The next sister

It's nearly my sister M's birthday so in honour of the momentous occasion I have been meaning to make her something but have inevitably started too late to be finished on time. M is particularly knitworthy and it was her pregnancy that got me started in knitting about 4 years ago (I think that's right). She has been the recipient of lots of knitted things for her and Small over the past few years and if you lined them all up they would probably make quite an interesting timeline of my learning journey. Some of Small's items have also been passed on to the next smallest in the family so they are being used.

So here is M's shawl in progress - yet to be named as she will be doing the honours. This is a side to side lace shawl with a stocking stitch centre and a double lace border shaped with short rows. The yarn is Yarn Yard Crannog which is a lovely high twist merino in a supersaturated blue-purple. It's particularly fitting to be using Yarn Yard yarns as this shawl will be heading back up to Scotland when finished.

So this will be Shawl 2 in my developing Sisters collection. Personal Comments is being renamed to Personal Remarks (apparently more accurate) and is in testing at the moment.

Audrey in Progress (not Unst)

Audrey in Progress (not Unst), a photo by pmc_blonde on Flickr.

This is my latest WIP

Pattern: Audrey in Unst from Twist Collective
Yarn: Wendy Sorrento in Dove (from Modern Knitting)
Needles: 3.75mm, 3.5mm, 3.25mm
Size: 34.5"

Progress so far: 3.5" (26 rows) of twisted rib which is very slow going but a lovely effect

Raspberry Parade

So this is my latest FO - an adapted Fetherweight cardigan. I've been making this for ages and get getting bored with the sleeves

Yarn: 110g of Forsell Pure New Wool Superwash 3ply in Fuschia
Needles: 4mm
Mods: increased on the neckline for a slightly waterfall effect, long sleeves with deeper ribbed cuffs, a narrower collar, 3ply yarn not 2ply or 4ply...

It was a bit overcast and windy when I was taking the pictures. Every time I got it lined up the wind shifted or the sun went in.

So in other news I have started an 'Audrey in Unst' Cardigan in Wendy Sorrento (shade Dove) as a smart work cardigan for the summer.

And the raspberries in the garden are starting to ripen up nicely. We had our first tiny crop of plump dark red berries and our first home grown garlic. With homegrown fruit and Wimbledon starting is this the start of the British summer?

I've been making...Personal Remarks

So this is my latest shawl - Personal Comments

Knit in Wollmeise and Yarn Yard Clan, this turned out to be larger than I'd planned (no bad thing) at 56" x 26"

It's currently being tested by two lovely Ravellers (thank you Kerry and Heike) and then will be tech edited and released.

The name comes from my sister J who is one of the few people in my family who can wear red successfully. The Wollmeise yarn seemed like a very J colour so I thought this should have a J related name. When I was growing up my sisters were very influential and pretty much brought me up. One of the life lessons J taught me was that making personal comments about people was wrong and spiteful something that I try (and sometimes fail) to bear in mind in adult life. So this one is my J shawl and might, just might, be the first in a series of sisterly inspired shawls.

And some more pictures...

Wollmeise - inspirational colours

From top to bottom these are 'We're Different' skeins in Wollmeise Sockenwolle 80/20 Twin in Pfaufenauge, Petit Poison No 5 and Die Auster.

The Wollmeise is a dyeing goddess from Germany with a devoted following and the most amazing colourways. I'm not an inveterate Wollmeise update stalker but have usually been able to get yarn when I've wanted it without too much bother although others report sad tales of 'cart jacking' and feeding frenzies like piranha attacks.

My latest design (Personal Comments) is knit in a combination of Wollmeise and Yarn Yard Clan (a similar yarn from the UK) and it really is a joy to work with. The colours are so intense and the yarn gives wonderful firm stitch definition because of the way it's constructed. It does look a little 'cottony' due to the way it's constructed but it's velvety to knit with and softens beautifully.

I never quite understood the obsessive Wollmeise-aholics but I do really like it. Then again I also really like Yarn Yard, Natural Dye Studio, Posh Yarn, Fyberspates, Yarn Addict, Knitwitches, Kntiting Goddess...

I have a lot of yarn!

New shawl design - Personal Comments

New shawl design, a photo by pmc_blonde on Flickr.

This is Project 100! A new shawl design in Wollmeise Twin 80/20 (Versuch colour). It features a lace 'spine' and top edge and will have bands of lace and a 'bear claw' border.

This yarn is just heaven to work with

I did also cast on some stranded socks which might technically be Project 100 but I suspect the shawl will be finished before the socks...