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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Mixed Media Weekend

On Thursday, I whipped up another awesome cross-stitch. This tiny fox - only about an inch and a half tall - is about the cutest little F-bomb I've ever seen. Don't you think? The pattern is available from HolyStitch101 on Etsy.

On Saturday, my yarn crew and I basked in the glory of DFW Fiber Fest 2016. I picked up some sock yarn, like I do.

Hedgehog Fibres Sock in Coral


Panorama Fiber Arts Socky Bombs in Grayscale


Alisha Goes Around Bevy of Swans Fingering in teal/black

I also brought home an array of hand-made stitch markers from the other Fiber Fest attendees who participated in the stitch marker swap. The shrinky dink kind seemed to be a popular choice among the vendors, for obvious reasons. There were also lots of critters, a few flowers, and all manner of beaded markers. Aren't they lovely?

For the first time ever, I saw one of my knitting patterns in the wild!
As this couple walked past us, I pointed to the guy's hat/scarf and said, "Hey, that's the HeelHead Scarf!"
"You know the pattern?" she asked.
"Know it? I designed it!"
There was much squeeing (from me), and they were kind enough to take a photo with me. It was super exciting!

DIY Stitch Markers & Yarnapalooza

With the inaugural Stitches Texas expo happening this weekend, I was so excited for my first stitch marker swap! Basically, you make a bunch of stitch markers, take them with you to the expo, pick up a swap button to identify yourself to other swappers, and swap while you shop! But first, you've gotta make your markers!

Gather your materials:
Decorative beads (I chose the silver ones on the left and the pearls)
Crimp beads (tiny ones on the right)
Flat nose pliers
Wire cutters
Beading wire or fishing line
Optional Ingredient for Shameless Self-Promotion:
Your website printed roughly 100 times (5 per line, 20 lines) onto a standard sheet of 8.5x11 paper (so it can be easily torn off later)

Carefully cut out your promotional tags, and use a push pin to punch a hole in one end. Next, cut a length of fishing line about 4 inches long and feed it through your promotional tag, then a crimp bead, one or more decorative beads, then another crimp bead.

Then thread the other end of the fishing line through the beads in the same order. Finally, use the flat nose pliers to squish both crimp beads, and snip the ends with your wire cutters as close as possible to the bottom crimp bead.

All done!

After a few hours of market-wandering, I came out of that convention center with about 50 different stitch markers from other attendees and vendors! Awesome, right?

In related news, YARN! Prior to Stitches Texas, there was the DFW Yarn Crawl - a tour of 15 local[-ish] yarn shops - in late August. And before that, I just had to check out the local yarn store Loops while visiting family in Tulsa in late August. Clearly, I've been in a green/blue/purple/grey mood lately, for the most part.

Left (top to bottom): Brazen Stitchery Duet Sock "I Am Groot," Sun Valley Fiber MCN Fingering "Cheeky," Theodora's Pearls Palladio "Easter Dress," Magpie Swanky Sock "Ultra," Black Bunny Fibers Superwash Merino Classic "It Had To Be You," Lazy Cat Yarn Endurance "Police Box"
Center: Done Roving Yarns Frolicking Feet DK Gradients "Pot o' Gold"
Right (top to bottom): FiberLady.com Vivacot "Black," Melodye Farms Alpaca/Bamboo "Charcoal with aqua and tan flecks," Lazy Cat Yarn Endurance "Don't Blink," Wonderland Yarn Cheshire Cat "Tea Tray," Loops Alpaca/Silk "Excalibur," Wandering Cat Yarn Ally Cat Sock "Come Sail Away," Twisted Owl Fiber Studios Super Sock 4-Ply "Blue-green"

A Healthy Dose of Fiber

I didn't get any sewing done this weekend because yarn. And I mean serious yarn. The 10th annual DFW Fiber Fest was bigger than ever! It all started Thursday evening with a 10th anniversary kick-off event featuring the Yarn Harlot herself, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. She premiered a new talk, "Knitting: Can't Stop, Won't Stop," written just for us, and we all laughed and laughed and laughed. And for those knitters who didn't already have all her books autographed [read: not me], she did that too.

The vendor hall opened and classes commenced on Friday, though I did not attend either what with the whole "work" thing. However, I was able to witness the return of Franklin Habit on Friday night - his third time at DFWFF, but my first time hearing him speak. His presentation, "Five Women, Five Shawls," was also a brand new talk and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. Afterward, he was kind enough to sign a copy of his book for me and grace me with a photograph. (He also called me a "mad woman" for the time that went into my Mini Mania shawl.)

On Saturday and Sunday, the vendor hall was packed to the rafters, it seemed, with glorious yarn, fiber, and tools of the trade, along with many a knitter, crocheter, spinner, and weaver basking in the glow of it all.

It hung from the walls.

Miss Babs

It filled cubbies and bins.

Fiber Lady

Some was twisted up in neat, color-coordinated hanks.

Lost City Knits

While others were allowed to hang free.

Brooks Farm Yarn

Ultimately, I showed great self-restraint, bringing only three of them home with me.

Before going shopping, I gave my stash a once-over on Ravelry. I noticed an abundance of blues and greens, so I decided to lean toward reds and oranges on this excursion.

I found [left to right below] a lovely hank of Miss Babs Yummy 2-ply fingering weight yarn in French Marigold, some hand-dyed Merino Lace from Gynx Yarns in the Rustic colorway, and a tasty morsel called High Wire 3-ply from Yarn Carnival aptly named Damnation!

Just don't ask me what I plan to make with them. I honestly have no clue yet. But I can assure you whatever they become will be gorgeous!