Crafty on Twitter / WIP: grey clementine shawlette

Last week I started following some additional crafty accounts on Twitter and realized it'll really work better if I keep that stuff separate. So you can now find me on Twitter as @malaraky :). Accounts like Etsy just have too much action for me to keep track of that on my regular account.

I'm just uploading some pictures of WIPs now - there has been a bit more knitting in the new year than toward the end of 2010, so there's more content coming soon! The Cloudsoft Cowl has been well received on Ravelry - thanks! - and I have plans for more designing this year, which is very exciting. Just ordered yarn for a new design I dreamed up in the summer, and will be re-knitting it in different colors and a different yarn, so that is exciting! It may be awhile before it's available, but maybe if I mention it here I will be more inspired to work on it!

Here's the current state of my Clementine Shawlette:



It'll need a good blocking to pull the lace out but it's coming along well and I have the pattern memorized now - just four repeating rows now that the increases are done. I have four skeins of the alpaca, and am about 2/3 finished with the first one. The plan is to knit until they're gone, since the piece is knit from end to middle, twice, then the two pieces are grafted at the middle. Two skeins for each half. Lovely. Happy knitting!

New pattern: Cloudsoft Cowl

Have a skein or two of laceweight mohair blend yarn that you'd love to use in a simple project, highlighting its fuzzy lightweight wonderfulness?

I just posted a new pattern on Ravelry, the Cloudsoft Cowl, and you can find it there for FREE!

download now



This simple 2x2 rib extra roomy cowl is a great way to use up an extra skein or two of Rowan Kidsilk Haze or any other fuzzy laceweight yarn.

Designed to use up just about every last inch of your yarn, and to stretch to loop around your neck twice, you can wear it doubled up and cozy under your chin, with one half pulled down so it drapes decoratively while the upper half is snug under your neck, or draped around your shoulders like a lightweight shoulder wrap that won’t fall off. Quick to knit, this is a lovely cloudweight treat to wear, and will keep you cozy through the chilly weather!



So this is me, dipping my toe back into the designing waters. I have bigger projects in mind, but when I wanted some simple TV knitting this winter and thought of my pretty little single skein of Alchemy Haiku in foxglove just hanging out in my stash for, oh, probably the last five years, I poked around on Ravelry for a suitable ribbed cowl. And I didn't find anything that worked for me, so I kept a few notes and worked up a simple in-the-round piece that used up all my yarn, and is wearable in a few different ways. It's cozy, lightweight, and took very little time to work up. Happy knitting!

WIP: Clementine Shawlette

Before the holidays I felt the need to be knitting something soft, preferably in a heavyweight sort of lace, something that I could eventually learn to knit without looking at the chart, something I already had the yarn for, something like...

The Clementine Shawlette from the Spring 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.



Almost two years ago I picked up 4 skeins of a light grey alpaca, thinking of a wrap of some sort. It's almost a sport weight, so I've ended up knitting this on size 2 needles, which seems ridiculous. I always need to go down about two needle sizes, but this is excessive - to be fair I am using a thinner yarn. I haven't quite gotten to the point in the chart where you just stay with the same width and repeat for however long you want it to be - it is still possible that I'll decide this just isn't going to be a substantial enough piece and rip it out. Undecided.