Homeward Bound Migration

new shawl is a little big for her

 Two and a bit years ago, as we prepared to move across provinces, I knit my eldest a new shawl. I had promised I would make her something with beads using the remainder of the pink yarn that we had dyed together for my own beaded shawl.

Kiddo's original

there's twins in there

closeup detail of mine

I had intended to size it for an adult later. 2 years later I finally did, but as you can see the final design does not look much like the original.  I tried using the original shaping, but it wasn't working for me with yardage I had to work with and on a larger scale.

My motivating, time-limiting incentive was a competition being run by a local LYS (Wolseley Wool) to choose a shawl design for a KAL in August - leading up to the local Fibre Fest.  I faced one problem - I did not have any yarns they carry in my stash and I didn't have money to buy more.  My solution was to offer to knit a shawl for cost (i.e., the yarn I needed to buy).  A friend from afar jumped at the opportunity and I picked up yarn the next day. I decided to play with a solid and a multi yarn for fun.  The lace border knit up quickly. I already had it charted and written up from the first shawl.  The body is what slowed me. I must have knit that five times.  Ultimately, I am very pleased with the result.  I even snuck in some Koigu I had purchased at Shall We Knit? just before I moved - thus making this shawl a veritable homage to my migration home.

Presenting Homeward Bound Migration shawl. 

such squishiness! (pre-blocking, but it was still squishy after because garter is wonderful like that)

My design was not selected for this KAL so now I can release it. I'm excited to see what design was chosen and I'm hoping to see other submissions.  The LYS gift certificate would have been nice... but I already had the joy of knitting and designing a new shawl without cost. (The subsidizer and I actually negotiated I'd knit her a different lighter weight shawl with stash yarn, so this shawl is homeless for now. Extra bonus is I get to knit another shawl from my queue - and I was going to do it eventually - and work through my stash thus making space for more yarn when I get a chance.)

 Moving home to Winnipeg was the right choice for me and my family.  Our extended family is here - grandparents and aunt, uncles, nieces and nephews.  I miss my amazing friends back in Kitchener-Waterloo, but I wanted my children (we had one plus two more on the way) to grow up with family around - which I didn't have as a military brat.  It's good to be home (but I'd highly recommend southern Ontario to any fibre folk looking to move).

Berserker Dragon

Plum Crazy Montague Yarn by Waterloo Wools meets Battle-Weary Dragon shawl.  I suppose that would make it a Berserker Dragon. (Rav link)

Don't mind the self-timer photography.

I love the combination of texture and lace and beads in this design. Actually, not very lacy as the only YO openings are in the edge. It is, however, knit in fine lace yarn. It's not my quickest knit.

This shawl will soon be on it's way to Waterloo, Ontario to be used as a sample display piece.  My original silver dragon shawl was the display piece during fibre fairs until I moved it with me to Winnipeg.

If you want your own... feel free to go knit one :) First you'll want to order some Montague yarn because it's divine.

Over the years

This story starts in the early spring of 2011. It was April. Not quite Earth Day. I was new to spinning. I had my own spindle from Knit Picks (after borrowing a friend's top whorl for my second attempt) and some pretty fibre from ToPly FIbre Arts on Etsy.

I still remember how proud I was of those first "nests" of singles off the Turkish spindle.

 Plied it up. Loosely. I didn't know better.

Then I was eager to knit it! Started a project as soon as I had some 2ply to work with, while still spinning the remaining fibre.

I was in love. It was looking amazing. I mean, look at those colours.  Everything seemed to be going well...

... except design idea was a flop. It didn't do what I wanted. In retrospect, it needed short rows, but I was still pretty new at knitting... I don't think I knew of short rows yet. Well, maybe for sock heels.

After whipping through the spinning and knitting in a few days, I found myself frogging on Earth Day, which was the opposite of my intentions.

New project idea emerged soon after in May 2011. Start from the center and see where it goes. I started with a cute doily pattern online. That part of the pattern uses spaced increases.

Then I worked a spiral stitch stitch after switching to the 'pi' method of doubling stitches every so often.

Again, I was loving it.
And then I ran out of yarn. It was inevitable, I knew.
Thought of spinning up some Romni I had, but it wasn't a good match in fibre or colour.
Clearly the obvious solution was to order more BFL from ToPly Fibre Arts. This time I got plenty of fibre - 8oz (started with 4oz).  I chose a colourway I thought could blend with what I had. Thus Earth Day met Snowy Pines.

By this time I'd started expending my collection of Turkish spindles and I had a pretty blue medium sized spindle from Thomas Creations to play with.

And then disaster hit.  I was happily spinning. Excited to be working on the project again. It was spring of 2012 by now. I was pregnant with twins and had quite a few ultrasounds to monitor them.  During one such visit, my spindle, what fibre I'd spun, and the bit I'd had with me to spin up disappeared.  All I know for certain is it was in my car before the appointment and I couldn't find it when I got back to the car. Did it fall out? I looked, checked various places someone might turn it in near by, posted on lost & found lists.
ANYHOW, (I shall not go down that rabbit hole again), the short of it is I was so upset the entire project was set aside again for a long while.  I don't even know how much fibre/spinning I lost.

