I've spent the past month alternating between several projects and casting on two new shop samples!
My Jessica Jones cowl is slow growing but very nice to knit. The pattern is by Handmade by Smine on Ravelry or Etsy. I'm using Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply in Denim. The linen stitch really shows this semi-solid shade off.
I've made great progress on my new sofa-shawl!
The pattern is City Block Shawl by Laura Aylor. I'm using my stash of a now discontinued aran yarn. Because I'm using aran (and the pattern is for 4ply) the shawl is much bigger. It's an interesting construction, although the border will be very long rows.
If you're interested in a similar weight shawl you could use West Yorkshire Spinners Croft.
My first new project is for me, and inspired by this blog post on colour combos for the free shop pattern - Simple Cowl.
I really liked the black and white (Opal Dragon shade 9962) and neon pink (Socks Yeah 4ply in shade 1004). For my cowl I'm trying something different.
I've cast on 160 stitches on 4mm needles to make it wider and drapey - so it'll sit lower on my neck. I am a loose knitter, so if you want to try this too, and you knit tightly, you may want to try 4.5mm. I'm not sure how tall I will make this cowl so I'll just keep trying it on as I knit.
I can try it on as I'm using a technique called Magic Loop. Magic Loop is a way of knitting a small circumference on long circular needles. I use this technique all the time... for knitting sleeves, socks and hats and also the body of garments.
There are lots of benefits:-
- A long circular needle makes it easy to quickly try something on as there is space for the stitches to spread out. This is good, not just for my cowl, but also for hats or socks and jumpers.
- You're not relying on having the correct length of circular needle or access to double pointed needles.
- You need less needles! A popular shop sample is our baby Flax Light. To knit this jumper in the round you need lots of needles. First you need two thicknesses - a set for the rib and a set for the body. Because it is knit in the round the length of these needles matter - your stitches need to comfortably fit around the needle. This can mean buying different lengths for both sizes of needle and double pointed needles in both sizes for the small sleeve circumference. By using magic loop you can just need the two thicknesses but in one length - 100cm. You can knit the yoke, body and sleeves using just these two needles.
If you fancy trying magic loop Very Pink Knits has a good video tutorial here showing you how to cast on and this one shows you how to work your rounds.
We're also happy to give you a demo in the shop.
Another new cast on this month is a shawl for the shop.
Arvia by Anna Nikipirowicz is a asymmetrical triangle shawl with a lace patterned edge. It combines, in two row stripes, Rowan Kidsilk Haze, a laceweight mohair, and an undyed 4ply in a luxurious blend of merino, silk and yak.
The pattern shawl is knitted in a black and white combo which is very striking. For the shop one I'm going for a neutral look.
The yarn combo feels and looks amazing! Very light and fluffy. The rows are getting longer now and I've still got lots to do before the deep mohair lace edge.
I'm aiming to restock the undyed range and get them on the website soon. At the moment there is a very small selection in the shop. But the pattern will work with any 4ply.
In other WiP news I've knitted a sleeve for Sami (from Life in Colour knitted in West Yorkshire Spinners ColourLab DK) and I've done a few rows of my Opal socks. Both seen in last month's WiP round up.
It's also worth mentioning that I haven't started any of the projects I listed last month. But I have picked out colours for a Grærup Slipover (by Camilla Vad on Ravelry). Not in WYS ColourLab DK but in Rowan Felted Tweed...
