Finch Ruffle Shawl

I've been busy knitting up a new pattern. This is the Finch Ruffle Shawl. I love it! It turned out exactly the way I hoped.  

It's a totally feminine, silky shawl with beautifully transitioning colors, knit with two strands of Finch rayon boucle yarn together, in a gentle curve by increasing at the edges of the body. The ruffle is knit last with a single strand of the same yarn on smaller needles in short row sections along the bottom edge of the shawl so that the colors transition sideways along the bottom.

The shawl was knit with 6 skeins of Finch, rayon yarn [1350 yds total] from www.robinjedmundson.etsy.com  in these colors: Vineyard, Deep Woods, Summer, Sandstone, Orchard,  and Elderberry.  This yarn is available in many colors.  If you need help choosing colors, feel free to email me for help and suggestions: robin at morenna dot com or convo me via my Etsy shop: www.robinjedmundson.etsy.com.

This pattern is totally flexible. Change colors as often as you wish. Mix and match whatever colors make you happy.   You can even knit it all in one yarn [try Stella, silk noil yarn at www.robinjedmundson.etsy.com - 1350 yds for $35.]  Or you can mix and match the yarns - for example try mixing the Finch,  Zig zag, Rayon spiral and sparrow.  Just remember that you need 4-6 colors and about 1300 yds total.   Use similar colors or bold contrasts.  Any way you do it, it'll be gorgeous.

Skill level:  Intermediate

Finished size:  60 inches wide at top.  24 inches long from top to bottom.

Needles:  Size 8 [for ruffle], size 10.5 circular needles 24” or longer [for body], size 15 [for cast on]

Here are some ways you can wear the shawl:

Photo above:   Pinned at shoulder with inside ends overlapping in front. 




Photo left:  Flipped over one shoulder - no pin needed. 

Turn the whole thing upside down with the ruffles on top and wear it like a scarf.

It's plenty big enough to wrap once around your neck so that all the colors in the ruffles shine. 

The pattern is for sale on Etsy for a whopping $1.50.   A real bargain for a gorgeous pattern. 

If you buy the yarn from me, I'll send you the pattern for free.   Just let me know when you purchase the yarn that you'd like me to send you the pattern.  [The pdf will attach easily to an Etsy convo].

Happy knitting!

Giveaway - Crochet Shawl Kit

It's time for another July Celebration Giveaway!  

This giveaway is especially for my readers who love yarn.   I'm offering one of my hand dyed yarn kits that includes 4 skeins of gorgeous hand dyed cotton yarn [More than 1000 yds total] and a pattern for this beautiful crocheted ripple shawl.   It works up fast and easy.  [If you don't crochet, you can knit a simple ripple using large needles and you're good to go!]

This is a perfect summer project for traveling.  The finished shawl is light and lacy and good for summer evenings and air conditioned restaurants.






Winner gets her/his choice of these colors:

Nepeta works up like an impressionist painting.  Think Monet's garden.

These are the blues and lavenders of Cool Water.  [My personal favorite!]

And for those of you who prefer warmer colors, I've got a kit in all the tonal shades of Golden Sands.







To enter, leave a comment on the blog before midnight, Sunday, July 14th, 2013 [EDT].   Tell me what your favorite summer projects are.

[Giveaway open to residents of the US only.  Please watch the blog and contact me immediately if you are the winner.  Prizes must be claimed within one month.]

Gingko Shawl

Pattern & photo by Jodie Gordon Lucas

This is what I've been working on lately.    I found the pattern through Ravelry.  If you already have a Ravelry account then this link will take you right to the page. If you don't have an account, then you might get stopped at the front door of the site.   It's a fabulous site and if you're a knitter or crocheter, I encourage you to join.  The pattern library alone is invaluable.

The shawl is worked in short rows from the neck to the hem, with an easy pattern repeat - lots of rows, but in three major parts, repeated over and over.  

I'm making the version in the pic out of a raw silk yarn of mine - Stella, 1300 yds - that I've dyed myself in similar colors.   

