.

One of my ultimate goals is to acquire the necessary skills to be eventually be able to knit Heirloom Knitting's Wedding Ring Shawl. I already have the pattern...


... and also have a few possible contenders for the yarn to knit it with sitting in my stash.

Predictably, none of them is white, as in the back of my mind I'm picturing something truly ethereal in nature -- whether this is a good idea or not, only time will tell.

As ColourMart's cobweb weight cashmere and silk yarn appears to be almost identical in appearance to one of the yarn samples included in the envelope with the pattern, these are my current front runners.

Perhaps one of these two...


'Grey' on the left, and 'Navy' on the right.

Or possibly one of these two...


'Ocean Blue' on the left, and 'Violet' on the right.

I realize I've posted these two photos in earlier entries on this blog, but I've included them here again just to have everything grouped together in the one place.

I keep changing my mind as to which of these colours to go with, but as I think it will still be a while before I'm worthy of attempting this pattern, I still have plenty of time to think about it before a final decision needs to be made. I'm actually a little curious as to whether other people have a tendency to lean towards projects which will help bring them a little closer to being able to knit a special project, as this is always in the back of my mind when I choose a new project to knit? I have quite a history of over-thinking things, and I'm suspicious that this could well be a more long term example of that.

As a companion to the Wedding Ring Shawl, I also have my eyes on the Princess Shawl as a future project, but that one has the added complication of the pattern not being currently available.

I've also bought some dyes, which I will be auditioning soon on some samples of the yarn I plan to use to knit my sister's Hanami Shawl...


There's a few more than I mentioned in my earlier posting, as several people have advised me that the cashmere and silk blend might turn out a little paler than I want it to be, so I bought a couple of darker shades as well to test out on the yarn -- they're all shades I'll use anyway, so none of them will go to waste.

The shades I chose are all from the Gaywool Bush Blends range, and I bought them from the Virginia Farm Woolworks, who had them on my doorstep in practically no time at all. :) Just in case the labels are hard to read in the photograph, the colours are 'Willow', 'Meadow', 'Cypress', 'Iceberg' and 'Sugargum'.

If anyone has any advice to offer as to how best to get a nice even result, please let me know as I'd like this shawl to turn out well for my sister. I'm also thinking I might buy myself something like a crock pot for my dyeing, so I can set things up in the laundry away from the kitchen -- Is this a good idea?

After a photograph of a Hyrna Herborgar shawl was posted on the ColourMart Forum recently, I just had to have this...


It's 'Three-Cornered & Long Shawls' by Sigridur Halldórsdóttir which apparently is a near-legendary Icelandic shawl book, and fortunately for me it's accompanied by a booklet with an English translation as my Icelandic language skills really aren't what they should be.

And while I was ordering it from the Schoolhouse Press website, this fell into my shopping cart too...


It's 'Stahman's Shawls and Scarves' by Myrna Stahman, which is a book I've been wanting for years.

And while I'm on the topic of books...

From some of the postings on the Heirloom Knitting Yahoo group, I recently learnt of the existence of a specialist Russian book (with an accompanying DVD) on Orenburg Lace. I eventually tracked down a review of 'The Orenburg Down Shawl' on the wabi sabi blog. I'm not sure I'm quite ready to enter the wonderful world of sourcing obscure knitting books from Russia yet, but if somewhere in the West is ever able to take this book on and add it to their catalogue, I'll be among the first in line to buy it.

And while I'm on the topic of Orenburg shawls... Sharon Miller now sells a Gossamer Mohair yarn, which appears to be the closest yarn to the best Orenburg yarn which is currently readily available.

Future projects

First up, I recently bought four cones of ColourMart's 2/7nm DK weight cashmere yarn in the 'Bottle Jade' colour...


In real life, the colour is actually a bit darker than it appears in the photograph, but this was the closest my digital camera was able to get, as it always tries to lighten dark colours for reasons of its own -- maybe there's a setting somewhere I'm yet to discover that stops this from happening.

These four cones were acquired with knitting a variation of this in mind...


It's Miriam Felton's beautiful Woven Cable Wrap.

The 2/7nm DK weight cashmere yarn should be a perfect substitution for the original yarn, and is a much more affordable alternative. I now just have to decide whether to knit with it straight off the cone, or to wash it first so I have a better idea as to how the finished wrap will drape while I'm knitting it.

While I'm on the topic of washing coned yarn before knitting with it...

I recently purchased a couple of cones of ColourMart's 2/36nm 55% Cashmere 45% silk fine lace weight yarn in 'Teardrop'...


