Chrysanthemums

The WS is facing the camera, but you get the gist.

I've had the Chrysanthemum Shawl by Francoise Danoy in my library for a while, and it's sort of been waiting for the right occasion to come up for me to knit it up. When my mom brought up knitting a small shawl or scarf for an auntie of mine, I dug through what patterns I had queued up, as well as trawling the free lace shawl patterns on ravelry before realizing I had the perfect pattern and yarn waiting to be knit up together.

A nice size to drape over your shoulders

To be honest, I didn't really take too close a look at the instructions beyond how to start the tab at the beginning of the shawl, how to do the yo rows (because it's not completely a pi shawl), and following the charts. Which turned out to be fine, actually, so if you know how to knit a circular shawl, or at least the general pattern recipe, then this pattern is really easy. The only lace chart I had a bit of trouble with was the last one, because I wasn't paying much attention and kept making mistakes, but everything's relatively mindless. (And I can say this because probably a good 80% of this shawl was knit while marathoning season 2 of Preacher.)

How do I put this on in time for the time- oh. Every time this happens! Every time!

Personally, I would've liked a slightly larger shawl, but that could have been in part because I didn't block as aggressively as I could've (no pins used at all). And besides, the request was for a wee scarf, without much bulk, so this definitely fits the bill. I've got way more yarn left over than I expected, too, considering the entire skein fell right within the pattern requirements: I used 75g of the 100g skein (100g = 765 yards), and the pattern asks for 730 - 766 yards. I thought for sure I was playing yarn chicken, but alas. More leftovers to mull over.

That Movie I Haven't Watched Yet

Aimed a bit high - wanted it to go around neck level.

The Wonder Woman Wrap enjoyed a tremendous amount of love the moment it came out from what I can remember, and there are currently (as of writing) 1086 projects, combined with the addition of being listed in 2393 queues. And that's only counting the knit version! That's phenomenal. But I think also well deserved. I downloaded the pattern back when it only had one size, so I'm not sure whether there have been any changes made since, but I followed the instructions exactly (without swatching), making no modifications whatsoever, and the shawl came out beautifully! It was a pretty magical moment watching it all come together; I don't think I've been so enthralled with pattern instructions for a while. Honestly, this pattern is absolute genius. The use of short rows and the different types of increases really makes this wrap sing, and I love it to bits!

Those wings!

At least, I loved the making of it and the actual finished product. I don't see myself wearing it (in part because I haven't actually watched the Wonder Woman movie, so I feel as though I'm not quite qualified to do so). Which is why I asked a coworker of mine whether she would be interested in wearing it - and she seemed absolutely ecstatic over it, so I'm glad for that! - and now it has a wonderful new home where it will be loved and worn, as it was meant to be. Hurrah!

I'm actually pretty inspired by this pattern to use more short rows and increases & decreases to create shapes in general. It's really cool and was a lot easier to knit than I would've thought at first glance. Maybe something to consider for future designs?

Rosebleed

Alistair's Rose Pi Shawl

It's been a while since I've knit anything, or so it feels - anyone else noticing a pattern of all-or-nothing going on here? - but I finally got myself to start something up, starting with a skein I've been wanting to use for a couple of years now: Studioloo's lacey-loo in Roseblood. It's a lovely deep, saturated pink that reminds me of honeysuckle (even though I didn't actually know what honeysuckles looked like until I searched them up for writing this post to make sure they are what I'm being reminded of... yes. Even then, they reminded me of honeysuckle) or an overripe fruit, overlaid with a touch of honey to bring forth that almost golden glow - I say almost because there is zero that is yellow or golden to this colourway, and the illusion of a golden pink is only through the slight halo arising of its singles construction, producing the slightest of a golden aura, albeit an imaginary one. The yarn itself is soft and surprisingly strong, and I found zero knots in the entire skein, which meant I had exactly two ends to weave in at the end of all the knitting: the cast on and the bind off. So much for what I love about the yarn, and now onto the murky cons, specifically: it crocked like nothing else (except for maybe that other saturated pink, the madtosh tosh dk that I used for the chevron bomber - I'm tempted to conclude torchere has some relation to torture, that. What's with the pinks?), and subsequently, unsurprisingly, bled into the soak. I tried rubbing it vigorously against a white fabric surface after it had dried to see if it would crock again, but it didn't transfer any colour, so perhaps all the excess dye washed out in that one soak? Probably just my wishful thinking.

It blocked out spectacularly! I also can't aim my camera today.

