Ley Lines #1

It's done. Blocked. Ends sewn in.

Pattern: Ley Lines (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: 3 skeins of Malabrigo Sock

It is amazing how our focus shifts in the most random ways and, like happened with this design, it often takes us to a very creative place when we let it wander around. The ribbing in this shawl will let your imagination and attention wander around too while you work its very simple instructions, and will leave you amazed at the direction your knitting took when you bind off the last remaining stitch.

I love it. The pattern is very well written and easy to follow. You need to know cast on, cast off, knit, purl and a simple increase.

Now I have a problem packing for TNNA. There are too many shawls to choose from. What do I take?

Happy Birthday

It's my mom's birthday today. We aren't talking numbers anymore. :) Beth and I got off lucky today. Darlene planned a family barbecue so we didn't have to plan a party. Thanks Dar!!

It's now Sunday. 

That was the start of yesterday's post. Then we went to the barbecue and had a great time. So many laughs that our stomachs hurt. We got home late and I really didn't feel like writing. I knit instead.

This morning I blocked Ley Lines #1 and it's pinned out downstairs.

Ley Lines #2 is almost to the cast off. I added rows to the shawl and am now playing the 'do I have enough to add one more section or is time to start casting off?' I think it's getting to the cast off so I will be starting that in seven rows. Why is the cast off an issue? It is done gradually. Four stitches every wrong side row. Judging the amount of yarn required is really a guess.

Tomorrow we are supposed to be golfing. Tomorrow it is supposed to rain. We'll see in the morning if it's a golfing or knitting day.

Getting Ready for the Frolic

Mr. Canada Post brought in a box from Lynda this morning. She just finished two amazing shawls. It's 'we need new samples for the Frolic' time of year so my knitters are very busy right now.

Pattern: Russian Hills (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: 2 skeins of Mrs. Crosby Hat Box in the colour Hot Pimiento

This edging is worked first and goes so quickly because of its visible lace patterning. Later on, we pick up for the body and use garter and stockinette as a blank slate to wear around the body, letting the lace do the talking! 

Inside the pattern you will find the Chart and Written Instructions, notes on how to modify the shawl to your yardage and a comprehensive abbreviation list to ensure you don’t get lost in Russian Hills.

Pattern: Rumple Scarf (purchased on Ravelry)
Yarn: 4 skeins of Mrs. Crosby Hat Box
Sample: 2 skeins Wild Huckleberry and 2 skeins Squid Ink

We added more stitches to our scarf - 60 to be exact. I knew that we had extra yarn so why not make the shawl longer?

A scarf/wrap hybrid that can be draped around your neck or used to cover your shoulders. Designed to use 2 skeins of luxury sport-weight yarn, but very easily modified to use up any scraps you have laying about :)

Beth finished a cowl on the weekend.

Pattern: Sanibel Cowl (free from Classic Elite)
Yarn: 2 balls of Santorini 
Colour: 2130 Confetti

Beth is stopping in the store on her way home from work to pick out more colours of Santorini. Her next project is going to combine three or four colours in a scarf.

Here is a better picture of Ley Lines so far. I really need to get a mannequin at home.

The Great Debate

Every time I finished another eight rows of my pattern last night, Beth and I debated whether I could do another section before starting my cast off. I don't want to have left over yarn but I don't want to run out. We decided on five extra sections and then I started my cast offs this afternoon.

Here is Ley Lines (the first) after a day of knitting.

Every wrong side row you cast off four stitches so it is a very gently sloping cast off edge. This means I have a lot of rows to go to finish.

We have one episode of House of Cards left. Dinner is done, the dishwasher is going and it's time to watch. 

Santorini

Santorini from Classic Elite should be in the store next week. I am so excited about this yarn. The colours are amazing and the designers came up with awesome patterns.

Santorini's colorways sing along the matte and shiny textures inherent in the yarn, adding vibrant color to warm-weather garments, wraps and scarves. 

58% viscose
42% cotton

5 stitches to the inch on 4.5mm needles

114m in a 50gram ball.

The patterns will be available in the book Along The Shore. If you purchase the book, there is a scratch code in it so that you can download the patterns to your Ravelry library. You can also purchase the individual patterns on Ravelry.

Ley Lines #1 is at the point where I am supposed to cast off. I've pinned it onto my friend so that you could see the size.

