Starry Night - Cast On!

As I was knitting my Kaya Tee I decided that I wanted to knit another one, in these two yarns, which were inspired by Van Gogh’s painting Starry Night.  This yarn is Sundara Yarn.  I love her colors and her Daily Dream emails, they are the only impulse yarn buys I am allowing myself at this point, and I do have a fair bit of her yarn in my stash.  Even before I had finished the first one I dug these out of my stash and on Monday I caked them up and cast on.  I did do things a little bit differently.  I am working the next size up (my first Kaya Tee was a size 2, this one is a size 3), I joined in the round immediately after cast on, did not go down a needle size for the first row and the first two rounds, and did not do any of the patterning on the first two rounds.  I just joined in the round after the cast on and started knitting.  The cast on edge curls as stockinette stitch will.  I may just leave it like that, I may work a single crochet round (as the pattern calls for) or I may work an I-cord.  If I do any embellishment I may do it in my contrast color, just for fun.

I did, of course, do the lace pattern in my contrast color.  I really do love how that band of lace looks in the yoke, and of course I added beads.  The beads are from Earthfaire, and came with the yarn that I used for my first Kaya Tee (they go with the purple yarn).  I am not working any of the textured stitch patterns in the main color as the yarn is variegated and I don’t think they will show up well, plus I like the mindless stockinette as I can read while I knit.

Pattern:  Kaya Tee by Megumi Shinagawa

Yarn:  Sundara Yarn Super Sock

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Not-so Neon January 2022 Knitalong - Finished!

I finished this up this past Wednesday and blocked it Thursday.  The pattern as written ends about two-thirds of the way down the back, ending just below the red and blue top leaf, but I extended it out by first working the color-changing slip stitch section from the Rectangular version of the pattern.  Then I worked leaf 1 with my solid color and just kept repeating leaves 2-5 until I didn’t have enough of my Rainbow Mountain (the multi-colored skein) to work another ridge.  At that point I switched to my leftovers from my Rectangular version working a long top leaf in color 329 and finishing it with a slip stitch section using my leftover Carmel by the sea and binding off with an I-cord, but only using one color, the 329.

This gives you a sense of the size, but not the colors.  Here is the blocking picture.

It is just hard to get a good photo of the whole thing.  When I blocked it I did stretch it out a fair bit, which completely changed the fabric from the Rectangular version, it feels lighter and floaty, so I think I will go back and re-block the Rectangular one and make it bigger.

Pattern:  Neon January 2022 Knitalong by Iris Schreier

Yarn:  Art Yarns Merino Cloud

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Neon January 2022 Knitalong - Finished!

I finished this up on Thursday.  When blocked it I did not pin it, I just laid it out and smoothed it into shape.  The yarn is super soft and squishy.  I did screw up the top leaf in the first decrease triangle (I missed the 3 times) and so did not work as many short rows as called for, but I did not realize it until I was working the second decrease triangle and there was no way that I was going to rip back and fix that first one, so I just repeated the mistake and now it is a design feature.

I love the way the colors came out.  I don’t care that they are not symmetric, I think they are just gorgeous.

  

Pattern:  Neon January 2022 Knitalong by Iris Schreier

Yarn:  Art Yarns Merino Cloud

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Not-so Neon January 2022 Knitalong - Part 2

As I mentioned in the other post, I also finished up Part 2 of the Triangle version and have Part 3 already set up in my knitCompanion app.  I love this app, it makes knitting so easy, especially if, like me, you like to have multiple projects going at once.  This one has such a different feel to it because the colors are so much more subdued.

Pattern:  Neon January 2022 Knitalong by Iris Schreier

Yarn:  Art Yarns Merino Cloud

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Neon January 2022 Knitalong - One side Done!

I finished up Part 2 on January 19, and received Part 3, the final part quickly.  I have been mostly focusing on finishing up this one, although I did take time to finish up Part 2 on the Triangle version as well.

Yesterday I finished up the first half.  When it came time to put the stitches on hold I used a new tool that I just received - The Knitting Barber Cord.  I bought mine from Dreamweaver.  I have to say it worked very well.  I followed the directions and those stitches slipped right off and onto the cord.  Once I had freed up my needles I cast on for the other side.  I know that the two halves are not going to match from a color perspective, but I am embracing the differences and the colors.