I knew from the start I wanted to use more or less the entire skein on one project (it took 979 yards total to make this size using 3.25mm needles and laceweight yarn), so a pi shawl seemed the best bet, besides which it had been a while since the last one and I've been itching for a large project since finishing the brioche dress. (There might also have been the little issue of me not wanting to do the whole nine yards for swatching, so garments were out of the picture altogether.) And of course, having such a saturated pink in a colourway called Roseblood, of all things, I figured I should go all in or nothing and look for something flowery in design. Alistair's Rose Pi Shawl seemed (and I think did turn out to be) a pretty perfect fit, so I went for it. Now, the design's lovely and very easy to follow - I think everything's pretty self-explanatory upon seeing the charts, especially if you understand the mechanics of a pi shawl.

Just to see the edging, which I ended up pinning while it blocked.

However. And this is a very stressed however. If you follow the instructions to the letter, your charts will not match up. They will not be centered. It's not by much - one stitch, and what's one stitch in the grand scheme of things? Can you tell I only found out after the first chart? Can you also tell I goofed, twice!, and tried to fix one of them? No? Good. - but if you, like me, are the type to be bothered (but apparently not bothered enough to rip back after discovering that yes, I would have to rip back an entire chart or two) by this one stitch off-centered design, then you just need to insert these lines into the pattern as you work your way through:

1. Before working Chart 2, after working the yo & K rounds: sl first stitch of round so it becomes the last stitch of round
2. Before working Chart 3, after working the yo & K rounds: sl first stitch of round so it becomes the last stitch of round
3. Before working Chart 3B: sl first stitch so it becomes last
4. Before Chart 4: sl last stitch of round so it becomes the first stitch of the round

I believe that's all. I'm pretty sure the direction of slipping stitches I've provided here is correct, but just pay attention to the numbers (count how many stitches until the center of the chart below, and make corresponding changes to current chart). I made the mistake of not looking through everyone else's projects before starting, also, so although a number of others have made a note of this already, I failed to see it until I encountered it myself.

Perfect size for doubling up as a crescent shawl

The original plan was to keep it for myself, but as with all the best laid plans, this is going to become a gift. My parents mentioned my cousin very briefly while I was knitting this and I haven't been able to get it out of my head thereafter that this shawl is to be hers. Not that I know her very well, unfortunately, but I do think it would look lovely on her, from the couple of times I've seen her over the years. (I'll have to make especial mention of possible transfer of colour though. That's actually quite worrisome.)

I suppose a pi shawl for myself will just have to wait till the next shawl itch comes around.

Testing the Waters

Got your back.

Testing the waters of this lovely Lakes Shawl, by Nadia Crétin-Léchenne.

The pattern itself is easy to follow, and you definitely don't need to bring the pattern around with you for the bulk of this, which is great if you like to take your knitting out with you! The central lace pattern is incredibly easy to remember, as is the textured body. I really only needed to consult the pattern again after I had finished all the increases.

Double the triangle, double the warmth

Now, because I can't seem to knit any pattern straight up - my mods:

1. My gauge was waaaaaayy off, so I made it larger by continuing to increase with the central square and ended up with 9 repeats of the outer lace border instead of 7 repeats. My finished shawl ended up around an inch larger than the pattern dimensions.
2. For any decreases that had to do with stitch adjustment (as opposed to lace pattern), I did them before the yo in the previous row, so as to keep the integrity of that lace pattern all around as best as I could. I know it's just one little yarn over hole per corner, but it bothers me!

Quartered

Next time I do a square shawl, I'd probably want it to be even larger, to be honest. The Lakes Shawl is a great size for scarf usage, but I like a bit more security when having a shawl wrapped around my shoulders, and the Lakes wingspan is just a bit short.

fwip

A Little Too Free-Spirited

You can just throw it over your shoulders and it'll still land more or less evenly over them!

Another test knit for the lovely Nadia Crétin-Léchenne: I chose to knit Free Spirit out of the Shawls Junkie collection. And apologies in advance for the lighting: I completed everything very last minute due to school & applications for calls. But a huge thank you to my mom, who took the photos!

Double wedge by mistake... but I kind of like it.

Unfortunately, I made it a little too free-spiritedly, first knitting the reconnecting stripes section wrong (see the first two triangle sections, which look a bit thinner because I didn't knit to the correct part), then knitting a double-wedge section into one!

In full. Including the thinner stripes.