... with the intention of knitting Melanie's Hanami Shawl...


... for my sister, either for her birthday in July or for next Christmas. I sort of feel like I owe Debbie a hand-knitted cashmere and silk shawl. I gave her a woven cashmere and silk wrap which I found at one of the little boutiques at Birkenhead Point as a present last Christmas, but there was a miscommunication somewhere along the line, and my mother told her that it had been hand-knit by me. As my mother doesn't want me to tell my sister that she made a mistake, I think the best way to make things completely right is for me to just go ahead and knit a shawl for my sister so she really does have one of my hand-knitted shawls.

So where does the pre-washing come in?

Well... None of the available colours in the cashmere and silk yarn really screamed 'Debbie' to me, so I bought the colour closest to white to dye a more appropriate colour -- I'm currently leaning towards one of the 'Gaywool Bush Blends' dyes in either 'Iceberg' or 'Sugargum', as I think they'll suit the pattern well, look fabulous in the Cairn's sunshine, and, most importantly, will compliment Debbie's skin tone beautifully. I've been told that I will get a better end result if I dye the yarn before I knit it, so that's what I'm intending to do. I have to say, though, that I'm really not looking forward to loading several kilometres of this super-fine yarn on to my niddy noddy and subjecting it to the whole dyeing process. My fingers are crossed that I don't end up with a horrible tangled mess.

I've also gone ahead and renewed my Rowan International subscription for another year, although admittedly I did wait until after the reviews made it clear that Magazine Number 41 was a real winner...


... as the free gift this year really doesn't do anything for me.

Kim Hargreaves' 'Knitted Bag' from Rowan Book 30 is actually far more my style...


... than the 'Dolly Bag' is.

I wonder if the yarn from the free gift could be used to make a variation on this bag? I'm guessing that the fabric lining would help to counteract the tendency to grow that fabrics knit from cotton yarns often have and might keep the bag from stretching out of shape when it's in use, and the handles could always be reinforced by threading woven cotton tape through them. So maybe it's a possibility...

Recently, some of our little Rubi + Lana knitting group went along to a Knitters' Guild meeting in the Blue Mountains, where Kate is the convener. I took my 'Candle Flame Shawl' along to work on while I was there, and received quite a few positive comments about it from the members there. :)

Anita, from The Wool Inn in Penrith, was also there with lots of tempting wares for sale. When I found this on her table...


... I knew it would be coming home with me, as I've been searching everywhere for just this shade of red. It's Naturally 'Mist', and is a 1 ply yarn which is 80% super fine kid mohair and 20% nylon -- not quite Rowan 'Kid Silk Haze' or Madil 'Kid Seta', but this really was all about the colour. :) I've earmarked the yarn for a yet to be decided shawl from Jane Sowerby's 'Victorian Lace Today'.

Before the Knitters' Guild meeting, we stopped off in Katoomba, for lunch and to check out David's LYS, 'Katoomba Knitting & Needlecraft'. We all had a great time fondling the yarn there, and I came away with this...


Some Cleckheaton 'Studio mohair 8 ply' yarn. Yes, it's pink. But it's an icy pink, and I have a longstanding affinity for icy colours.

I also have an affinity for yarns which are almost liquid silver in appearance, and the yarn on the left...


... definitely qualifies. It's one of the new Italian 3/50nm lace weight 100% silk yarns available on the ColourMart website. The cones on the left are 'Pale Steel' and the ones on the right are 'Pale Navy 2', which despite the name is actually quite a dark shade. It wasn't until this yarn arrived though that I realized just how fabulous these two colours look together, so now I'm wondering if a truly decadent and luxurious take on the Hap Shawl might not be on the cards. ;)

And last but not least, there's a cone of 2/28nm lace weight cashmere yarn from ColourMart, the colour of which has the fetching name of 'GURLOD'...


Once again, the colours in this yarn are actually more vibrant in real life -- it's not entirely obvious in the photograph, but the yarn is actually made up of a bright purple and a loden green thread twisted together, which produces a look I think will go really well with the shawls in 'Victorian Lace Today' -- this book was definitely one of my better purchases as there's so much in it I want to knit. :)

Now I just need a few more hours in the day...

Latest arrivals

Just when I'd almost given up on ever receiving this...


