Category: shawls and haps

Friday Finally Finished: Ghost Knitter’s Shawl

Posted on Posted in finished objects, holidays, knitting, shawls and hapsTagged , , , , 24 Comments

I finally finished it! Pattern is Ghost Knitter’s Shawl by Ambah O’Brien. Yarn is Pacific Northwest Purls Bump in the Night and Fluorescent Green, Seattle base. It’s sparkly!

And yes, the green glows under black light.

I had some trouble with the lace section, which surprised me as I’m usually pretty good with repetitive lace patterns. I made a few mistakes, some I fixed and some I fudged. You can’t tell unless you look closely. But overall, I’m pleased, and I look forward to wearing it next October. I think I may knit another in a gradient one day. I hope I learned enough from my mistakes not to repeat them!

Wednesday WIPS

Posted on Posted in dyeing, gardening, knitting, sewing, shawls and haps, Works in Progress (WIPs)8 Comments

Sewing

Bob’s shirt is coming along. Just buttonholes and buttons to do now.

Knitting

I’ve finally cast on the Ghost Knitter’s Shawl from Ambah O’Brien. I’m looking forward to knitting a triangle in yarn that glows under a black light. I’m using one of my Gloomy Erina sparkly coffin progress keepers from the Autumn Yarn Mystery Box.

Natural Dyeing

I hapazome dyed some flowering indigo onto more Virginia cotton canvas. Is this a WIP? I guess so, since I’ll likely sew project bags with it for the shop. Unfortunately, the flowers didn’t stay purple after washing. They are still a lovely apricot color.

Gardening

I stuck some Yukon Gold potato eyes into some dirt, and now I have potato plants! My plan is to winter them indoors as a houseplant and then plant them in a potato bin in spring.

What are you working on this week?

Wednesday: It’s a Wrap! Or, a Haunted Hap?

Posted on Posted in finished objects, holidays, knitting, shawls and hapsTagged , , , , 18 Comments
While running through the haunted woods behind her house, the author’s shawl gets hung on tree branches. Should she turn and rescue it? Or keep running? What is she running from? Is it the Blair Witch? Hold on… Wait a minute… She IS the witch! Stop running, witch! Put your shawl back on and go home.

I finished knitting my Halloween Livie shawl! Pattern is Livie by Tamy Gore. Yarn is Spectacular from Knit Circus in Trick or Treat and Quoth the Raven.

I started knitting this last October, but realized pretty quickly I was not going to be able to finish it by Halloween. I was also annoyed that I had to take the stitch marker off every right side row and move it. Fast forward to July 2022: I loved knitting this! It was great TV knitting, intuitive and repetitive, and the whole stitch marker thing became part of the rhythm. (I guess I was more grumpy and stressed last year. Funny how that works.)

As much as I love a good wrap, let’s face it. I’ll be wearing it more like this.

A Very Moony May: Friday FO

Posted on Posted in finished objects, knitting, shawls and hapsTagged , 30 Comments

I finished my Ocean Moon shawl by Ambah O’Brien. I love it. I’m definitely going to be participating in more mystery knitalongs.

There’s one more clue but I think I’m done. I chose the simpler lace option as I’m a more simple elegance type of gal, but the other moon lace option is gorgeous!

Yarn is Fiber Optics Kashmir (superwash merino, silk, and cashmere) in colors Ebbtide, Storm, and five miniskeins of the Oceans Six gradient. Pattern is Ocean Moon shawl by Ambah.

Friday FO: Vertices Unite!

Posted on Posted in finished objects, knitting, shawls and hapsTagged , , , 18 Comments

I absolutely love my Vertices Unite! The yarn is all naturally dyed, nonsuperwash, and so soft and squishy. I probably wouldn’t have chosen this pattern for myself, which is why it’s important for me to participate in knitalongs. Most of the time, I’m pleasantly surprised, and I learn I love something I wouldn’t normally choose for myself.

It’s super cute worn. I am definitely going to be wearing it with denim, and cotton knit dresses. I like how casual it is. Pattern is Vertices Unite by Stephen West. Yarn is (solids) March, July, and Color of Pomegranates from Oysters and Purls, and (variegated) Loon on a Lake and Turkeytail Mushrooms from Forest Lane Fiber Co.

Celtic Myths Showl

Posted on Posted in finished objects, knitting, scarves and cowls, shawls and hapsTagged , 17 Comments

I invented a new trend, called the “showl.” It’s what happens when you’re almost finished knitting a shawl but run out of the yarn you purchased more than a decade ago, so you can’t finish the border since there is no hope of getting more. What happens next is you fold over the knitting and stitch it together to form an odd shaped cowl thing. It almost has a hood, but not quite, and it’s asymmetric anyway. But when you wear it bunched up around your neck, it looks fine. Just fine.

See? It’s fine. Pattern is Celtic Myths. Yarn is Cheryl Oberle Dancing Colors. I do love this yarn. It’s a treasure from an event I attended. Unfortunately, I can’t remember if it was the Knitter’s Review Retreat of 2003 or a Knitter’s Mercantile event from around the same time. But I got to meet Cheryl Oberle, which was super cool. Her Folk Shawls book is still one of my favorites.

I’m not making this up, but on Huff Post I saw there is a new trend call the “shacket.” It’s a shirt jacket. I thought, “That’s just the thing to sew with my wool flannel fabric!” Shacket here I come!

Back Porch Shawl

Posted on Posted in finished objects, knitting, shawls and hapsTagged , , , , 18 Comments

In my previous post I linked to my Back Porch Shawl on Ravelry, and I’ve just realized not everyone can view my project page. D’oh!

Pattern is Back Porch Shawl by Diana Poirier. Yarn is Weekend Wool from Green Mountain Spinnery in Pumpkin, Lichen, and Poppy, I used three skeins of each color.

The yarn really makes it. Every stitch was scrumptiously soft and the autumnal colors are rich and warm. It was a relaxing, mindful knit. A perfect vacation knit! I will be wrapping up in this all winter.