Still, the patten was easy to follow (despite my own carelessness), and it had enough interesting parts that kept you on your feet (though I clearly sat right down). Once you reach the second or third wedge, you probably won't even need to refer back to the pattern anymore, which is actually probably why I messed up so maybe don't take my advice, and you'll be able to knit it while watching a movie or two.

Staying squarely on my shoulders. Love it.

The shape of the entire shawl sits very nicely on your shoulders and doesn't threaten at every move to shift and fall off your person, which is quite nice also.

Which is all to say, go make your own Free Spirit! Perhaps not in quite as free-spirited a fashion as I did, taking liberties all along the way to make little mistakes here and there, or perhaps so. I'm not too miffed about the double-wedge, to be honest, and I'm mighty pleased that I've completely used up the Riverside Studio singles (doubled up to approximate pattern weight), as well as started in on the Spellbound (in Throne), along with biting into the Estelle Super Alpaca that I've had in my stash since the very very beginning. Not bad!

Test: Under the Same Sky

First knit-on edging!

 That knitted border felt like forever! And it ate up so so much yarn (I actually ran out and had to improvise a bit to be able to finish it off unnoticed)! But the finished product is well worth the effort. Another lovely lace shawl from Nadia, Under the Same Sky is well-written and features easy to memorize stitches (garter stitch, a lace stitch, and the wave edging) that come together to form a beautiful wrap.

Bleeding

I'm not sure how apparent it is in these photos, but one thing I am a little unsatisfied with is that the Love Spun bled. It's a beautiful colour, and I will definitely use the other Love Spun I have (except for the Fresh Moss, which I am offering for sale at $21/skein or $40 for both, plus shipping! PM me if you're interested), but maybe soak the skeins before knitting with them? In hindsight, I should probably have expected it to bleed: it's a pretty saturated colour, one; I keep reading comments on other yarn pages that blues are pretty prone to bleeding, two; and three, it crocked on my fingers whenever I knit for extended periods of time. So maybe I should have gotten a dye magnet or something. Well I didn't. And it bled. Right into that beautiful ivory Shibui Sock. It's not too too bad, but something to learn from.

4/12 tops done for the year! I'm not going to make it in time...

Did you also notice that tank top under the same sky shawl (see what I did there? Eh?)? It's the free Notched Hem Tank by Purl Soho! A really quick and simple knit that is very satisfying. I knitted it up in Elsebeth Lavold Eucool, which I thoroughly enjoyed working with. Pity it's discontinued. Or not, since I got to snatch some up at a discounted price? (Another post related to that, later, though. And right after I posted about the possibility of SABLE, too...) Anyway, the fit of this tank top is perfect, though I did lengthen it a little bit to 17" total from the armholes. I also changed the decreases so they pointed toward the edges rather than following the contour of the edges, since I like the look of that better. The notched bits are just right at the spot where pockets would go, so you don't have to hitch up your shirt any to put your hands in your pockets! So convenient. I would love to make this again!

Scarlett's Garden Test

Love this lacey shawl! Hand-knit using my own hand-dyed yarn!

It's been pretty hard keeping this one secret! I'm in love with this shawl! The pattern, Scarlett's Garden, is well-written and easy to follow - perfect for a beginner lace pattern, I think. The crescent shape is also very versatile, allowing you to drape it over your shoulders on chilly spring days and summer evenings, or to wrap it around your neck during the cold winter months.

I knit this one up in Fleece Artist 2/6 Merino that I hand-dyed. Can I just say this yarn is incredibly luscious? The entire knitting process was heavenly. And the yarn relaxed during the blocking and became even softer than before (if possible). Definitely going to be dyeing up more of this. And maybe there will be some left to put into my store after I set aside all the projects I'll have to make with this beautiful yarn?

This particular shawl has gone to a good friend of mine, Shirley, a fellow printmaker. The colour reminded me of her first space woodcut, and I thought it was very fitting. I have also been promising to knit her a shawl for about a year or so now, so I hope she likes it! And of course, now that this has been gifted away, I suppose I'll just have to make one for myself, right? I do have so much fingering-weight yarn lying around...

Not a Wreck

Not a wreck.

Finished a Shipwreck Shawl for Katie! I hope with all my might that the name of the shawl does not portend the future.

I skipped the beads, but otherwise followed the directions completely.  Beautiful shawl! Not quite as difficult as I thought it'd be, and it didn't take nearly as long as I had originally expected either. I love when things turn out that way.

Now I've just got to hand it off and hope that she likes it!