Another Textured Shawl

I've finally finished this Textured Shawl!! It's seemed like forever since I cast on. I really love the stockinette and textured pattern combo. You can see the modifications I did to this particular shawl here. I used Blue Sky Alpacas Alpaca & Silk in Plum, it's a light DK weight yarn that it worth trying, very soft and silky ... beautiful drape!!

This is a great shawl to get your feet wet in shawl making, give it a try!! You can't go wrong because the recipe is free ... check it out here. Also, don't forget to try my Shawl Cast-On Tutorial to get you started.

First Snow and a Textured Shawl

So we finally had our first snow of the year, it was beautiful. The next day we went up to NY State and it was even heavier there. Forgot my camera, but there was a 5" blanket of pristine white coating everything we drove by, it was glorious!!

On a knitting note ... here's my textured shawl, pictured here with a make-shift blocking board. You can see my Textured Shawl recipe here and it will connect you to the original 'recipe' as the designer calls it. I used 4 hanks of Blue Sky Alpaca's 100% alpaca sport weight yarn. I wasn't sure if it would be itchy to wear, but I wore it for the first time today and it's wonderfully soft and warm. The alpaca does shed a little, but it's still worth anyone out there giving it a try. Especially for those who are wool-sensitive, you'll love it!!

I was also thrilled because the pattern allowed me the freedom to use almost every last bit of yarn I have, all that was left was the tiniest remnant leftover. So exciting ... it's the little things, right?!

See an upcoming post for the shawl cast on that makes the smoothest edge.

Lacey Stole

I was watching Knitting Daily a few weeks ago on PBS and saw Eunny Jang showcasing a Knit Along of the beautiful and simple Lacey Stole with Louet Linen yarn. It seems like something that would keep me interested and yet still knit while carrying on a conversation or watching tv. I purchased some lovely 100% baby alpaca lace weight yarn from my LYS, pictured above is Baby Alpaca Lace from Plymouth Yarn in color #2020.

This is my first official lace pattern, i.e. the yarn is lace weight, et al., so I'm a little nervous that it will take millions of hours to finish. My hope is that I won't get bored with it and them change my mind, which seams to be my MO. You can find my progress and the free pattern on Ravelry, and once I have a sufficient amount of it finished (and figure out how on earth to post my pictures) I will post some pics. I'm modifying the original pattern just a little, since the original pattern is in sport weight yarn, and mine is in lace weight, I will add a few extra rows of garter stitch all around the entire border for some more stability.