Sunburst Shawl.......

Do you remember this yarn from the other week? I was using it for a test knit, I can now show you the finished project.

 

It's the Sunburst Shawl by Helen Stewart, and is the August release for Dream Big 2014. If you haven't heard of Dream Big, it's a collection of ten patterns and you receive one a month over ten months or you can buy the patterns separate as they are released but by buying the e-book the patterns only work out at £1.20!!!!!

It's an elegant, beaded crescent shaped shawl with an Art Deco feel, perfect for summer evenings. I used Yarn Pony Show Pony 4ply in the colour Berry Surprised, it is a beautiful blend of 50% merino and 50% silk and was perfect for this pattern.

I used size 6 Miyuki bead in Aqua Transparent with Fushia lining which suited the colour of the yarn perfectly, when it catches the light, it looks really pretty. I bought my beads from The Bead Merchant, they have a super quick delivery service and great customer service. I prefer to use a .75mm you could use a 1mm but sometimes the 1mm won't go through the centre.

Here's a close up, you can see the beautiful starburst pattern. I really enjoyed this knit and it was the first time I'd added beads to my knitting, it was really easy and I have since added beads to another shawl I'm working on. If you fancy giving it a go, there's a good feature on Knitty.com but the actual pattern gives good instructions.

Have a good week.

xxxxDebxxxx

Velvet Rose Shawl......

Good morning, I hope you've had a good week. I'm back to show you the test knit I did for Helen Stewart of the Curious Handmade Podcast.

The pattern is called Velvet Rose Shawl, and is a stunning semi circular lace shawl using sock/4ply yarn.

It looks a very intricate lace design but is deceptively easier than it seems and after a few rows of lace was easy to memorise and very intuitive.

The pattern calls for 150g of yarn but I actually only used just over 90g of Artesano Definition Sock Yarn, just under 400m but this all depends on the yarn you're using and tension.

The finished dimensions of my shawl were 48" across the top straight edge and 19" from the centre neck to bottom edge. I love the picot edge, along the bottom, it's so pretty and delicate.

It blocked out beautifully, I usually block my FO's on the spare bed but I bought myself some children's foam blocks. I never seem to get a straight edge using just pins but I found a great tutorial over on the Yarn Harlot's blog without the use of blocking wires. Instead of the blocking wires, she uses yarn, threaded through the top of the shawl and pulled straight and pinned. It worked a treat and I absolutely loved how it blocked, showing off the gorgeous lace.

Camp Aloha Friends is coming around really quickly and in less than a month the fun will begin!!!!! Mel from Single Handed Knits has been interviewing the Camp Counselors this week. So far you can check out interviews with Deborah Moebes and Melody, if you can find some time, please check it out, they are two very crafty, interesting people.

Here's a couple of photos from our camping trip, we managed to spend a couple of hours on the beach. I love this photo of myself, my daughter, niece and brother in law, the bookworms.

Thanks for stopping by, have a great weekend.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

No Purl Monkey Socks......month of socks.

Hello, how is everyone? I hope you all had a great weekend as it was a holiday weekend, both here in the UK and the US.

We didn't do too much, Jodie was down for the weekend and last week they found out they were having a boy, so on Saturday, we went to the local shopping centre and bought a few baby boy clothes.

As we didn't have any plans, this weekend, I spent my time knitting!!! I've been test knitting a pattern for Helen Stewart, which is due for release this week. It's gorgeous and I'll show you more once it's released. If you love Helen's designs, check out the Pebble Beach Shawlette, she's designed it for Unwind Brighton Design Competition, if you love it as much as I do, you can vote for it here

As you know it's the Must Stash Girls are running the Month of Socks, after seeing a few of these No Purl Monkey Socks in the group, I could resist casting them on using some self striping.

I'm using Twisted Limone in Sherbert Dip, it's a great pattern for self striping yarn and shows the pattern and stripes off beautifully. I'm not sure whether they will be finished by the end of the month to enter but I'll give it a good try!!!!

I've started a new book this week, The Perfume Garden by Kate Lord Brown, another saga that goes from the 1930's to the 2000's. I've not long started it but so far, I'm enjoying it very much.

I'm joining in with Ginny's Yan Along and Tami's WIP Wednesday

One last thing, have you listened to Mel's latest Podast? It is so much fun, Mel is all for making the world a smaller place and connecting with people from all over the world and she does a great job in doing it. She has so many fresh ideas, she amazes me sometimes.

This week she has us knitting along with her, whilst we listen, I thought this was so much fun and such a great idea!!!!!! It was just a small sampler piece using the Cornish Lattice Stitch, which is a new to me stitch, I think it's looks really pretty. It would make a great stitch pattern for socks.

I really enjoyed knitting along with Mel, I think she should do this each podcast, or even have a Podcast KAL, where we all knit on the same pattern together, whilst listening to Mel. Do you think she'd go for it?????

Have a great week, I'm going on my first ever camping trip, tomorrow!!!!!!! I've never stopped in a tent before, so don't know what to expect!!! I'll let you know how I get on.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

Yarn Along.......and a winner.

 

Hello, my friends, I hope you are all well. I've managed to do quite a lot of knitting this week, as I've had a bad back, so haven't been able to do much else.

