Spring Things Shawl

Here is a photo of the Spring Things Shawl. I spun this yarn from some super soft merino top, that I purchased from handpaintedyarn.com. It spun like a dream, so I left it as singles and made this shawl. I love love love it, but I could have made it just a tad larger.

Heartland Lace Shawl from Silk Handspun

I started on the Evelyn Clark Heartland Lace Shawl created for Wild Fibers Magazine. I was able to get a free copy of the pattern, but I think the pattern is now being sold as a kit. This is being knit out of 2.1 oz of Tussah Silk that I handspun on my Babe spinning wheel. I am knitting this on US 4 Lace Addis, which is the first time using this needle, and I like the pointy-ness of it; especially great for SK2P, and maybe even the dreaded nupps of Swallowtail.

My goal is to finish this by my 34th birthday on May 1st, so I can get started on another shawl. For any further details on the yarn or the shawl, check out the blog.

Laminiaria blocking (Mohair doesn't stretch much folks)

This was quick and different to spin and to knit. I had not really spun any Border Leicester and had limited experience with Mohair when I made this yarn 4 ounces of that mix with a little added alpaca to lighten the color up a bit in sections (the neck/star chart section in particular). I had not really knit Estonian lace unless you count the border for the Swallowtail Shawlette and the techniques for making the stitches as well as how the lace progression developed were all really different than what I had knit before. It is interesting to say that Hyrna also had some interesting stitch construction that I had not run into before but reminded me of this style of lace knitting. Would I do it again? You bet but I would choose a much more elastic yarn to knit this in so that the blocking was not so difficult. Now to go look at my fiber stash for the next project :-) I have a lot of regular lace knitting to do right now so I might be awhile before I post again. I have to knit baby stuff for my now pregnant niece! Later!

Next Up, Laminaria

The word, "subtle" and I have only a passing acquaintance as you can see. I have been longing for the Summer to come and so I took 4 ounces of this lovely Black Bunny Border Leicester/Mohair Top in the colorway "Carnival" and spun a substantial lace weight yarn. I am spinning another fiber very thin on my Schacht and since that will take forever I have been spinning a weight of single that goes fast on the other wheels for fast and dirty projects. Sort of like what I did for my Hyrna. This fiber was spun on my sisters Majacraft Rose with the lace flyer and fat core bobbins. Since the color was so intense, I added some cream colored Suri Alpaca Top to one of the plies to add a little more softness and bring the color down to a dull roar. I have to say, it's not all that soft, but since it will be a shawlette rather than a scarf, maybe it will still be OK. But what to do with it? I had no idea until the Spring Knitty for 2008 came out with the Estonian Lace pattern, Laminaria . I'm knitting another project that I will have to add Estonian Lace to, so this is a perfect opportunity for me to try out a few examples of Estonian lace and get some practice in. I'm using US 6 but could have gone even bigger considering the weight of my yarn. If anyone else does this one, consider changing the "Knit three together" to a SSSK on the left side of the center line of the shawl so that those stitches will mirror the right side. My yarn is so busy that I don't think it really matters, however, if I had been using a solid or semi solid yarn, I think I would not have been as satisfied. Though I had thought to make the smaller version of this lace, if it looks like I have enough yarn, I might make it a little bit longer. I will post more once I have a little bit more on the needles :-)

Shetland Triangle Finished

Here is my Shetland Triangle shawl that I finished from my handspun.

More details can be found on the blog.

Back to the wheel....eek!

So I'm knitting along, keeping a close eye on my yarn, and I find myself 3 rows into the corona edging on the wing of the moth....and I'm going to run out. There is no way I'm going to make it without having to spin more yarn....

*sigh* I swore I had enough yardage...but apparently not. I guess I need to haul out the fiber and do a bit more hand blending. Thank goodness it's my own blend and I have more fiber on hand!

Does this Clash with 1970?

Okay...tell me honestly...is this clashing?! It's trippin me out man!

