New Project Underway

I have finished my Kassiani shawl! I bound off the edge on Tuesday evening, but since I was leaving for Michigan Fiber Festival very early on Wednesday morning, I won’t be able to get it blocked until I return home next week. Here is a pre-blocking picture I took fresh off the needles.

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I think it looks pretty good even before it’s blocked so it should really shine once it’s finished properly. :-)

After I arrived at my hotel last night I got a start on the new design I have planned in my Organic Cotton Sport weight yarn. I measured my swatch and decided on a size to aim for, 30×35; did some math and cast on. I thought about going with a fancier border like a rib or something but then decided that a simpler garter border would be better suited to the busy cable, lace, rib stitch pattern. I am doing a slightly wide edge to square up the edges since the stitch pattern would naturally create a wavy edge. Here’s my start.

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I had the privilege of spending two days with my daughter Meredith and her family after I left Chicago before going home. She lives near Lake Michigan so I took a quick visit there but spent most of my time visiting. Here’s a few pictures of the grandbabies. :-)

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Summer Projects

I have made a little progress on the adult version of Sorrel. 320 stitches on size 2 needles is pretty slow going though. I have about 3 1/2” knit and need to make the body about 16” before working the cap sleeves and yoke.

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To break up the monotony of all that stockinette, which I don’t mind but sometimes you need a change, I cast on for Mayapple. This is the latest gorgeous crescent shaped shawl by Dee O’Keefe. I just had to start one! It is written for a fingering weight yarn and I do plan to make one in Classic Merino Bamboo as well, but for some reason I was dying to see how it would look in my Classic Merino Lace. I decided to go with the Tiger Lily color even though I was tempted to use Saffron like Dee’s sample. Since my Edwina is yellow it had to be another color for Mayapple. I am using the same needles she used for the fingering weight, size 5, because the lace is very open and also because Cassie is using my AddiTurbo Lace in size 4. I have only completed the first chart at this point and I think the needle choice is going to work fine.

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This is what my Addi Lace size 4’s are being used for. It is Dee’s Ruxton Shawl in fingering weight yarn. It can be worked in sock weight and sport weight yarn so we cast on for both versions. I love the texture of this one! We are using Classic Merino Superwash Sock for this version in Green Apple.

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For our sport weight version we chose French Marigold in Classic Merino Superwash Sport. We are using size 5 needles. It is wonderfully squishy in this yarn! The girls are in a bit of a race to see who will finish this first and it looks like they are making quick progress due to the competition. :-) They both cast on about 10 days ago!

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When we aren’t knitting, we are making preparations for the summer dyeing. The yarn arrived from the mill when we were in Asheville last weekend and the skeining commenced last week. They are a little more than half done and as soon as they are finished I can get the dyes mixed.

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