A New Shawl

Blocking now: a prototype for a shawl I've wanted to make for a while. No flowers, no leaves, no curlicues or elegant swirls. I like all those things, but I wanted bold geometry. Thanks to not being able to see quite how it was working up while it was squished onto a circular needle, and therefore winging it a bit and increasing a LOT, I got this...

...curlicue! And I love it.

It's called Spinel (a type of gemstone) and this version is knitted with one skein of Malabrigo Sock in Aguas. All my favourite colours in one yarn. Perfect.

Lazy

I'm not the only one who blocks shawls like this, am I? I've always used pins and towels and lots of patience, but the washing line/peg approach seems to work better at opening out the stitches. I'm all for anything that makes life easier (i.e. I am lazy).

The garden is getting going. That's a Geum in the background. There are beans and mangetout climbing up, apples swelling, and the promise of flowers to come. Still, it's only a paltry 13 degrees here in North Edinburgh. (Kristen, are you surviving?) I'm washing all my shawls so I can pack them away until the autumn, but I can't help feeling I'm being a bit premature. I'm longing for some warmth, really.

I cursed that border as I was knitting it (and I think I might have mistreated it a little with those pegs) but I do love it, all the same. This Northern Summer Shawl was my mainstay all winter, and most likely will be next winter, as well; though I have a plan. Well, I had a plan.

I'm very fond of triangular shawls. I'm absolutely the-opposite-of-fond of purling. Garter stitch is fine up to a point, but not my favourite. So I thought: why not make a shawl in the round? Knit a cone shape, and then steek it? Maybe use up some more of that huge bag of Shetland and Harris wool? A simple lace pattern and a few toning colours? I was rather chuffed at my original and terribly practical idea, and then discovered that steeked shawls have been done before by better knitting brains than mine. Ah well, no matter if I'm not the very first person ever to do it. I will still enjoy hours and hours of very smug not-purling...

Mazarin

Hello! This blog has languished a bit...I'm going to blame the extra-long winter we had in Edinburgh: it seemed to drain everything of energy, somehow. (Well, it seemed to drain ME of energy. I know Vala's been working really hard and Kristen's course is pretty intensive, in a good way.) Anyway, I thought I'd resurrect it to show off my new hat.

It's knitted with two colours of soft Malabrigo Sock yarn, and takes 35g of one colour, and 25g of the contrast - so could be great for using up leftovers. No reason why it can't be knitted using several smaller amounts, too - I'm planning a wildly-coloured one for my baby niece.

For this one I chose Playa, which is a mix of navy, grey-blue, beige and brown - it's hard to describe and beautiful to see. I felt that the contrast colour (Chocolate Amargo) should pick up one of the colours in that mix, so as to make the pattern less distinct than it might otherwise be. The result is that the geometry of it is less stark, leaving the colours - the Playa in particular - to do their work. A couple of friends are test-knitting the pattern and I'm hoping to release it in the next couple of weeks.

Otherwise, I'm working on a shawl - also with a triangle motif - and have just had a brainwave for a totally novel shawl construction which I need to swatch. If it works, it will be a lot of fun to make. I have a long long pleated cowl to knit, too, using Old Maiden Aunt alpaca/silk DK in Bitter Bug. Gorgeous yarn, gorgeous colour. I desperately want the construction to work, but at last count it needs three long circular needles in the same size. A bit of a rethink due there, if I want anyone to reproduce the pattern.

The shawl I made last summer - Northern Summer Shawl - has been really well received, and I'm pretty proud of it. A sample for Cloverhill Yarn Shop in Maryland (who are using the pattern for a class right now) went to the Maryland Sheep and Wool festival, with happy results hopefully for both parties. Thank you! May you sell tons of yarn.

Aran Jumper Refashion

I've been busy too! Taking a break from sewing from scratch, I did a bit of up-cycling! At uni I've just completed a wee project studying Aran knitting (of which I'd love to delve in further). To get to know cabled knits a little better, I purchased this beauty from our local Oxfam charity shop on the Royal Mile.

I started by cutting off the ribbed hem, cuffs and neckline. Then I cut off the sleeves, sliced open the sleeve seam, and cut off the front from the back.

Oh! The carnage!

Next, I took a basic blouse pattern (if you'd like to try this, any simple, loose-fitting blouse pattern or old shirt will do) and resituated the sleeve pattern piece onto the jumper sleeve and an angle. I did the same with the front and back pieces.

After cutting all pieces out, I sewed front to back at shoulders & side seams, sewed in the sleeves, and reattached all ribbed pieces.

