Linus shawl

It’s been a while since I finished a shawl, but here it is: the Linus shawl, a free pattern you can find here on Ravelry.

I used a recycled bourette mix yarn (cotton and silk), bought at Bart&Francis, who specialise in all kinds of yarn, thread and fiber. It’s always an adventure to browse through their shop, with lots of discoveries!

This is a very easy knit, it’s relaxing and I love the result. 

Kitchen Story

This collage piece is a stitched story about the kitchen in my childhood home. It took rather longer to plan than usual, because I first made a mind map to set free my thoughts and associations.

The technique of mind mapping is something I learned from Ali Ferguson. I found it to be very useful and insightful. 

Starting from this mind map, I selected meaningful materials, words and motifs. 

For the materials, I chose a piece of an actual cushion cover from that time, some jeans fabric (we wore jeans all the time back then), fabric scraps from a pair of slippers I had, some pieces of kitchen textiles and random fabrics that remind me of the atmosphere of this eighties kitchen.

As the motif I picked a whisk, which my mum often used, among many other things for making mayonnaise. This was a job that required a lot of attention and we often chatted as I watched her.

By stitching together the words and this image I’ve tried to capture a cherished memory of peaceful, secure and happy times.

Is it a shawl or a scarf, a sharf or a scawl

This is a project I solely made for the fun of experimenting with shaping and matching colours. I looked through my stash and brought together these different yarns, all DK weight :

- Alpaca Super Fine by Borgo de Pazzi (the red yarn)

- Adriafil WoCa ecoyarn (the dark grey yarn)

- Adriafil Sierra Andina Alpaca (the light purple yarn)

- The Fibre Co Acadia (the green, the blue and the dark purple yarns, some of it was leftover yarn) - one of my favourites so far!

The technique of short rows intrigued me and although it looked fairly complicated, I wanted to try it. So I looked for some intructions online and started knitting away. There were so many stitches on the needles, that I couldn't visualise exactly how the shawl (scarf?) would look like : a true mystery knit this was! In the end, it turned out quite all right, certainly not perfect, but I love the colour combination and the rainbow-shaped section. And it's a really warm scarf (or shawl?) as well!

the shortrow section:

Work In Progress:

Stephen West's Itaca Shawl

Yes, I very recenly finished this shawl, yay! It is a Stephen West design, called the Itaca Shawl. You can buy the pattern here.
I used Fyberspates Gleem Lace, which is 55% superwash Bluefaced Leicester Wool and 45% Silk (800m/100 grams, so very thin yarn). I bought it in a truly great shop : Wool-on-the-Exe in Exeter. If you're ever in Exeter, do go there!
The other yarn, the white one, is a very rustic 100% wool. It was given to me without specifications, no weight, no yardage. I just thought the two yarns would match so I got on with it.
Because of the completely different yarns (one soft and manageable, one rustic and much less manageable) I used, the shape of the shawl was, when finished, a little odd. I loved the look of the fabric, but to be honest, it was hard to find a way this shawl could be worn at all… But no worries, the pattern says to wash the shawl and then stretch the fabric extremely and that did the trick!
"Simple garter stitch plus simple shaping makes a simply beautiful and casual shawl!", I couldn't agree more!
And notice I added glass beads, which I think are lovely!

It's finished! (And I'm showing of a bit...)

Before blocking and stretching : The white and purple yarns react completely different to the pattern.

Before blocking and stretching : beautiful texture, not so nice to wear

Nicely stretched : softer and bigger shawl

Knitting pictures...always lovely!!

Rosa Scarf

The minute I saw the photo of this scarf on Ravelry (you can find the free pattern here) I wanted one. I love the simplicity of the rectangle in garter stitch, the snug and also slightly vagabondish style. And now it's finished, I am very happy with it. It was a very boring knit though, rows and rows of garter stitch. The yarn is Pure organic by Veritas  : good quality yarn and I really love the knitted fabric. But I didn't really enjoy working with it, a bit too fluffy for my liking.
The button is a wooden one.

