Garn Boet - The Yarn Nest

Today’s entry will be all about shawls. I have two finished shawls to present, one you haven’t seen at all before, and the finished Friendship shawl, alias Swallowtail shawl.I talked my older daughter Hanna into modeling the shawls. The first shots were like this, but then I managed to calm her down and make her behave in accordance with what you except of a shawl model. Elegance and ladylikeness can be very far from what a teenager is.

The sharpeyed have perhaps seen that there has been something called the Ti-to-tip shawl in the sidebar. This is a shawl I started and finished last autumn. My son had a period of practice in a hospital for elderly people, and had for five weeks to be on the other side of Helsinki at seven o’clock in the morning. My schedule was to wake up at five, take out the puppy for his morning business, wake up the son and keep him company while he breakfasted before I headed back to bed for one hour of sleep after he had left. While being up I knitted on this shawl, it was simple enough for those very early morning hours. It’s a very simple garter stitch shawl, you cast on three stitches, and on every row make a yo before the last stitch. The shawl is inspired by the shawls the American illustrator Tasha Tudor wears over her everyday dresses. I had some Rowan WoolCotton left, and used up everything for this shawl. It’s very everyday, warm and snuggly, and perfect to have under your jacket on cold days. It’s knitted on 4 mm needles. The shawl pin is by a Swedish designer who had a shop in Malmö, unfortunately I don’t have his name anymore. I like it a lot.

The Swallowtail shawl, renamed to the Friendship shawl, got finished almost exact one year after I finished my first Swallowtail shawl, a present for a dear friend’s birthday. It’s a tad bit bigger than the original, knitted with five more rows of buds. The Lily of the valley pattern matched exact with the extended bud pattern part, but the border pattern didn’t match. I simply left out the last decrease on the first row before the mid stitch and the first after the mid stitch, and after that did everything work out right. This bigger version used two hanks of Wetterhoff Sivilla, while the original version used one and a half.

I had serious problems with the nupps on the original Swallowtail shawl, and I'm happy to report I managed better this time. The pointier bamboo needles grabbed the yarn, and even if it wasn't fast working, it worked much better than what it did with metal needles. I'm still waiting for the lace needles I ordered eons ago, so I don't know if it would have worked even better with them.

Project details:
Pattern: Swallowtail shawl by Evelyn Clark in Interweave Knits Fall 2006.
Yarn: Wetterhoff Sivilla, two hanks in colour 916.
Needles: 3.5 mm Addi bamboo circulars.
Alterations: Shawl made bigger by knitting five more pattern repeats of the bud pattern.

I have a new wip to present, one that is simply flying off the needles (in spite of all the colour changes), and new pictures of Chuck's Cabled socks. The second sock has already reached the heel, and will soon be finished. It's amazing how fast the knitting will advance when you have only half the amount of cables left!

Posted by Maud at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (16)

A quick update on my Chuck’s cabled socks: the first sock is almost finished. I have knitted the cuff and the heel on 2,5 mm needles, and the rest on 3 mm needles, much bigger needles than what I usually use for this yarn. But the cables drag the stitches together, and this way will the socks be wide enough. The pink toes will most likely be knitted on 2,5 mm. The yarn is Schoeller+Stahl’s Fortissima socka, in grey and pink. The socks will be for my older daughter, but the size would fit me too.

Posted by Maud at 03:58 PM | Permalink | Comments (13)

I finished the Tangled yoke cardigan before I got ill for the second time, and I even got the buttons bought. It then took me almost a week to get it all together and last weekend it was time for finishing party chez Yarn Nest. I have pushed forward the photo session, waiting for blue skies to turn up, but it looks hopeless. We do still have the same grey weather as we have had already too much of. So here it is, a modeled Tangled Yoke cardigan, picture taken inside.

The fit of this cardigan is perfect. I freely admit I was a bit nervous before washing the cardigan for the first time, since I had measured the gauge after washing, and Felted Tweed is always growing in the wash for me. The sleeves of the unwashed cardigan ended halfway between my elbows and hands, and it was alarmingly short. But, all calculations were done right and the finished fit is just perfect. I have worn this cardigan for several days already, and it is absolutely one of the sweaters I’m most pleased with of all I have ever made.

Project details:
Pattern: Tangled Yoke Cardigan by Eunny Jang from IK Fall 2007.
Yarn: Rowan Felted Tweed in colour 152 Watery (thank you Paulina for wise advises on choosing colour!), 7 balls (didn’t use much of the seventh).
Needles: 3,5 mm and 3 mm bamboo circular needles and 3,5 mm dpns.
Size: Smallest (34").

Eunny’s pattern is a very good one, as hers usually are. It was a joy to knit with Felted Tweed, and I didn’t mind the stockinette parts at all. I used bamboo needles in size 3,5 mm for the body of the cardigan, and a cabling needle for the pattern. I usually cable without a cable needle, but the irregular stretches on this cable were easier to manage with a cable needle, I discovered. The button bands were knitted with 3 mm bamboo needles, and the button side reinforced with a cotton ribbon on the wrong side. The only change I made to the pattern was to start the short rows for the neckline a couple of centimeters earlier than what the pattern stated, in order to lower the neck opening somewhat. < ahref="http://reunasilmukka.net/">Kamicha did this on her Tangled Yoke last year, and I liked the way her cardigan looked a lot.

If you like cardigans with a tight fit, then this is a pattern for you. The yoke construction is very good, and the cable looks far more difficult than what it in reality is. But if you are using Felted Tweed, take into consideration how the yarn behaves after a wet wash. There are several good looking but too big Tangled yokes out there in blog land. But besides that, I’m all for recommending this pattern, and I had no problems with knitting the cardigan.

Posted by Maud at 03:46 PM | Permalink | Comments (30)

Sorry for having been absent for a while, but I caught the cold my husband had, and was in bed for most of last week and weekend. After that had a nice mountain of dirty clothes accumulated in the laundry room, the dog cried for long walks and the house looked like a real mess. This weekend was mostly spent cleaning and washing, how fun.

I have got the You make my day award from several people during this week. Thank you KaisaKaisa, Francesca, Kathy and Mel!

I must pass on the You Make My Day award to ten other bloggers who bring me happiness and inspiration. The four people giving the award to me are all people I would have put on the list, if they hadn't given it to me already. You won't get it back, but just so you know. Here we go:

Cosmopolitan purls, Craftoholic, Nature Knitter, Fluffa, Knititude, ZebraKnits, My fashionable life, Peacock Chic, Reunasilmukka and Sweetgeorgia . Some of you don't post so often, but I still enjoy your blogs! I tried to pick blogs that haven't got the award from before, but if you've got it and I just haven't noticed you blogging about it, just ignore. You still make my day.

Next up will be pictures of the finished Tangled Yoke Cardigan, the first of Chuck's cabled socks and the Friendship shawl. Stay tuned for actual knitting content!

Posted by Maud at 08:42 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)