Another 2 years later, winter of 2013/4 I finally started spinning again.

And then after that first adorable ball was plied (loosely to match the original yarn) I looked at the large pile of fibre remaining... and took a brief break again for other projects... and then I got a spinning wheel and eventually pulled out the remaining fibre spring of 2014 (3 years after starting this all), whipped it up, and got back to work on the knitting!

After the spirals, the circle turned into a square with the help of short rows. And then a modified candle pattern finished the edge. I had just enough to complete the lace pattern, so that answered my question of what would follow.

Bound off 3/4 of the lap-sized blanket and ran out of yarn! Picked up the stitches again. Considered a sewn BO to save yarn, but that was a long thread! (I did measure/estimate I had plenty for the BO.)  Chose to work a simpler YO BO method that used less yarn than my original attempt. This time I got to within 20 stitches of the end... and sought out some almost-matching yarns in the form of two fingering weights held double.

June 3 I blocked that baby on the shady deck.

Thank goodness for blocking wires for a nice straight edge.

That's my new snuggly blanket. Mine. It was a long term project, but so much fun to play with the fibre and make up the pattern as I went.  I love the sheen of BFL and how soft and cozy it is.

Meant To Be

In my last post I showed off Rocky Shores with my Lavender batt yarn. I tried knitting them together. I worked through a new design. It was a big flop. Back to the drawing board for the design (again) and Robin (hubby) was correct in his observation that these two colourways did not suit each other.

I'm determined to use the lavender with particular beads I have (they look great together) and work on this new design.

Thus I had glorious Rocky Shores handspun yarn begging to be reconsidered. I decided it was time to knit a Hue and Vaue shawl designed by my good friend Anne Blayney (Annie Bee Knits). Granted, that meant I needed a second yarn.  Now, I could have sought out a similar hue in a different value, as the original purple shawl was knit.  But, really, who was I kidding (that's not me) and how would I match the range of blues and greens in my yarn adequately? No, the obvious solution was to look across the colour wheel for a perfect compliment. Blue-green, meet red-orange.  Lo and behold, I had red-orange fibre in my stash. Oh yes. I actually bought it at the same time from Waterloo Wools. It was part of my happy-yule-to-me shopping around thanksgiving last year. I hadn't intended on using the fibre together, but clearly it was meant to be!
Just look:

wondering. thinking. imagining.

spinning

plying

a little hand spun yarn pron

and in almost no time, a new favourite shawl

I am so in love

last section is my own modified stitch pattern substituted for the shorter stockinette called for. I really wanted to use up as much of the yarn as I could. I also modified the center stitches with a mock cable instead of garter.

I was very happy with the self striping gradient in the half linen stitch (below the lace mesh)

such amazing texture in the design

warmth needed!

Spinning Affairs

I've been whipping yarns off the wheel! I sneak into my corner when I can and work a little more.
In the midst of the lavender batts spinning I snuck in some different fibre. 

This was pin-drafted rambouillet-targhee cross. It was certainly a very different fibre and prep from what I am used to.

It spun into an incredibly lofty yarn with a supported long draw. It took a while to figure out how best to spin it and draft it.  In the end I have 3 skeins totalling just under 300m of thick and thin averaging a DK/light worsted weight.  I'm thinking of doubling it up for a bulky cowl.

Then I moved on to my first beaded art yarn.
Oh boy, I did not love the beading part.  Spinning the BFL locks was a lot of fun and I look forward to finishing the bag of locks - but I won't be beading that yarn.

I now have 67m of beaded yarn to play with.

It took a while to finish plying this yarn because I ran out of beads, decided to measure out how much more beaded thread I  needed, then add more beads to the thread, then untangle the thread... but it's done now.

It wasn't long before more fibre found its way onto a bobbin. I was looking to make a particular yarn for a Starry project. I thought it was time to spin my 8oz of silver alpaca-silk.

But the alpaca-silk insisted on being spun much finer than I need for this project. This will be glorious lace yarn. When the single broke I took the opportunity to switch projects on the wheel and transferred the fine singles to a chopstick for later.

NOW I have this amazing BFL from Waterloo Wools on the wheel.  It's the closest colourway I had in my stash for the intended project. I'll simply amend my project to be stars over the ocean!

The colourway is Rocky Shores. I almost spun the first half of the 4oz braid in less than 24h. Yep, I'll be knitting in no time!

UPDATE:
Less than 3 days after starting I have about 280m of fingering weight yarn (in 2 skeins)

2 bobbins of singles

First bobbin of plied yarn

Skein 1 drying indoors

Skein 2 drying outside in the wind

Skein 2

Checking colours together before washing.