Sooo many rows of garter stitch…

Touchstone Shawl.

This summer, during some travelling, I made the Touchstone Shawl. It's a free pattern on Ravelry, by Laura Aylor. It's quite a big shawl and lovely to wear. The pattern is not difficult and it kept me interested. I used gorgeous Malabrigo Dos Tierras, in the colourways "pearl ten" and "arch angel". I love working with this yarn! I bought it at The Sheep Shop In Cambridge (UK). Sadly it closed in September 2017. The disappearance of more and more local yarn shops is so sad. Buying online just isn't the same!!

 It's a big shawl!

A colourful wrap at the end of a rainbow

A while ago, I came across this very colourful wrap in the magazine "Let's knit", issue 72 (Christmas 2013). I fell in love with the colours and just had to knit it. I bought the yarn that was suggested : King Cole Riot Chunky, a wool and acrylic blend. It took a while to knit, I found the garter ridge pattern a bit boring and I didn't like the yarn that much, although it has a soft and not too acrylic feel. But hey, I love having this colourful wrap, it's cheerful !

'Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it yet?'

I finished my Balsam Hollow shawl, a design by Paula Emons-Fuessle
"Balsam Hollow was created for the Green Gables kit, a shawl kit from Little Skein in the Big Wool that celebrates Lucy Maud Montgomery's classic story of the optimistic, unforgettable red-haired orphan, Anne Shirley, who finds her forever home at Green Gables.
Balsam Hollow is the name of the actual forested trail on Prince Edward Island that inspired Lucy Maud Montgomery and became the fictional "Haunted Wood" of the books."
This knitting project was a real learning curve for me. One of the things I learned was reading charted directions. For a part of the pattern no written directions are provided, so I had to dig in to decipher the chart... and found out I love charts much more than the written directions! Important lesson learned!
Here, you can find more information on the pattern, on its Ravelry page.
The yarn provided in this kit is Leading Men Fiber Arts Callback, Green Gables colourway (2 100 grams skeins, sportweight, 100 % superwash merino). Lovely lovely soft yarn, so nice to work with!
The kit is sold by Little Skein in the Big Wool, a small San Francisco company with "sentimental, handmade knitting kits and original fabrics and notions". All the kits they sell are inspired by children's literature and come with tools and materials from indie fiber artists. Their customer service is, by the way, second to none.

                                     

work in progress...

and finished...

Boom !

This very colourful shawl was such a joy to make. It was my first asymmetrical shawl and I found it an exciting knitting experience. The pattern is Boom!, by Playing With Fiber. It is a free pattern on Ravelry, you can download it here.
This was my travelknit during the holidays and perfect to work on whilst watching nice christmassy British TV.
I used Sirdar Colourwheel (a nice feeling wool-acrylic blend), purchased at Sew Creative in Cambridge. This is mainly a fabric shop that also sells a range of more common yarns. I usually prefer, where possible, indie yarns, but I made an exception here because I loved the colours sooo much ! the wooden box is handmade by my father-in-law and it is a perfect project-box!

Spindrift shawl by Helen Stewart

Helen Stewart is a knitwear designer and the host of the podcast 'Curious Handmade'. The podcast is very friendly, really interesting and entertaining. I have been listening for some time now and Helens enthousiasm is so contagious. The spindrift shawl is a free pattern you receive when you subscribe to her newsletter. More information on her designs and podcast you can find here : http://curioushandmade.com/
the Spindrift was my first shawl and I really enjoyed the proces of making it. It was wonderful to see it grow and find its shape. I only knitted one row of lace, because I was afraid of running out of yarn. So it's slightly smaller than intended, but I don't mind.
The yarn is Schoppel crazy zauberball, I bought at Loop London : so many stunning yarns, knitting supplies, haberdashery, patterns, a truly fantastic shop (http://www.loopknittingshop.com/)