Tag: faroese

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

New (Old) Shawl

Iris Rose

I have been lying low this last month but have still been busy at my craft.  I spent some time going through my stash and unfinished stuff.

When I started sorting through every bag and box, I found twenty one, yes you read it, twenty one unfinished projects.  I was ready to cast on a new one but thought it was time to buckle down and get at least a couple of these finished first.

I am down to five remaining, no six, I just remembered a shawl that I started in January and am reknitting for the third time.  That one may become a frog project since the level of frustration is growing with the pattern that I am working on.

I found a shawl that I started in December or November of 2018.  Did you see how I put December first so you would think that it is not as old as November but really I think it was October or maybe September.  You know how that goes.

 

Anyway, I found a shawl worked with Caron Cotton Cakes and finished it!  I knit the top piece and, at the time, dithered with changing to crochet to finish the bottom.  I started the crochet last weekend and here is the result.  I am pretty happy with it and look at the miracle of blocking!

 

I will show you all of the toys that I finally finished off next week.  In the meantime, have a happy and crafty week.  Be kind and wear your mask please to help keep your vulnerable fellow humans safe.

Knitting

Another Pattern Sale

Iris Rose

DH had a major surgery last Thursday so my mind was not on my blog.  As a treat for being patient with me, I am offering a 50% off coupon on my Northern Rose Shawl pattern for the next month.

This is an easy knit (all garter) combining a Faroese shape with Shetland lace patterns.  You can knit this up in sock or worsted depending on your preference.  The sock version is light and airy; the worsted is soft and cozy.  Both are knit on larger needles so working these won’t wear out your fingertips!

 

This shawl makes a lovely gift and you have plenty of time for Christmas knitting if you start now.  Knit it in three colours as I did to bust your stash or use all one colour for a truly reversible shawl.

I hope that you enjoy my patterns and remember you still have time to buy the poncho pattern featured in my last post at 50 off too until October the 9th!

Thanks for reading and be kind to one another.  Happy week ahead and don’t forget to enjoy the beauty around you!

Knitting

Shawl Part 3, Easy Peasy

Iris Rose

Wow, August! Why does the summer go by so fast and the winter so slowly? I guess that there is so much more activity in our part of the world when the air is warm than there is when it is cold. There must be at least five festivals every weekend (or so it seems) and it is nice just to relax outside.  I baked this banana cream pie last night for DH’s birthday today.  You might want to have a slice before you listen to my complaining.

Banana Cream Pie

I still find time to craft amidst all of the activity and have been working on a few new patterns. I have kind of been taking a break from publishing. While I don’t mind constructive criticism and am always, always happy to help, sometimes the negative remarks sting, especially on the free stuff which is way more popular than the paid. I guess that is an unfortunate part of the internet culture, where it is okay to be rude and nasty and hide behind the anonymity.

Okay then, my rant is over and I hope that I didn’t offend anyone. I really do appreciate your support.

 

On to the subject of this blog post, Part 3 of my Shawl in Parts pattern. I am going to change the name when it is done but am waiting to see how pretty it is before I decide on the best name for this lovely shawl. Carry on and have fun!

Shawl Part 3:

You will be working the borders and the centre five stitch spine throughout this part in the same way that you did for Parts 1 and 2. You are going to notice that the stitch used in this part, double moss, tends to pull the work in from the relaxed lace stitch. Remember the miracle of blocking and don’t worry; your shawl will be lovely when finished and blocked.

Row 1: Work your border stitches as before, slip marker, YO, (K1, P1) across to last stitch, K1, YO, slip marker, K5, slip marker, YO, (K1, P1) to last stitch, K1, YO, slip marker and work the border as before.

Row 2: Work your border stitches as before, slip marker, P1, (P1, K1) across to last stitch, P2, slip marker, P5, slip marker, P1, (P1, K1) to last stitch, P2, slip marker and work the border as before.

Work Rows 1 and 2 until you have 115 stitches between the border markers and the centre markers on each side.

That was easy, wasn’t it? Next week we are back to a bit of lace and then we will be on to the final border which I am still conflicted about. I am sure that I will have my inner argument settled and the shawl ready by then.  Have a happy week!

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

The Magic of Blocking

Iris Rose

So you are finished that beautiful piece of crochet or knitting, and, after all of your hard work, the piece looks like a crumpled bit of a yarny mess. It can be so disheartening after the hours and love that you have invested.

Blocking your piece will make a huge (and I mean massively amazing) difference in how the piece looks and also the size of what you have finished. You can see from the before and afters that blocking is time well spent.

     


Blocking can be done in a couple of ways. My favourite, for lace especially, is to soak the item and then pin it out to the size I want and let it dry overnight. This method works well with natural fibres. If I have used a synthetic fibre, I skip the soak, pin it out in the same way and steam it. I like to steam my shawls in particular so that the fibre softens and holds the stretched or pinned out shape. You do need to be careful not to overheat acrylic or you will end up with a melty, crunchy mess. Ask me how I know!

      

Both of these acrylic wraps were steamed to block.

      

If you only want to lightly block sweater pieces for example, I like to pin them out to match the length of seams and lightly steam them. This works with both natural and synthetics. You only want to release some of the curl and straighten out the stitches. Acrylics also respond well to a simple warm wash and a short spin in the dryer (not too hot) to look good.

      

These little sweaters were lightly steamed then washed.

My Vine Lace Wrap below was soaked and pinned.

      

      

After you have invested all of your time and lovely yarn to make a sweater, shawl or other beautiful item, spend a little extra time and block. You won’t be disappointed.

Have a wonderful crafty week and may all your yarn skeins pull smoothly from the centre!

Yarn, Knitting and Crochet

My New Gradient Cable Poncho Pattern, Half Price!

Iris Rose

Well, at long last I finished my gradient yarn poncho and, tada, I love it! You know that feeling that you get when you envision a project or fall in love with a pattern and yarn and just have to make it? And when it turns out exactly like your vision or the pattern, you just want to jump up and down and hug someone? That’s it; that is what I am actually feeling, woohoo!

Okay, okay, time to calm down already. I have published the pattern for my Gradient Cable Poncho, made in worsted weight yarn, on Ravelry and, for the next two months, I am offering it to my blog readers at fifty percent off. Use the coupon code 50OFF at checkout and enjoy! Half price for all my loyal readers and, if you pass it along, to your friends too. You do need to click through to Ravelry from my blog for this promotion. While you are on my blog site, have a look at all of the other free patterns that I have up there in cyberspace for you to use.

               

As a special bonus, because spring is coming and who doesn’t need another light and lovely shawl to keep those shoulders warm in the cool spring breeze, you can use the same coupon to purchase my Northern Rose Shawl pattern at half price. The pattern for this pretty shawl is written and charted and can be made in two sizes depending on the yarn that you choose. Have a look at the pattern details to see both a worsted weight and a sock weight version. Who doesn’t love to save money?

       

I have been busy with charity hats still and am about one third of the way through that box of yarn that I featured last week. Who knew that making hats is so addictive and great TV knitting? I am determined to switch up to crochet this weekend which will slow down the movie intake (I need to look at what I am doing when I crochet!) but, hopefully will sharpen up my skill set.

I have a couple of machine knit patterns in the works too, worked on a standard gauge machine, for anyone interested in that craft. I just have to decipher my notes, always a challenge! Keep watch here as they will be featured on my blog first.