... it finally lands on my doorstep. I'm not sure why USPS quotes 4 to 6 weeks for surface mail deliveries -- from what I've been able to discover, the 10 weeks this package took to reach me is actually fairly typical. Anyway, I finally have my cone spindles and the JaggerSpun Zephyr lace weight yarn I ordered back in mid July -- some of the Zephyr yarn was actually originally intended for the 'Mystery Stole 2' knit along, but of course that's long finished now. *sigh* The hanks are in the Marine Blue, Indigo and Ruby colours, and the cones are Peacock and Mahogany.

As KnitPicks continues to refuse to ship to Australia, I'd pretty much given up even hoping I'd ever be able to sample their wares. Then Julie kindly offered to place an order on our behalf during her recent trip to Hawaii -- and who knew that she would have to brave an earthquake in order to do this for us!

As a result, I'm now the proud owner of this...


... some KnitPicks 'Shadow' in the 'vineyard' colourway, along with the pattern for Miriam Felton's 'Adamas Shawl', which I have coveted for quite a while now.

But best of all, I finally have my very own KnitPicks 'Options' Needle Set...


As I wasn't sure if a similar opportunity would ever present itself again, I went ahead and fully optioned up my set with all the extra needle sizes and cable lengths, a needle tags set, and some extra storage pockets...


... and even added in the 'View Sizer'...


... which turned out to be an even more useful addition than I originally thought it would be as it features a magnifier to help you see the stitches more clearly when you're measuring tension squares. And of course I now have a needle sizer for US needle sizes, which I didn't previously have.

Thank you, Julie! :)

I've been using the KnitPicks 'Options' needles on the latest project I've started, but I'll write more about that later.

And finally, the Vogue Knitting Holiday 2006 issue made an appearance at my local Borders store...



... and promptly followed me home. I think I was seduced by the luscious, red braided scarf featured on the cover... ;)

Limpets, cranberries, and more

Did I happen to mention a strong desire to knit Alice Starmore's 'Driftnet Wrap' Kit in 'Limpet'? Well, Stage 1 has been accomplished, and the kit has arrived here.


I really love the design of this wrap, as its ocean net appearance evokes memories of my Dad to me, and I've loved the deep, dark purples of the 'Limpet' colourway since I ordered some of it as a gift for a friend last year and saw just how beautiful the colour was when the sunlight played across it. Of course there's loads more hanks of the yarn in the kit than I've shown in the photograph.

I also received a package from Morehouse Farm this week...


... with some Merino Lace Yarn in 'Cranberry' to knit a 'Contessa Shawl', and some Variegated Merino Lace Yarn in 'Aquarius' to make "Melody's Shawl". I'm intrigued with the way "Melody's Shawl" is knit in the round and then cut open once the stitches for the fringe have been unravelled.

And here is some more ColourMart 50% cashmere / 50% silk cobweb weight yarn...


... this time in 'Ocean Blue' and 'Violet', which I had to buy because the colours were exactly what I've been searching for, and the price was just incredible. For some reason, these two colours were really difficult to photograph, and while I'm not entirely sure I've done them justice here, I have done my best.

And look what I found in plentiful supply amongst the other calendars in Borders this year...


At least I won't have to beg and plead with the person running the Calendar Club stand at the local shopping centre to get a copy of it in for me this year. :)

I've also acquired a few more magazines...


... the latest available issues of "Knitter's", 'Simply Knitting', and the US version of 'Creative Knitting'. Finding air freighted copies of 'Creative Knitting' in Borders was quite a surprise, but given the amount of petrol I burnt trying to locate a copy of the last issue due to the interesting way the local magazine distributors randomly scatter their wares around newsagents in this city, maybe the extra cost wasn't quite as expensive as it initially seemed.

The "Knitter's" Fall 2006 issue features a pattern for one of the most bizarre items of clothing I've seen in a long time...


And yes, it's exactly what it looks like. It's a batwing poncho. I've tried to envisage a situation where this garment would be the appropriate thing to wear, but quite frankly I've failed. It appears to combine all the worst aspects of the poncho and the batwing jumper, and while the heavy cabling suggests it is intended to be worn when it's chilly, I really don't understand why you'd then want the cold blasting in through those wide openings? Am I missing something here?

On the plus side though -- and I can't believe I'm saying this -- there is a huge advertorial on Jane Sowerby's upcoming book 'Victorian Lace Today'...


... in the same issue. While advertorials are something I normally avoid like the plague, I've been dying to find out more about this book since Jane Sowerby's 'Persimmon Lace' featured as a teaser in the previous issue. Well, I have to say that this book looks like it will not only have some beautiful patterns in it, but also has the potential to be quite a stunning book in its own right, as the lace looks to have all been rather tastefully photographed in the grounds of British stately homes. This is definitely a book I'll be looking forward to now.

