Shield Maiden

Invoking my inner shield maiden today, with my newly finished Vedbaek!

How I look in my new shawl:

How I feel:

hehehe...

This is a light and lofty shawl, but with substance and shield-like qualities.  Sarah from FiberTrek has mentioned she regards hers as protective, like a talisman, and I couldn't agree more.

I love the way the Shilasdair Luxury 4ply worked up in the garter stitch, and the colour is just beautiful.  In some lights; grey, sometimes purple, others nearly brown.  A chameleon, perfect for protection.

My only minor disappointment is that the "arrows" on the edging don't seem to pop on my version as much as on others I've seen.  This could be just a matter of reblocking though?

I really don't have a lot to say about this shawl except to say I love it!  I've mentioned before, but in case you've missed it - it's a well-written pattern, easily memorised so perfect for travelling, and something different from the lace shawls typically calling for this weight yarn.

If you have been contemplating knitting it, do it!

being M.I.A. just makes the heart grow fonder, yes?

While lamenting to a derby friend that I'm struggling to find time to get everything done, she pithily responded "Haven't blogged lately either..."!! And she's right!  I have really been trying to get into a habit/rhythm of posting every Wednesday, and for a while there it was working really well.  Then one thing and another started to happen and before you know it, it's been three weeks...

Thank you to everyone who has hung around and stuck by me and my blog-musing through periods of inactivity and absence.  New readers, thank you for giving me a look-see - I will be getting more organised, I promise!  

I have some larger projects on the go at the moment so they may be as good a place to start as any.  Firstly, I'm working on the Nightingale Vest, from Amimono's 'Bird Collection' book.

I'm using Isager Highland & Alpaca 1 held together and it's making a beautiful fabric.  Knit on 3.5mm needles, this one may take me a while.  There are roughly 4 more rows of Bell Stitch before I divide for the armholes.  Bell Stitch is a 15 row pattern repeat, which roughly equates to 2 rows of @#%! hell balanced by 13 blissful rest rows.  I'm learning to be at peace with it, but it's a special kind of patience required let me tell you.

Speaking of special kinds of patience, if you follow me on Instagram you may have seen I recently finished a Sophisticated Mr Fox stuffie.   I used Rowan Fine Tweed and I think you'd have to agree - it's the *perfect* fox colour, no?

Knitted toys are super-cute...to look at!  Super-fiddly to knit.  And super-laborious to sew up!!

Lucky he's so damn cute (and sophisticated).  He'll live at the shop, so keep an eye out for him if you come to visit.  

During my absence, I have been watching and listening to a lot of fibre podcasts. As a result,  I'm participating in a KAL hosted by the FiberTrek crew, Sarah and Morgan, over on their Ravelry group.  Do you watch their podcasts?  You should.  They are wonderful.  They do great regular spots not only on fibre, patterns and projects, but also interesting facts on fauna and textile history.  They also have really great, dry senses of humour :)

The KAL is the Karina Westermann "Vedbaek" shawl, and it's proving to be just the perfect antedote to all that "patience" knitting I've been preoccupied with.  The stitch pattern for the main body of the shawl is easily memorised, and very clear to read, should you zone out a little too much.

I'm using Shilasdair Luxury 4ply in the Skye Gabbro colourway.  Love it, both the yarn and the pattern.  It's my project for TV watching, car travelling, grabbing time to fit a few rows in on my lunchbreak, and I am really enjoying the soft hand of this beautiful yarn.

That doesn't really seem like a lot to have been so occupied by these last three weeks, does it? Actually, truth is, it's not all I've been doing.  I've got some exciting things going on behind the scenes that I'm dying to share with you, but I can't let details slip just yet!  All will (hopefully) be revealed soon, but until then I will make a concerted effort to provide you with some interesting snippets.

I really hope you can stick with me and my sporadic updates until then!!

All about the accessories

After recent back to back adult sized garments, I've been ready for some quick and dirty projects with lots of instant gratification! Plus I've identified a bit of a hole in my accessories collection, namely hats and shawls/scarves.  And by hole, I mean I'm sick of all the ones I've knit previously and I'm ready for a refresh.  There's not seriously a lack of anything knitted in this house, trust me.

Sunspun have just started stocking Shilasdair yarns and I've been keen to try them. If you're not familiar with this yarn company, they are based in Skye, Scotland and produce a beautiful range of luxury-base yarns dyed with natural botanicals. 

I chose the 8ply weight, in the Fleece Cloud (natural) and Atlanic Blue (pale blue variegated) colour ways for this cutie-pie snowflake beanie, and the glorious Uig Sea-Green in the same weight for a Winterberry shawl.  

Good sturdy accessories, adept at keeping the bracing winds out, I feel.

I recently ordered a hard copy of "Journey", the collection by Jane Richmond and Shannon Cook.  This is a wonderful collection of patterns, including socks, a hat, a large shawl, some wristwarmers, a cardigan and a jumper. 

I've already made the socks (as a sample for the shop), and this week I quickly whipped out the wristwarmers, using some Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12ply in a deep cobalt blue. They are toasty warm and I love the honeycomb stitch pattern.  There are also plans afoot for the shawl and beanie too, and when I'm ready to go back to jumpers, I've got some lovely, rich alpaca earmarked for the jumper.

It's been wonderful to have these little things flying off the needles, and the accessory drawers are once again full, a happy state of affairs indeed.  

It did get me to thinking though - what does one do with all their handknits that they no longer wear/want?  Some of mine are perfectly fine still; the lack of wardrobe rotation is more an indication of colours I no longer wear, or too many similar styles of that particular item at the time.  If you have any tips or bright ideas, leave me a comment and share! 

Until next time, stay warm x