Zorzal - Finished!

Once I finished the short rows, the stripes went quickly as well.  After working the wedges I had 45.9 grams of Color A left, and 30.7 grams of Color B.  I was able to work 7 stripes of Color B, ending up with 1.3 grams left.  I was able to work 9 stripes of Color A, so I worked extra rows of Color A after using up all of my color B, ending with 2.9 grams of Color A left after the bind off.  That is what I call a perfect project.  I really hate having leftovers.

The shawl is a nice size and lays well on your shoulders.  I will wear it to work tomorrow.  I always pick out my outfit the day before so I don’t have to think about it when I roll out of bed at 5am.

I did block fairly aggressively, for me.

And I do like the way the garter stitch was opened up.  I did knit this on US 6 needles, which is a size larger than I typically knit this yarn on for shawls.  Jezebel supervised the blocking.

Pattern:  Zorzal by Lisa Hanes

Yarn:  SpaceCadet Yarns Oriana 8-Ply

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Zorzal - Two Wedges Done

This shawl is working up very quickly.  Garter stitch is great when I have a good book to read.  I used German short rows instead of the wrap and turn.  I am now ready to work stripes until I run out of yarn.

Pattern:  Zorzal by Lisa Hanes

Yarn:  SpaceCadet Oriana 8-Ply

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

 

Zorzal - One Wedge Done

This project is working up quickly, partly due to the fact that it is easy garter stitch and I can work on it while reading.  Bruce and I are reading Naomi Novik’s dragon series, which are enjoyable, if not of quite the same caliber as Spinning Silver or Uprooted.  We like the dragons the best.  When I was working the stripes I just carried the other color up the side, but when I worked the wedge I knit the first stitch with both colors to carry the lighter color along and avoid having more ends to weave in.  I like the look of knitting the first stitch with both colors and will use that for the rest of the shawl.  For both methods I always stretched out the edge to make sure that it wasn’t pulling in.  Now I work a similar wedge from the other side in the lighter color, and then I finish off with stripes to use up the rest of the yarn.

Pattern:  Zorzal by Lisa Hanes

Yarn:  SpaceCadet Yarns Oriana 8-Ply in Fresh Light and Cold Sky

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Zorzal - Cast On!

One of the other things that I have been doing lately is cataloging and putting up some of my more recent stash acquisitions (recent being a relative word).  As I was cataloging my SpaceCadet yarns I came across this pair from the Interstellar Yarn Alliance November 2020 shipment.  As I needed a simple project to take to work I decided to cake up the lighter of the two and throw it in my work bag along with a US 5 circular needle to start another Boomerang Garter Stitch Shawl.  But as I was working on it during a meeting I decided that I really wanted to use both of the colors together, so I did a quick Ravelry search and found the Zorzal pattern, which was already in my Ravelry library.  When I got home from work I caked up the other skein and started over.  The colors are Fresh Light and Cold Sky.  It starts out with stripes and then has two sections of short rows that highlight each of the colors and is finished off with more stripes.  This is the end of the starting stripes, and I’m almost done with the first short row section.

Pattern:  Zorzal by Lisa Hanes

Yarn:  SpaceCadet Oriana 8-Ply in Fresh Light and Cold Sky

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Calming the Storm - Finished!

As I was working my way through the first skein I thought I would never make it to the end of this project.  But by the time I got into the second skein things seemed to go faster and I cranked through the third skein in no time at all.  I finished this up this past Sunday, with the month only barely half over.  I used 816 yards, which gives me a little cushion on the 800 yards required for the third Camp Loopy project.  I really enjoyed camp this year, and I’m a little sorry to see it end.  While I’ve made a lot of shawls, I’ve only made two out of yarn that is heavier than fingering.  I like the heavier weight shawls.

Pattern:  Calming the Storm by Lisa Hannes

Yarn:  Magpie Fibers Swanky DK in Drops of Jupiter

Needle:  US 6 (4.0 mm)

Calming the Storm - One Skein Done

I finished up the first skein this past weekend, and have been working the second skein.  I really like this yarn, but this color is coming off on my hands and my clothes, which is a bit annoying, especially when I’m wearing a white T-shirt that starts taking on a pink patina.  Fortunately it washes out of cloth easily enough, I’m not so sure about my fingernails and cuticles.  My first skein weighed 119.7 grams, which equates to 260 yards.  Only 540 more yards to go, minimum.

Pattern:  Calming the Storm by Lisa Hannes

Yarn:  Magpie Fibers Swanky DK in Drops of Jupiter

Needle:  US 6 (4 mm)

Calming the Storm - Making Progress

I neglected this project last week, instead working on my Adventurous Wrap, but I’m back on this one today and making progress.  I picked it up last night and made a mistake I couldn’t fix (lost a stitch somehow) and ended up frogging and restarting but I’m making progress now.  I’m on the chart that is the eight row repeat, so no more increases in the patterned part, just increases in the garter stitch part that is to the right of the stitch marker.  I like the texture and the Swanky DK is very nice to work with.

Pattern:  Calming the Storm by Lisa Hannes

Yarn:  Magpie Fibers Swanky DK in Drops of Jupiter

Needle:  US 6 (4 mm)

Calming the Storm - Cast On!

It is August 1, so time to cast on my August Camp Loopy Project.  This go around the options are Physical Sciences Lab, Earth Sciences Lab and Life Sciences Lab.  I’m in the Physical Sciences Lab. The pattern I picked is Calming the Storm and the yarn is Magpie Fibers Swanky DK in Drops of Jupiter.  Originally I was going to do a lace pullover called Venus by Martin Storey, but I was a little worried about making the yardage requirement, so this morning I went through my queue and found a shawl pattern that I could use the yarn for and I can just knit until I meet the yardage requirement.

Pattern:  Calming the Storm by Lisa Hannes
Yarn:  Magpie Fibers Swanky DK in Drops of Jupiter
Needle:  US 6 (4 mm)