Now if only my order with all the yummy JaggerSpun 'Zephyr' 2/18 Lace yarn and the two cone spindles would finally arrive here. Due to a misunderstanding on my part, and the best intentions of the lady who sent my order out, the order was sent via surface mail instead of airmail. It was supposed to take 4 - 6 weeks to arrive, but that was 9 weeks ago now. Is this delay excessive for a surface mail package sent via USPS, or am I just worrying unnecessarily? I strongly suspect that my package may be travelling here via an eccentric combination of tortoises and directionally impaired fish. :(

Finally, I have a question to ask...

I want to send some postcards to a friend who lives overseas and collects postcards, and one of the ideas I had for possible things to send her is some postcards featuring some of the 'Big' things ('Big Banana', 'Big Pineapple', 'Big Trout', 'Big Penguin', 'Big Merino', 'Big Golden Guitar' and so on) which are scattered around the country, as I think this would be a little out of the ordinary. As I'm not going to be able to travel to all of these places in the length of time I have in mind, would it be worth trying to contact the local tourist centres for as many of them as I can think of and try to arrange to buy some postcards from them and have them sent here, or would the locals all just think I'm way too odd to even contemplate talking to?

Stash enhancement

Look what landed on my doorstep last week...


It's three skeins of 'Trekking XXL' yarn in colourways 66, 76 and 71 -- there are definitely going to be some 'Trekking XXL' socks in my future. :) I originally set out to find some of the 'Trekking XXL' yarn in colourway # 68, but got distracted. ;) The quest for a skein in colourway # 68 will continue though...

The fourth skein (the one on the right in the photo) is an earlier 'Trekking XXL' purchase (colourway # 109), which in real life isn't as washed out looking as it appears in my photograph. At the moment I'm leaning towards turning this one into a pair of these...


... the Fiber Fish Mittens which Laurie designed. Aren't they just amazing? :)

I'm enjoying knitting my 'Pacific Ocean Stole' with the Madil 'Kid Seta' yarn so much, I bought some more of it from Rubi & Lana last time I was there, this time in a fabulous colourway with deep wine reds highlighted with some dark purples...


... which I think will make a stunning version of Nancy Bush's "Madli's Shawl", from the Summer 2004 issue of 'Interweave Knits'...


... which I wrote about wanting to knit in an earlier entry.

Some more ColourMart cashmere also found it's way to me last week...


Two cones of 4 ply cashmere in a couple of fabulous, saturated colours -- the deep blue one is called 'Bay', and the rich burgundy one is 'Victoria'. There's 1,150 yards on each cone so there should be plenty to knit a couple of lovely warm, soft shawls to cuddle up in.

These colours were actually quite a challenge to photograph. I think the photo above is quite close to showing the colours as they appear in real life in sunlight (at least on my computer screen), but the original photographs I took the other day had completely the wrong tone to them -- the 'Victoria' actually came out quite orange in tone for some reason.

I had a bit more luck with flash photography inside...


... but even this wasn't turning out quite right colourwise, and the flash made the yarn look a lot shinier than it really is. Maybe I'll get better at taking accurate photographs over time.

I thought I'd also share with you a photo of the cashmere and silk cobweb weight yarn I bought from ColourMart a while back...


That's 'Grey' on the left and 'Navy' on the right, and there's an incredible 5,000 yards on each cone. I'm sorely tempted to use the 'Grey' to knit a truly ethereal version of Sharon Miller's 'Wedding Ring Shawl', but that is still in the future for me, as I'm going to have to work down to knitting with super fine yarns like this.

Little balls of fluff

Just look what followed me home from Rubi & Lana the last time I was there...


It's RichMore 'Excellent Mohair (10 Count) Gradation' in colour # 116 , a sophisticated mix of blacks, silvery greys and truffle browns. These are fabulous little balls of fluff with long colour changes similar to what you see in the Noro range of yarns. Coincidentally, this is a Japanese yarn too, and, with 200m in each 20g ball, it just calls out to be knit into something fine and lacy.

I have to admit to having coveted this particular yarn for quite a while in a few of the colourways Paula has in stock, but when I finally spotted this one on the shelf it really was all over.

