Sunday, July 09, 2017

Classic Knit Shawls

Hey, everyone! It's time for another book review! Classic Knit Shawls is a collection of 20 beautiful shawl patterns from the Interweave archives, and like any good collection, the editors made it so difficult to choose a favorite. They're all just plain gorgeous! So my approach was to imagine I had infinite knitting time and plan out several of my top picks.


First, there's Junius by Corrina Ferguson. It's so cozy and wrap-up-able, don't you think? It calls for 960 yards of sport weight, which I do not have in stash, sadly, at least not all in one color. So if I were to knit this, I'm thinking I might create a manual gradient effect using four neutral hues of Classic Elite MountainTop Vail (Parchment, Sand, Adobe, and Camel).

Classic Knit Shawls

Next, I came across Diospyros by Andrea Jurgrau. This long, lacy, beaded stole feels so elegant. Though it doesn't quite meet the prescribed 800 yards, I would love to knit this up with my ball of Cascade Yarns Forest Hills in Silver, and maybe throw in these tiny pearl beads to add to that air of elegance.

Classic Knit Shawls

Then I turned (well, swiped) to the very next page and found Carol Feller's Orangery. I loved the way these colorful ripples felt playful and, at the time, still sophisticated by keeping the colors tonal. I'm sure I could mix and match a few different brands in my stash to make up the 1275 yards of fingering weight for this pattern, but since we're just daydreaming here, I would adore this shawl in a mix of pinks and oranges, like Manos del Uruguay Serena in Hummingbird, Flamingo, and Canyon. Unfortunately, I only have 510 yards of this sport weight yarn, so not even close. But I maintain it makes a gorgeous hypothetical shawl in my head.

Classic Knit Shawls

Corrina Ferguson had another winner in this collection with the Lale shawl. I thought its sweet floral motif would be fantastic in the Fern Green colorway of Louet Gems Fingering. Again, the weight is all wrong - the pattern calls for 675 yards of DK yarn - but with 924 yards of this fingering weight yarn, I bet I could work more repeats of the motif to scale it up a bit.

Classic Knit Shawls

And a second score for Andrea Jurgrau as well with The Purple Shawl. She must love beaded lace, huh? Not that I blame her. If I were to cast on right now, I would use my skein of Heavenly Fingering by The Uncommon Thread in their Azurite colorway. And it's spot on with 440 yards compared to the pattern's recommended 430. To offset the in-your-face blue, I'd keep it simple with little silver glass beads.

Classic Knit Shawls

Manda Shah's Trillium caught my eye also. It looks like the perfect autumn shawl, so I pulled out my Phoenix Rises gradient set of Luxe from The Unique Sheep. Unfortunately, I'd be short-changing myself again with only 600 yards of fingering weight, a good bit shy of the 770 yards needed to knit up this beauty, but hey, this is my fantasy world, so don't judge.

Classic Knit Shawls

Lastly, there was Emmylou, a third home run for Corrina Ferguson. She might be cheating with the orange though. She knows my weakness. To prove I am not a slave to my knitting urges, I would instead go with a pretty purple-red, Madelinetosh Sock in Sun Rose. I'm hoping the sample didn't use every last inch of that 400 yards though, so my 395 yards would still get the job done.

Classic Knit Shawls

Boy, if I could knit as fast as my imagination can, there'd be no stopping me!

Tuesday, July 04, 2017

Wonder Woman Wrap

I've discovered something over the last few months. When life gets stressful, I knit. I don't sew. I don't cross-stitch. I don't really do any other crafts either. They're all fun, of course, but I guess they each take more energy or something. At the end of a looooong work day, all I want to do is sit on the couch and knit. Even if it's a new design that still requires brain power, I'm much more relaxed with yarn in my hands than anything else.

Wonder Woman Wrap

You know what else I've discovered? I'm pretty badass. Wonderful, in fact! And hey, so are you! I say we all knit ourselves a little affirmation accessory right away.

Wonder Woman WrapWonder Woman Wrap

I tried to keep this pattern as simple as possible so it would be accessible to a wide range of knitters. However, some fairly basic short-rows were required to get the logo right. With that said, I think an advanced beginner, or even an adventurous newbie, could still handle it.

Wonder Woman WrapWonder Woman Wrap

FINISHED MEASUREMENTS
Span: 86 inches
Height at center: 22in

MATERIALS
Color A: Lazy Cat Yarns Opulence [70% merino, 20% silk, 10% cashmere;
400m/437yd per 100g skein]; color: 102 Sweet Dreams; 1 skein
Color B: Hedgehog Fibres Sock [90% merino, 10% nylon;
400m/437yd per 100g skein]; color: Pollen; 1 skein
US #4/3.5mm circular needle
Tapestry needle
5 stitch markers

GAUGE
17 sts/33 rows = 4 inches in garter stitch

Download the FREE pattern via Ravelry!

Wonder Woman Wrap