This is some of my handspun, hand-dyed, Targee yarn for the latest in the Mystery Shawl KAL. I hope, as the shawl gets bigger, that the colors will tend to puddle together instead of stripe. EEP! It's oober soft and warm!

Swallowtail Finished

I finally finished my third handspun shawl, but second completed. It is a lovely pattern.

I am currently planning another shawl with my laceweight handspun. More details on Swallowtail on the blog.

Silk Swallowtail

Hello All:

I started my third-ever shawl made out of my own silk laceweight handspun. I finished this yarn over 2 months ago. I kept it in my stash and pet it as much as I could. But I really wanted to make Swallowtail. Here is the beginning of the pattern. This is only the first chart, and the first repeat of the second chart.

You can read more about this project and yarn on my blog.

Bulky shawl question

A good comment on the different weights shawls can be knit in. Does anyone remember the shawl Ann Bancroft wore in "The Miracle Worker?" I saw the movie recently and noticed the shawl. It looks like it might be crocheted but it was definitely done with a heavier yarn. I have some bulky three-ply that I intend to use for either a shawl or poncho. If anyone crochets and knows a pattern similar to the shawl I'm talking about, I'd love to hear from you.

Almost One Bobbin Full (How About a Circular Shawl?)

I have almost filled one of the bobbins with a single of the green merino/silk and I just got a new book that I pre-ordered from Amazon. "Wrapped in Comfort" by Alison Jeppson Hyde. It looks really good to me and the shawls and are designed to stay on your shoulders. There are a few scarves as well for those who would prefer a quicker knit. She has both written and charted instructions for those who prefer one over the other and there are various degrees of difficulty from beginning lace knitter to experienced. The needle sizes are very reasonable (US 9 or US 10 most of the time). Now I've lately been knitting on small needles, but these patterns are very graceful and look terrific in the larger gage. Depending on the yarn when it's done, I might just have to make one of these lovely shawls with hands spun. The green yarn is not the one I'm going to knit with. I've promised some to missalicefaye to knit with so that's that. Good Spinning and Good Knitting!

Hello to all . . . New member

Hi All:

I am new to Spun Stitches. I've been spinning for over two years--started with spindle, now have a Babe Production, and am drooling over a Majacraft. I enjoy spinning laceweight to fingering weight. I caught the lace spinning bug, and make shawls out of it. The most current spinning project is some self, handpainted superwash roving.

The most recent, completed spun stitches is a laceweight yarn turned into a flower basket shawl.

And the next knitting from handspun that comes to mind is a Peacock Shawl out of this lovely yarn:

Please check out the blog for more projects. I can't wait to see more of your inspiring creations.

Other Hand Spun Shawls I have Known

Thought I'd post some of the shawls that I have made or am making with hand spun yarn. I've only done three. The first one was done years ago when I first started spinning. It's actually a very pale peach color that does not translate to the photos. It has belonged to an elderly friend of mine, Louise, all this time so I had to borrow it back to take pictures because it was Pre-Digital Photography. It's a merino wool that I bought from Straw Into Gold in Berkeley CA when it still was there. Spun woolen (hey, I had no clue) it is the christening shawl from Knitters Magazine. Not very even but still pretty. The next one you see is from the same green merino/silk fiber I'm currently spinning. It's Mountain Pines by "Two Old Bags" and was started in 2006 and finished in 2007. I wore it to Stitches West 2007 and it now belongs to my friend, Jerry in Seattle. The last is a very rough hand-spun I made when I came back to spinning after a years long absence. Its very uneven but still has a rustic charm. This shawl languished because I didn't have the correction to the lace pattern and kept getting it wrong. I've got it now but it's a low priority knit for me right now. There you have it. Past/current efforts with my meager hand spun yarn. Hope these next efforts at spinning turn out well. I'm spinning two yarns but will only knit one for my shawl. I plan to give the other yarn to someone else to knit with. Until later!