June 29, 2012

Pogona #2

Pogona

Pogona

My second Pogona is my tenth shawl for the 12 shawls in 2012 knit-along. I think it was also the second time during my knitting career when there was no left-over yarn; I used all of the one skein of Cephalopod Yarns Skinny Bugga! in the color Blue Lobster. After binding off I had just enough yarn to weave in the end.

I have to say, I'm feeling pretty smug about being able to optimize my yarn usage like that. I started the garter  stitch edging a little earlier than recommended in the pattern, because based on how much yarn I was using each row near the end, I was able to estimate how much yarn should be left for the edging. The part that was harder to estimate was the amount of yarn needed for the bind-off (it was about equal to two rows of regular knitting). I have to say, though, I felt like living on the edge while binding off and not being sure if I had enough yarn left.

This shawl was a request from my co-worker Marjaana which I was happy to fulfill. My shawl knitting enthusiasm has surpassed my personal need for shawls some time ago, so it makes sense to knit for other people, particularly those who appreciate it.

The Ravelry project page

June 10, 2012

Spruce Forest

Spruce Forest

Spruce Forest

Spruce Forest

I decided that some of the mustard yellow/rusty orange yarn that I've obsessively collected lately should be put to use to justify the spending. The Wollmeise Pure 100% Merino Superwash in the colorway Jeton, that I've particularly coveted, seemed like a suitable choice for the Spruce Forest pattern by Nancy Bush from the Brooklyn Tweed Wool People Vol. 2 collection. I did not expect the shawl to be this big from the sample pictures, or I might have chosen the Wollmeise Lacegarn instead (which I also happen to have in Jeton). This is about the largest shawl I would knit from the sock weight yarn, since it's relatively heavy. However, it worked out fine, I think.

The construction of this shawl is interesting, starting from the bottom tip of the center triangle. When you get to the top of the triangle, you put the stitches on hold while you pick up stitches from the other two sides and knit a lace edging (thankfully not a sideways knitted-on edging this time). Then you take the stitches on hold, pick up some stitches from the ends of the lace edging, and knit a narrow garter stitch edge to finish the top border. I like the k2tog bind-off, even though I think I made the top border bind-off a bit too loose.

While taking the pictures, I felt I might be running out of creative poses for showing off shawls. I'm basically doing the same ones for each shawl. You can spot the remote control in my left hand in the third picture!

This shawl makes my 9th entry to the 12 shawls in 2012 challenge. Now that I've just finished two shawls, it's time to cast on some more!

The Ravelry project page

June 7, 2012

Quill

Quill

Quill

Quill

My 8th finished shawl for the 12 shawls in 2012 challenge, looks like I have a good chance of actually making it to twelve shawls by the end of the year! The recently released Quill pattern from Jared Flood is quite similar in construction to his Bridgewater shawl, the main difference being that the center square is knit from side to side (instead of corner to corner), and that even the lace parts are in garter stitch, which makes this pattern reversible.

I enjoyed knitting this more than I did Bridgewater, but, not surprisingly, again I did not enjoy the knitted-on edging. I'm not sure what the hang-up is that I have with knitted-on edgings exactly, but I suspect it has something to do with the fact that I see it as a part of the finishing process instead of the "actual" knitting, and because it takes way longer than normal bind-off, it seems like it goes on forever. I kept counting how many repeats of the edging chart I had left ( the chart is repeated over a hundred times in this smaller version of the shawl I knitted).

What I'm particularly happy about is my yarn choice. I think the new colorway called Mäuseschwänzchen of Wollmeise Lacegarn is the perfect match for this pattern. I think the slight variegation works really well with garter stitch, although in the photos the colors kind of blend together. Interestingly, they have this color in the Braun-Schwarz-Grau category, while I would put it in the Lila group. Sure, it has gray in it (more than is obvious in these pictures), but it's so dominantly pinkish purple, that I would not call it a gray colorway. I think this color is perfect for mom, for whom this shawl is going to ge gifted (just don't tell her!).

The Ravelry project page