I've mostly been knitting on my Hana Hou by Mel Ski, I love, love, love this pattern and can't wait to wear this beautiful, squishy, warm, comfy cardigan. I've finished knitting the main body and the sleeves and now picking up stitches for the Copy Cat stitch along the front sides.

I really like this stitch, it is using two balls of yarn at the same time and working two right sides then two wrong sides. Mel has made a video tutorial on the Copy Cat technique and also the Piping Pick Up tutorial, I first used these stitches on my Halele'a. I'm not going to have much knitting time this week but hopefully will have it finished by the end of next week.

I've knit a few more rows on the Twinkle Twinkle baby blanket, it's a simple pattern to remember but with each row getting longer, it takes longer to knit with each new row.

Do you remember these Tuuli Mitts, that I started on back in February. I cast them on after winning the Spincycle Yarn from Pompom Quarterly magazine which was what they used for the pattern in Issue 7. I'm trying to clear my needles of all my projects so I can start some new ones.

I've now up to 28 loops on my Miss Winkle, looking on the Crafts from the Cwtch Ravelry Group most people are getting 38-45 loops, before finishing so more then half way there. Check out Sarah's blog for more Miss Winkle projects, this week.

I've just started the latest book by Debbie Macomber in the Blossom Street series, I really enjoy this series of books, especially the ones set in The Good Yarn store. I'm linking to Ginny's Yarn Along and Tami's WIP Wednesday.

Now to pick a winner for the Dream Big Collection by Helen Stewart, I have a cup full of names so drum roll, please..............

and the winner is MamaGiff, she left a comment via Ravelry and said she loves the Fireflies Rising but if she had to pick a favourite it would be the Red Robin. So congratulations, Lee, I will let Helen know and she will get the Dream Big pattern sent to you.

Mel has just posted another video about Camp Alhoa Friends, it is a five minute video, telling you all about camp in a nut shell, you can find it, here.

Thank you for stopping, enjoy the rest of your week.

xxxxDebxxxx

 

Fireflies Rising Shawlette.......and pattern giveaway.

“Now, from the thick grass, the firefliesbegin to rise:up, then down, then up again:lit on the ascending flight,drifting simultaneously to the same height,–exactly like the bubbles in champagne.”

- A Cold Spring by Elizabeth Bishop

I'm back today, as promised, with a FO and a pattern giveaway!!!!!! Last week, I did a test knit for designer, Helen Stewart, it was for a beautiful crescent shape shawl called Fireflies Rising

Helen designs the most beautiful shawls and accessories, I first discovered her designs back in October, when I came across her knitting podcast called Curious Handmade. I'm knitting the Twinkle Twinkle baby blanket at the moment, which is one of her designs.

This shawlette only uses a 100g skein of 4ply yarn, so most sock yarns would work well. I used Madelinetosh Tosh Sock in Curiousity, which is a gorgeous sock yarn but soft enough to use for a shawl as it's 100% superwash merino. I wear my shawls wrapped around my neck as a scarf in the winter, like in the above photo but though this is called a shawlette, it is plenty big enough to drape around your shoulders on those spring days when you no longer need those big winter coats but want something to keep the chill off.

The pattern calls for 437 yards of yarn, the yarn I was using only had 395 yards, this wasn't a problem though. I ran out of yarn about 10 stitches from the end of casting off but all I did was tink back and cast off the last row, instead. This worked out absolutely fine, so if you have less yarn than the pattern calls for, you can just make the ribbed border, slightly smaller.
It is a quick, easy one skein project, it has enough interest in the pattern for advanced knitters but would make a great project for those who've never knit a shawl before as it is a simple lace pattern and no short rows. I really enjoyed knitting this for Helen and as usual, like all of Helen's patterns, it was very well written and easy to follow.
It was written in the same way as the Frangipani Shawl that I knit back in February. Helen gives you percentages though the pattern so you can see how far you've got but also if you weigh your yarn, you can check how much yarn you're using and that you're on track with your yardage.

Now for the best bit, Helen, has kindly offered not just this pattern but the whole Dream Big collection, that includes this pattern and the Frangipani Shawl but each month you will receive a new pattern until October. This e-book will include ten patterns altogether, once all the patterns have been released, it retails at £12 but one lucky person will receive it free of charge, you've got to be in it to win it!!!!!
All I want you to do to be in with a chance of winning it, is to take a look at Helen's other patterns, that you can find, here, and tell me what your favourite pattern is, it's as easy as that!!!!! If you are a no-reply blogger, you may want to include your email address so I can get in touch with you, otherwise check back here on Wednesday morning. I will put all the names in a teacup and chose one at random, I will close the comments on Tuesday 8th April 11:59pm (GMT).
Helen will send the Dream Big collection to your Ravelry account, if you haven't got one, it's easy to sign up, free of charge and definitely worth doing as there are thousands of knitting and crochet patterns on there, including many free patterns. Good luck everyone!!!!!!

Check out Tami's blog for more Finished Objects, this week.
Have a great weekend, whatever you're up to, I'm attending a Patchwork Workshop tomorrow, which I'm really looking forward too.
xxxxDebxxxx