It's a restful knit and a beautiful project perfect for winter. 

What winter projects do you have lined up?

Project: Silk Shawl 'Zen'

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far, away,  I thought it would be fun to weave fine silk so that it would look like birch bark.    It was a good plan.   Eventually, it all turned out OK and this is what I made:

'Zen' Handwoven, Hand dyed Silk Shawl.    $500.

Inspiration:  Birch bark

Specs:
warp: 60/2 silk yarn;  dividers and selvedges: 12/2 black silk yarn.  Wound in small bundles.
weft: 120/2 silk yarn, 12/2 black silk yarn for hems and dividers.
sett:  45 epi
width:  24 inches
length: 80 inches

weave structure: plainweave
loom: 8H Baby Wolf

Process:
I wound several small warps so that they could be mixed up as I put them on the loom.  The mixing separated the birch bark stripes and made them look more natural - like birch bark.   The warps were dyed with a tiny paint brush a few threads at a time.   I mixed up a half dozen dark colors in browns, bronze and golds to use for the birch bark markings.

The execution was kind of tricky.   Putting it on the loom took forever. Mixing the warps was delicate and then winding the thing on was even more delicate.   I managed not to break any threads.

I didn't have enough heddles on my loom, so I ordered new ones.   They came with no instructions.  I trusted the company - that was my first mistake.   I put them on the loom and they left grease marks all over my white silk shawl.    Now I know.   NEVER put new heddles on a loom without washing them off first with grease cutting soap and drying them thoroughly.  

I was kind of upset.   However, with patience, some grease cutting dish soap and my bare hands, I washed those stains out 2 square inches at a time.

Whew!  I was happy to get these done and off the loom.  I made two.

FYI:   Once this was on the loom, the weaving was easy and fast.    OK, not so fast, because we're talking 45 ppi.   That's 45 shots across per inch.   At 80 inches, that's 3600 shots per shawl.

I still can't believe I did it.

Project: Crochet Ripple Shawl

I love shawls.   I love blue.   I love crochet.    This shawl is all three of those and I love it.  

Pretty, huh!    You need one of these.

It's fast and simple.   It took 4 skeins of Fine Cotton Boucle [ 300 yds/skein, $10].  I'll have a lot of it in a lot of colors at the Fiber Event at Greencastle on April 15-16.    Here's the pattern:

  

Simple Chevron Crochet Shawl  

Robin J. Edmundson 

Hook size:  H

Yarn:  Fine Cotton Boucle, 4 skeins [1200 yds] by Robin J Edmundson [www.robinjedmundson.com]

The pattern is done in groups of 15 stitches, so you can easily make this wider or narrower by deciding how many chevrons you want across the piece.  The sample shawl is 6 chevrons wide, and took about 1100 yds of yarn, (3.5 skeins)] 

Each chevron is done in a 6-3-6 pattern with 2 skipped stitches between sections [chevrons].

Row 1: Chain multiple of 15 [+4 at the very end].  94 stitches. Turn.

Row 2:  *DC in 4^th stitch from end.  DC in next 5 stitches [6 total]

          -DC 3 in next stitch [This will make a point at the top]

          -DC in next 6 stitches

          -Skip 2 stitches [This will make a point at the bottom]. 

          -Repeat the [6-3-6] pattern until end of row.  Skip 2 stitches between sections. 
          -Chain 2. Turn. 

Row 3:  Skip 1 stitch.  * DC in next 6 stitches.

          -DC 3 in next stitch [directly over center stitch of the point in the last row]

         -DC in next 6 stitches. [The last stitch of each section will be over the next to the last stitch of the section in the row below]

          -Skip 2 stitches. 

-Repeat from * until end of row. [You’ll begin each set of 15 stitches in the 2^nd stitch of the set in the row below.]

-For the final stitch of each row, you won’t need to skip 2; Make sure you DC the 6^th stitch in the space between the end 2 stitches of the row below.**

-Chain 2 and turn for next row.

Repeat Row 3 until your piece is done.  End at **.  Knot, cut and weave ends in.