I do love these sort of short row patterns where you have a very colorful yarn with a solid contrast.  They are just so much fun to knit and the results are so beautiful.

Pattern:  Neon January 2022 Knitalong by Iris Schreier 

Yarn:  Art Yarns Merino Cloud

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Not-so Neon January 2022 Knitalong - Part 1

I was enjoying this knit so much that I didn’t want to have to choose between the rectangle and the triangle, so I did a little stash surfing and fished up another pair of Art Yarn Merino Cloud, also bought at Earthfaire.

The colorway is Rainbow Mountain, and this one will be the triangle.

Pattern:  Neon January 2022 Knitalong by Iris Schreier 

Yarn:  Art Yarns Merino Cloud

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

Neon January 2022 Knitalong - Part 1

I have a bit of a thing for Art Yarns yarn.  They have such great colors.  I usually buy them from Earthfaire and they usually come with free patterns but I have yet to knit anything up with them, until now.  Iris Schreier is hosting a knitalong for the latest special colorway - Carmel by the Sea.  I bought the recommended solid to go with it.

There are two shawl shapes that you can work from this beginning - rectangle or triangle.  This one will be the rectangle.

Pattern:  Neon January 2022 Knitalong by Iris Schreier

Yarn:  Art Yarns Merino Cloud

Needle:  US 7 (4.5 mm)

 

Arabian Nights - MKAL Reveal

This past Friday marked the release of the eighth and final clue of the latest Unique Sheep MKAL.  As one of the test knitters (and also the tech editor of the pattern) I no longer can post about these as I knit them, and never think about posting the individual clues later.  For this one I knit half the shawl during the actual test knit, and only finished the shawl this past Sunday.  I started the test knit during my long Fourth of July weekend working two clues each weekend for four weeks in order to make the August 8 start of the MKAL.  During the week I worked on in my Camp Loopy knitting.  After Camp Loopy finished up in August, I started working on this again, working it in between other projects, with the goal of finishing up before the last clue came out.

The yarn is Luxe and the Colorway is Hazy Days.  It is a circle colorway and I just love it.  I got it from Earthfaire back in 2016.  I used two different colors of beads, that I also got from Earthfaire at some point in the past and pulled from my bead stash.  I used Amethyst Lined Crystal AB for the cooler blue-green side and Raspberry Lined Crystal AB for the warmer purple-pink side.  When I blocked it I was really blown away with how beautiful it came out.  I kept wandering in to my blocking room just to admire it.

The Luxe has really great stitch definition, unfortunately it is no longer available from The Unique Sheep.  They were having some quality control issues with the mill and dropped it.  I blocked the edges straight along the grid of my blocking mats, blocking one edge and then the other, starting from the center and working towards the ends.  The ends were a little bit of a challenge.  I tried points, but that didn’t seem right, so I ended up threading a blocking wire, picking up every other stitch, and then flaring out the ends so that the beads would show.  The last four rows are just 1x1 rib and after all of the twisted stitches they naturally open up more so I let them do what they wanted.  I don’t believe in forcing my knitting when I block.  I try to understand what the knitted fabric wants to do naturally and block it that way.  I also don’t block strenuously.  I block firmly, but I don’t over block.  If the knitting is pulling back from the pins when it is drying (making little scallops) I figure I blocked it too hard.  This one did not do that at all.

I worked the first half with the cool colors.

And the second half with the warm colors.  I did not work any transition rows.  I did work a plain knit row when I started the second half, so there are two plain knit rows in the center of the shawl.  If I were working it over again I would still work those two set up rows, but I would work them in a knit/purl pattern that matched the lace pattern.

Pattern:  Arabian Nights by Janine Le Cras

Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Luxe in Hazy Days

Needle:  US 4 (3.5 mm)

Peacock Feather Shawl II - Finished!

Wow.  Has it really been a month since I've posted anything?  Well, I have been busy.  I finished Artsygal 2 back on October 20, and discovered a hole in it when I was blocking.  I still need to fix it.  More on that in a later post.  I also whipped this little shawl out while I pondered how to fix my other shawl.  I knit this for Ellen of Earthfaire.  She will be kitting it up for her store.  Thankfully the pattern instructions have been completely revamped and are now super easy to follow.  This one came out a little bit smaller than my first one. I think it is due to the Ella Rae, which just doesn't quite have the bulk of the Rowan Baby Merino Silk DK.  But on the bright side, at least I didn't run out of it.  I have more yarn to make another one and I bought extra so I can make the shawl bigger.