I made sure to finish each seam with a tight zig zag (Oh, if only I had an overlock machine here!) and then proceeded to wash and block the finished jumper. I'm really happy with the result and would definitely like to give it another go...

New Dress

Sewing is quite new to me (well after a very long break), at school I did a fair amount of sewing and have taken it up again this summer. I made this very simple dress from Indian cotton (bought from K1 yarns) that has been block printed with a nice leaf motif.

Fair Isle Beret

I designed this Fair Isle Beret few weeks ago. It is made with one of my favourite yarns, Artesano Aran. It's so soft and warm and so nice to work with, I have made quite a few garments from it. I'm still working on the pattern but it will will be available soon to buy on Ravelry.

West

I'm going on holiday...in about two hours' time. Train to Glasgow, coffee at Queen Street station, on to the Mallaig train, then five and a half hours later we get off at Arisaig. Bags on our backs, walk out of the village for twenty minutes, and we end up with the view above: Skye and the Cuillins. The beaches are where we're going to play for the next week, weather permitting. (Actually, right now, it looks like it won't permit, so I have packed two knitting projects and an emergency back-up...You have to plan properly for a holiday on the West Coast!)

















This is Arisaig, with 'a bit of weather' coming over the hill. (I think the hill is called Sgurr an t'Sasunnaich, which means 'Peak of the Sassenach' or Englishman. I wonder who he was.) We talk about 'a bit of weather' a lot when we go there. Blue skies are stunning, but bits of weather are equally impressive, and once you realise they're not necessarily coming to get you - they miss you more often than not - it's no more stressful than spotting wildlife.

















Ahem. We also see seals, heron, deer (of course), all sorts of birds, and with a bit of luck, on the boat to Eigg, we might see basking shark or dolphins. See you in a week!

PS I wrote up the pattern for the shawl, and it's available from www.k1yarns.com . At the moment there are written instructions but no charts yet. They're coming soon! Microsoft Word beat me. With a big stick. I'm gearing up to find an alternative that won't behave in utterly, utterly random ways for no reason whatsoever.

Shetland Frock

Well, I've just learned that I will be heading back to University for an MA in Fashion & Textiles! As easily ecstatic as I am, I decided that a little refresher course would be required.

I wanted to make a dress that was inspired by all the colours and culture I see here in Edinburgh every day. I patterned and sewed this dress using woven Shetland wool purchased from Ragamuffin, and some Jamieson Shetland Spindrift for the lace bib. The lower part of the dress is pleated (kilt-inspired) with some hidden pockets inside the pleats.

The dress bodice features French darts, and empire waistline, and the focal-point of the piece, a hand-knitted Shetland lace pattern (feather and fan) for the bib.

I used the all-in-one facing tutorial from BurdaStyle so that this dress could be fully-lined. I'm really happy with how it turned out but having finished it, I've spotted a few things I would have done differently in the patterning and the construction. It was a good exercise and fun to get in the knitty-gritty of it again! I hope I'm ready for school now...

A Shawl for Summer

I made a thing! It took me absolutely ages to finish this, not because it's difficult (it isn't) but because life gets so very in the way. But...I love it. The colour is honey, the different textures of the stitch patterns really come through in the Shetland wool, and it's surprisingly soft to wear.

I've called it the Northern Summer Shawl. We are actually having a summer here in Edinburgh - though Kristen might disagree! - which is an improvement on the past three or so. (We can finally relax and let go of the thought that we might never see three days of sunshine in a row again.) You still need something to cover your shoulders when having a mojito in the garden, catching the last of the light. I'm not sure Shetland shawls and mojitos traditionally go together, but it works for me....

The pattern will be available soon. I used Bead Stitch, Cat's Eye, Fan Shell (my particular favourite: I love how it works when it meets the spine of the shawl) and a wave edging, all adapted from Barbara Walker's Treasury. It took 4.5 balls of Jamieson's 2-ply jumper yarn (a light 4-ply/fingering weight), which works out to approximately 475m/520yd. It was a pleasure to knit with the yarn. There's a good amount of texture and a bit of spring to it. The roughness you feel at first really does disappear once it's been handled a bit, and soaked (especially if you put a smidgeon of hair conditioner in the rinse).

The edging is so graceful. I love knitting on an edging: it is such a clever and easy technique. (I wish it could be done in half the time, but that's another story!)

Good Morning...

And welcome to NorthMakers. This blog is the cooperative work of makers Jo, Kristen, and Vala. We like to make things and are hoping to share those things with others.