Thursday, March 08, 2012

Pretty leaves and a vintage sweater

I haven't done much knitting with laceweight yarn before but this Noro Sekku was totally irresistible.  I got several balls in a sale a few months ago and have been waiting for just the right pattern.  After trawling Ravelry for hours I found this beautiful lace entrelac shawl pattern.  It is called the Dianna shawl and is a free pattern.  I have never tried entrelac before so should probably have started with something simpler but the lacey leaves just looked so lovely.  The thick/thin texture of the Noro Sekku makes the lace pattern quite fiddly but I think it will be worth the effort. It may take a while to finish as I find it easier to work in daylight.
 
The Jan Sweater is from A Stitch In Time: Volume 2 by Susan Crawford.  I am working it in Drops Baby Alpaca Silk which is wonderfully soft. There is minimal shaping in this pattern so it is simple once you have got the hang of the eyelet design. The back is almost finished.
 
A trip to Mavis, my LYS, usually results in my buying a few cheap balls of yarn from the bargain bin.  On this occasion I found 3 balls of an old Phildar mohair which I used to make a crochet mesh shawl.
 
The sparkle is a thread of Drops Glitter that I ran along with the mohair. It made the shawl a bit itchy but looks quite nice.  Overall, this wasn't a particularly successful project and I doubt if it will get much wear.
I also bought a single ball of Sublime Luxurious Wooly Merino at Mavis. It just looked so soft and fluffy.  One ball was plenty for a pair of very simple arm warmers which took just one evening to knit.  I have been wearing them a lot.

 

The Colourscape that I bought in the John Lewis sale last month has knitted up beautifully into a fabulous cardigan.  This is  Sirdar pattern 9311, meant for Connemara Chunky. I love the simple line of it and the shawl collar.  It only required four and a half skeins so there is plenty left over for a bag or scarf.