Handspun Percy Shawl

This was my first supported spindle handspun yarn.  I took a class in February with Ms. fleegle, and made this with one of her batts.  It is merino with a little glitz in it, and I got 810 yards of 2-ply from 2.3 oz.  It is perhaps the best and finest yarn I have spun to date.
The pattern is Percy Shawl and may be downloaded for free.  Some of the pattern is actually real knitted lace, with a pattern on both sides, instead of simple purling back.  Keeps you on your toes!  I used about 610 yards of the ball. 

First Diantha Shawl

This was the first Diantha shawl I knit, and was set up as a mystery knit-along.  The yarn was handspun from a beloved natural gray fleece given to me by my friend Tammy.  The sheep lived in Colonial Beach VA on a small farm.  I spun the yarn and then knit it into this wonderful shawl, with a few pretty beads.  I sent it back to Tammy a couple of weeks ago,  as a surprise gift to her.

Crimson to Onyx Gradient Shawl

I finished this piece a few days ago.  The bottom braid shows the wool before I spun it into a 2-ply light fingering yarn.  I wanted to use up all the yarn so I searched in ravelry's database and found a gorgeous design called "Cloud Illusions" by Boo Knits and can be found through ravelry.  I used up almost all of the yarn and the shawl has been well-received by all who have seen it.   The lovely wool top is from Fiber Optics Yarn and is the merino/silk gradient.

May Mystery Knitalong Shawl

This is made from fine wool and silk Helen's Laces. I used the entire skein of 1200 yds and had to cut it short. It is very large and light and sheer. It was a mystery with clues published every week for 5 weeks and was quite easy to do. It was just a lot of knitting.

Pansy Smoke Ring Completed

Here she is, all finished. It fits me very well, and it easy to put on over my head. I am seriously happy with the final product.

Matching Wristwarmers

These wristwarmers match my beret! I made them on #0 dpns, and cast on 64 stitches around, just like socks! The yarn is a luscious color called Scottish Lichen from Interlacements, and it is a merino/silk blend which I spun up a few years ago. My spinning leaves a lot to be desired and is quite inconsistent. I got about 18-22 wraps per inch depending on where I measured. Sigh.

I made these to wear inside when it gets cold. The pictures above show the front and the back of the mitts.

I have another skein of this yarn, and it is spun even finer. I'm thinking that I may knit some socks. The silk makes it quite strong.

Winter in Virginia Beret

I found a wonderful lace pattern beret on ravelry by Kate Gagnon, called Springtime in Philadelphia Canopy, and made my interpretation of the hat out of handspun wool and silk. The roving is from Interlacements and is the Scottish Lichen colorway, which I absolutely love. My spinning, (completed a few years ago) is extremely inconsistent in size and was a bit of a problem but it came out pretty well. The tam is knit from the top down - so cool.

It has a very nice hand to it, and is quite lightweight.

Lace Beanie and Wristwarmers

From 101 Designer One-Skein Wonders comes this cotton beanie and wristwarmers for my granddaughter's birthday. I used Lion Brand cotton ease since she is averse to wool, and I'm happy how it came out.

Ivory Lace Scarf

It's been quite a while since I have written anything to my blog, and you can blame it all on Ravelry. It's pretty gloomy and rainy here today, and I am betwixt and between projects so here goes.

This is the most glorious yarn imaginable: Handmaiden Mini Maiden, a merino and silk blend and handpainted with the most subtle of colors. And the touch around one's neck is fabulous. The pattern is from Monika Steinbauer and can be found on Ravelry, as a free pattern. Thanks Monika.

I am most pleased with this scarf.

Iris Beaded Lace Scarf

This is the glorious beaded, silk scarf called Iris from Sunflower Designs . Susan is a genius at combing lace, beads, and handpainted yarn. You MUST see her website, but be forewarned that it is very dangerous to your wallet! I am using Sea Silk in the Mermaid color from Handmaiden Yarns and now I understand the buzz about this yarn. I am enjoying every single stitch of this beauty. The colors are hard to capture of course, but they are fabulous.

Lacy Silk Top in Teal

This silk noil top is knit in a traditional feather and fan pattern. The yarn is hand-dyed in teal by Blue Heron Fibers, and was purchased at Frivolous Fibers in St. Michael's, MD. The pattern was provided when I bought the yarn.

Rose Swallowtail Shawl

Many, many people have been knitting this beautiful piece of lace over the last few months, and I had to follow suit. The yarn is Zephyr lace-weight wool/silk in cassis, another word for rose pink. The last picture shows it blocking on the floor and still damp as you can see. It turned out really nicely and has a single bead at each point. The nupps add so much to this shawl and the only modifications I made were to go up to larger needles as the ends approached so that the points would be well defined. I used size 7 for the last lily of the valley repeat and used a 10 for the last two rows.

White Harebell Fichu

All blocked and finished. It ended up taking 23 gms of Jades Sapphire Lacey Lamb, a very fine merino 2-ply wool, which I love. From Victorian Lace Today.

Harebell Fichu in White

Here is the beginning of a very pretty victorian lace fichu! The pattern is from the lovely book by Jane Sowerby called "Victorian Lace Today". The pink wuxi scarf I made previously, is another pattern from the book. The yarn is very fine merino wool called Lacy Lamb, and is leftover from the Shetland Triangle Shawl I made a while back. There was 33 gms when I started.

Pink Wuxi Scarf

This is the most amazing silk and merino yarn ! I bought it in Baltimore a couple of weeks ago during a boating trip, and have been anxiously awaiting inspiration. The scarf is from Victorian Lace Today, and was a very quick knit. Can't you just see how it glows from within??

Mystery Stole #3 - Swan Lake - Finished

Welp, she's all done. Those blocking wires I purchased have once again done a great job and saved me lots of time during the blocking of MS3. I adore the swan's wing, even if it is asymmetrical! The photos do not show the beads, but under the right lighting, they just sparkle. Great knit, and thanks to the designer, Melanie Gibbons.

Details: white Zephyr yarn, 50% silk, 50% merino wool, knit on 3.75mm/5 US. Final measurement: 20" x 74".

Mystery Stole 3 KAL, Clue 1

Here is the completion of the first clue for the Mystery Stole 3 KAL. Melanie is still accepting members to the group until July 6, so if you are interested, check it out. Here is the link: Mystery Stole 3 KAL

Anyway, the yarn is white (pure white, even though it looks yellowed) Zephyr, wool and silk, and knit on US #5 / 3.75 mm Bryspun straight needles. There are also embedded transparent AB beads but the picture doesn't show them at all. I knit the last mystery stole which Melanie designed last summer, and it was gorgeous, so I am fully expecting this one to be as well designed.

Faina's Scarf

I bought this merino lace hand-dyed wool yarn on an Etsy.com shop and used less than half of the 990 yds. So I can make another one! I was not happy with the fringe treatment called for in the pattern instructions, so I modified it and added a large tassel on each end of the scarf.

Diamond Fantasy Scarf Finished

I never did learn the pattern for this one - I was forever tied to the chart! But I think it's a great pattern. It blocked out a lot bigger than it is now and indeed it was overspun as I feared. But it is very wearable. 19" deep and 38" wide.

Diamond Fantasy Scarf

Handspun wool/silk from Interlacements in the Scottish Lichen colorway spun a couple of years ago. Pattern by Sivia Harding is gorgeous! The yarn was perhaps slightly overspun, and I was concerned about it being too springy to block properly so I washed it and blocked it on the needles! I needn't have worried. It's beautiful. The skein I'm knitting from was 2.5 oz and 366 yds and it's knit on a size 5 circular needle.