Pattern:  Peacock Feathers Shawl by Aksenik Lyudmila
Yarn:  Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Starke 6 and Ella Rae Lace Merino DK
Needle:  US 2.5 (3 mm)

Peacock Feathers Shawl - Cast On

A month ago Ellen of Earthfaire approached me to do a pattern test knit of the Peacock Feather Shawl by Aksenik Lyudmila.  She had come up with two potential yarn combinations and offered me  choice.  I went with the teal.  The pattern is a little bit of a challenge, being translated from Russian and there are typos and errors.  It took me three tries before I liked how things were starting out.  The pattern has you work backwards yarn overs, which I interpreted as meaning wrap the yarn in the opposite direction you normally would.  This results in the orientation of the yarn over being reversed - leading leg on the back side of the needle - and I am guessing that is done to force you to twist the yarn over when you knit it to close up the hole.  I tried working it with backwards yarn overs and just didn't like doing them.  Next I tried just working regular yarn overs and not twisting them, but that left holes along the edge that didn't seem right - the edge just wasn't substantial enough.  Finally I decided to work regular yarn overs and the knit them through the back loop on the next row.  That seems to be working for me, the edge is not too tight, and it looks good.

The next challenge came right at the beginning of the work.  The instructions have 5 rows, but then state to repeat rows 5 and 6 until you have done 96 rows total.  I did a Google translate of the Russian instructions and they stated to repeat the last two rows - so rows 4 and 5.

Pattern:  Peacock Feather Shawl by Aksenik Lyudmila
Yarn:  Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Starke 6 and Hikoo Trenzado
Needle:  US 2.5 (3 mm)

Taurid - Progress Update

After finishing up my test knit for the Mini-Modern MKAL that starts next month I took a break and picked up this project which I started back on April 15.  But it isn't the oldest WIP I have - at least I started it in this calendar year.  I need to get back to test knitting the Unique Sheep Christmas Club shawl, but I think I will save that for tomorrow.

Pattern:  Taurid by Taiga Hilliard
Yarn:   Shalimar Yarns Paulie in Midnight in Mendoze, and Anzula Squishy Skeinettes in Wuthering Hanks
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Taurid - Cast On

The other project that I cast on recently is Taurid by Taiga Hilliard.  This is a kit that I purchased from Earthfaire (I have a hard time resisting Ellen's kits), and I pulled it off my kit tree in the front hall on April 15th.  I think I was feeling a bit in a rut and needed something to pull me out.  I haven't made a whole lot of progress, working a few rows here and there, but it is a nice project to pull out when I want a change of pace.

The yarns are Shalimar Yarns Paulie in Midnight in Mendoze, and Anzula Squishy Skeinettes in Wuthering Hanks.

Pattern:  Taurid by Taiga Hilliard
Yarn:   Shalimar Yarns Paulie in Midnight in Mendoze, and Anzula Squishy Skeinettes in Wuthering Hanks
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)

Karamagara Shawl - Chart 1 Done

I finished up Peter Pan last Sunday but haven't been able to get good photos, other than blocking shots.  I messed around with a couple of other projects but really didn't find anything that caught my interest so I grabbed this kit from my stash.  I bought it some time ago from Earthfaire.

I am not using the beads that came with the kit, instead I am using green-lined chartreuse.  I have also changed the bead placement.  The pattern has beads going up the spines of the yarn over, knit 1, yarn over lines, but they don't really lay very well when you stack them like that for any length.  Instead I am outlining the lace motif, placing the beads after working the k2tog and ssk stitches.  The original pattern also had the wings on either side of the central lace panel worked in garter stitch, but I'm working them in stockinette.  I just think they will block out better that way.

I did get a wonderful bundle of yarny goodness from The Unique Sheep on Friday, including yarn for a test knit, so I will have to get started on that this weekend.

Pattern: Karamagara Shawl by Chrissy Prange
Yarn:  The Unique Sheep Tinsel Toes in Mermaid Bouquet
Needle:  US 5 (3.75 mm)