I knew straight away that I wanted to knit a lacy wrap with this yarn, but not a whole lot beyond that. So I decided to start out by searching for similar things which have been knit using this yarn, mostly in the hope of getting a feel for how the gradation might look in a finished wrap. There wasn't much out there, but I did stumble upon a real gem -- Cosmopolitan Purls' Blue Ridge Stole, which she is designing herself. Wow!

I briefly thought about using her stole as the inspiration to go ahead and design my own wrap, which in the image I have in my head would of course have to have a complementary lace edging knit on to each end of the main rectangle -- I even had a stitch pattern picked out to use for that main rectangle. I then came to my senses and realized that, as I've never actually worked a knit on edging like this before and have no idea how the stitch and row ratios work to make everything fit properly and look symmetrical, it might just be a good idea to use an actual pattern for my first attempt.

So I started leafing through some of my knitting magazines, and soon rediscovered Nancy Bush's "Madli's Shawl" in the Summer 2004 issue of 'Interweave Knits'...


This shawl doesn't actually have a knitted-on edging as such -- the edging at one end is worked from the cast on and leads straight into the main rectangle, and the edging at the other end is worked from a separate cast on and then grafted straight on to the opposite end of the main rectangle. While the original shawl was not knit in a mohair yarn, I have come across a really stunning version of it which was knit in Rowan 'Kidsilk Haze', which leads me to think it might work well in this yarn too.

But then again, there's also Jane Sowerby's 'Persimmon Lace' in the Summer 2006 issue of "Knitter's" magazine...


... which I think could look really interesting with the gradation of colour running up the centre panel and then in wider bands around the knitted-on edging. Just by the way -- Was any one else wondering what happened to the haze part of 'Kidsilk Haze' in the photographs of this shawl in the magazine?

Both shawls call for around 1000m of yarn, so hopefully I should have enough to enable me to make whichever one of these two shawls I decide on, with enough extra yarn to help keep the colour gradations reasonably straight when I start a new ball.

Decisions, decisions...

At the moment, I think I'm leaning more towards 'Persimmon Lace', both for its lighter look and the things I'll learn by knitting the edging around the main rectangle.

Zigzags and Waves

So where did the last month go? I had so many good intentions, but sadly so few of them were actually realized. I've even had a posting in mind to write for this blog for the past two weeks. I hasten to add that this isn't it -- that one will have to wait now until the cold I currently have has run its course and I'm feeling better.

In line with everything else, I haven't made nearly as much progress on my knitting projects as I would have liked. One thing I did start and finish, though, was this...


It's a 'Zigzag Scarf' knit using a 200g hank of JJ's 'Kaleidoscope' 8 ply yarn in colour # 27. The pattern is from Iris Schreier's 'Modular Knits', and was very quick to knit. As I wanted mine wider that the 10cm width of the original, I increased the number of cast on stitches for each of the base triangles to 13 (from the original 9), and increased the needle size to 5.5mm to improve that drape of the fabric knit with the yarn I chose to use. My finished scarf is approximately 20cm wide and 160cm long.

I've also finally made a start on what I've named my 'Celtic Waves Scarf'...


... which I'm knitting with the beautiful Louisa Harding yarn Knitabulous sent me as the prize for winning her guessing competition earlier this year. My original plan was to knit the 'Kimono Ribbon' rows as garter ridges, but I forgot to do this for one of the ridges and decided I preferred the way the flatter ridges worked with both the stitch pattern and the yarns. So I ripped it back and started the current version of the scarf, and I'm much happier now with the way it looks. I'm knitting this scarf on 5.5mm Clover bamboo circular needles -- I chose the 5.5mm size as I thought it would work well for both the 'Kimono Angora' and the 'Kimono Ribbon'.

Recently, I spotted this...


... in the sidebar of Julie's blog. Given the number of times I typically start and re-start projects before I'm happy with them, I think I've well and truly earned the right to add one of these to my sidebar too. :)

At the last Saturday meeting at Rubi & Lana I went to, Sally was working on a project with some Kaalund yarn she bought from the Craft & Quilt Fair at Darling Harbour in June, and I promised I would post a photograph of the kit and yarn I bought from the Kaalund stand while I was there.


On the left of the photograph is a kit with a pattern and two balls of 'Expressions' (in 'Lavender' and 'Pacific', I think), which will be knit with the two yarns held together to make the 'Expressions Lacy Scarf' pattern which was included in the kit. On the right are two balls of 'Enchanté' in 'Lavender', which I intend to knit into a longer version of the 'Fine Lace Scarf'.

That's about it for now, but before I finish this posting, I'd like to thank everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday back in June. :)