The Luscious Forests Lace Shawl incorporates both lace and cables into a large shawl, knit using 200 g (500 m) Lady Godiva (50% wool/50% silk) from Handmaiden.
The shawl is knit from the top down, and contains lace patterning on both right side and wrong side rows. The top edge is finished with a braided cable matching the cable down the spine, and there is a peaked edging around the outer edges of the shawl.
h: 90 cm (36″), w: 185 cm (73″)
You can buy a downloadable PDF file with this pattern (chart and written instructions) using PayPal for $8.00CDN.
Even though we have now passed that magical March date which makes it officially snow, we still have a LOT of snow outside. Here in Ottawa we have received more than 4 m (14+ ft) of snow this winter, and I have a feeling we’re not done just yet. Now the question is….. is there enough winter left to knit a sweater or will it be warm by the time I’m finished?
I shall ponder that for a few more days and make a decision.
In the meantime, the shawl in Lady Godiva is off the needles. It’s blocking (drying) at the moment, and I still need to sew in the ends, and then I’ll share a picture. I managed to knit most of it during our Easter trip to Boston. I got a lot of knitting done in the car.
The Thistle Scarf is coming along nicely. That will probably be off the needles in the next few days as well. I’m very excited to get to wash it and block it and see just how soft it becomes.
Mystic Light has started this week with a total of 2,132 knitters. The first part of the pattern was released yesterday, and I’ve already seen a number of wonderful pictures of the first clue knit up. I really enjoy seeing how different yarns and different colours look with the same pattern.
I received a lovely package of handspun silk from India yesterday. It’s snow white, quite soft, and about 300 yds per 100 g skein. As you can see, I have four skeins. I haven’t quite decided what they will become, but I have a few different ideas. I’m also thinking about dyeing the yarn, although it’s probably a good idea to decide what I’m making first.
And as everything happens at the same time, I got two skeins of slate gray cashmere in the mail today. It’s 800 yds and fingering weight. I’m actually considering making a sweater out of it, although if that’s what I decide, I will need more than 800 yds of yarn….. I’ve been searching for a good pattern using fingering weight, but haven’t really found anything suitable yet. I’ll keep looking.
This is my latest lace-venture. I’m calling it the Thistle Scarf. It’s a lace scarf knit in Buffalo Down from Cottage Craft Angora. The yarn is 150-155 yds per 22g skein, and the scarf is knit on 3.75 mm needles. The colour is a natural chocolate brown, and the yarn is incredibly soft.
The yarn is really lovely to work with. The first thing I learned was to not use a long-tail cast-on with this yarn. Knitting the stitches on works much better. I also tried a few different needle sizes to see what would give the best stitch-definition, and I settled on 3.75 mm.
Soft as the yarn is, I’ve been told it will get even softer once I wash it. I will make sure to wash it properly prior to blocking, and am curious what the result will be. It’s hard to imagine that it can get softer.
The 11th part of the pattern for the Spring Shawl Surprise is released today, and I’m all ready to dive right in. The last part of the puzzle will be out next week, so there is not much left. It’s already quite a large stole, and stretches almost the length of a king size bed when I pin it out. Add another two pieces of the pattern to knit, and I think it will be quite a generous size. That’s great, as I do like having a nice, large shawl to cuddle up in.
The actual theme has not been released yet, but I am convinced that it shows a woman giving birth. If you look at the picture to the left, you can see the head, the body, and the legs. It goes well with the “birds and the bees” stitches.
It also explains why there is a difference in the design between the neck and birthing canal. The two joins in the outline are different and there is an opening between the legs.
The baby is still inside her, and the shape at the bottom is where the baby will land.
I have really enjoyed knitting this stole. The pattern is very intricate and it is fun watching it grow.
The Mystic Light KAL is starting in two weeks, and we have 1800+ members signed up. It’s still growing quite quickly. Remember that sign-ups will close on March 25, so if you would like to join – don’t delay.
The Mystic Light swatch pattern was released today. It’s available in the yahoo group.
The swatch is more focused on techniques than on size, as I don’t believe that gauge is critical for a shawl. You will get a chance to practice your chart-reading, simple increases and decreases, cables, and provisional cast-on.
When the swatch is blocked, the ends can be grafted together, to create the Mystic Light Pulse Warmer. This way you can actually complete a small project while swatching for the shawl. Of course, if you’re like most knitters and have two wrists, you might want to make a second one…..
The KAL is still open for sign-ups, so if you would like to join us, please sign up here.
I visited the Quilter’s Pleasure Weekend in Cornwall, Ontario on the weekend. It was really nice to see all the amazing quilts. I also had a chance to visit Lorraine of Cottage Craft Angora. She had some really wonderful yarns on display and I walked away with a few skeins of the Buffalo Down yarn to play with. It’s an amazing deep chocolate brown, and softer than you can imagine.
Part 8 of the Spring Shawl Surprise has been knit, and I’ve started on part 9. Part 10 will be released tomorrow morning. I still have no idea what the theme might be, but I really like the various stitches used in the stole.
At this point, the shawl is about 2/3 complete. I should probably measure it…. but I know it’s close to 80 cm wide. The length keeps changing (obviously), so I’m not quite sure how long it is right now. My guess is that I will end up with extra yarn at the end. For the first 8 parts I have only used about 500 yds of angora (also from Cottage Craft Angora).
The Lizard Ridge Afghan is all finished now. It only took me a few minutes to finish the edging (not counting the actual trip to the yarn store and the 2 weeks of just waiting to pick the afghan up again). My son is quite pleased with his new blanket and has used it a lot already.
The Lady Godiva project is also coming along. I think I have unraveled it about 4 times, but I’m finally pleased with the design and all the stitches. Still no pictures to show – that will have to wait for a few more weeks.
The swatch for Mystic Light is finished and I am just putting the finishing touches on the instructions. It will be released in the Yahoo Group on Thursday.
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