I am working with 3 - 100gram skeins of Malabrigo Sock. I weighed what I have left at this point. 140grams. I haven't sat down to figure out the numbers exactly but I have a feeling that you will be able to get the shawl out of approximately 800m of yarn. You won't be able to increase the size though. If you like a big shawl then I suggest getting more yarn. Since I have lots of yarn and I want a really big shawl, I'm continuing on with my increase rows for a bit.

Ouch

Sorry to my poor mannequin. She became a pin cushion today.

Ley Lines stretched out. Now I'm excited. I think it looks awesome! And it's starting to look like the picture on the pattern.

There was a bit of a problem yesterday.

The ball on the top right was the first ball that I started to knit with. When in skeins, the colours looked similar. I realized that I might run out yesterday afternoon so I wound the bottom ball. It is totally different. I started working 2 rows of one ball then 2 rows of the second ball. Then it hit me. I'm going to run out of the original colour. I'd end up finishing the shawl with the bottom ball which is definitely more brown. I wound a third skein - top left. It is different again. Now I'm knitting one row of each colour, carrying the extra threads up the side. If you really look you can see where I started alternating balls but when the shawl is finished no one will know unless I point it out.

There are a few lessons to my sad tale

1. If you are knitting Ley Lines, you can carry the yarn up the side of your work and you won't see it. The first two stitches and last two stitches of every right side row are knit. Carrying the yarn up the side actually made my edge stitches neater and the floats are hidden on the back.

2. If you are working with yarns that have been kettle dyed (like Manos or Malabrigo), work with at least two, if not three balls at once. They might look close but when knit they could be very different.

Now it's time to get back to the shawl. I am so excited by how it looks on the mannequin that I want it finished. Like now. There are other yarns swimming in my head that will make a fabulous Ley Lines.

A day of knitting

When the day looks like this there are only a couple of things to do

The first is to bake cookies. When the crew comes to shovel the driveway I have treats. Trust me, our driveway is done first and the best.

Then the next thing to do is knit.

It's really late now and I did a lot of knitting today. My picture isn't very good because I was rushing so that I can post and get to bed. The shawl is going to need a good blocking when done so that the ribs stretch out. I'm going to pin it onto a mannequin tomorrow so that we (you and I) can get a better idea of what it is going to look like when finished.

The snow was pretty none existent here this afternoon but it's picked up now. I will need to do some cleaning of the truck in the morning. I better hit publish and get to bed. I have a feeling it will be an early morning.

Ley Lines is growing

My post is late tonight because I've been knitting like crazy on Ley Lines. I was hoping to be even further but I did make it into the 4th section. Just 150 more rows and then I can start casting off.

The pattern is very addictive. I want/need to keep going to see the direction that the ribs are going.

A customer ordered yarn to make the shawl in dk weight. I can't wait to see a larger version. It has me thinking :)

Snow Day

I wasn't working in the store yesterday but I did get some chores done at home. The new Rowan cottons (Tetra and Cotton Lustre) are on the website. The February Dream Club is on the website. I went through and updated the Rowan books - there were some missing.

There was some snow removal as well. When I woke up at 5:30 (I'm not sure why I was up that early) this is what the truck looked like.

We got a lot of snow.

The sad thing about yesterday was that I didn't get to knit until late last night.

Ley Lines is growing. I'm almost finished the third section.

It's the end of the day and Mr. UPS just came in with Rowan Magazine #57.

There might not be a lot of knitting tonight. I'll be perusing the magazine with a cup of tea.

Let it snow

I try to blog everyday but I couldn't bring myself to sit down and write yesterday. We were jammed in the store all day. That's a very good thing but boy was I tired at 4:30. We were so busy that we didn't get the spring Rowan yarns unpacked.

Cotton Lustre

Cotton Lustre is an interesting blend of cotton, linen and modal which gives it a wonderful drape with a soft handle. This yarn incorporates the essential summer shades and knits on 6mm needles making it perfect for a quick summer knits. The colour palette incorporates the essential summer shades.

The yarn and magazine are in the store.

Unfortunately Rowan Magazine #57 wasn't in the box. It should be here sometime this week.

There was some knitting and TV last night. Ley Lines is growing. It will grow more this afternoon.

It looks like we are in for a lot of snow this afternoon and into tomorrow morning. The Weather Network says that if the winds blow a certain way we could see 25-35cm. If we see that much snow, the store will not be open tomorrow. I'll update Facebook and Twitter in the morning with an update if I go in or if I'm at home knitting.