Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A Bit of Lace

For the past few weeks, I've been working on a shawl for the Little Knits Trenna contest. The challenge was to create a shawl that would flaunt Trenna's exuberant colorways, but be both visually interesting and simple enough for beginners.

A little bit of it is shown here.



The pattern is a feather-and-fan variation, the original of which creates horizontal patterning. Because I am knitting this as a normality shawl, the stripes become vertical and the lower edge scallops naturally.

After I had knit a fair amount, I decided it looked nice, but rather blah--it needed something for visual impact.I don't really care for beading, so I plan to weave a ribbon rose garland into the yarnovers, either at the top, lower edge, or in the central spine. The beads and the fuzzy ball of mohair are destined for the knitted rose closure.

After a week of feathering and fanning, though, my psyche demanded something a bit more challenging. I flipped through my pattern books and decided to try my hand at Heirloom Knitting's Spring shawl. Ten samples later, I opted for Colourmart's cashmere-silk in Dark Lavender. Oooo, it;s such nice stuff! I originally bought it to do Princess, but LaceFreak is knitting hers in this color, so I put the yarn aside for something else.

I haven't gotten very far, but a little peek doesn't hurt.


The little Japanese bag is perfect as a cone holder, too.

And to give everyone a giggle after this bland, dry post, I include a link to one of the funniest newscasts I've ever watched. I sure hope it's a spoof!

23 comments:

Anonymous said...

I like the color of the shawl for Little Knits, it's very luxurious looking.

Anonymous said...

Aha! My freakish powers of mind-control led you to the lavender, even after you had rejected it. (I can also get you pregnant over the telephone, using only my mind. Be sure to check your caller ID. Meanwhile, I'll be knitting on a baby blanket for my friend, who will tell you this is true.)

And you know I love love love the Hanabi. (I've got a secret...)

Also, I've forgotten my google info...again.

Opal said...

Oh I just love that Trenna color. So rich!

Kay said...

YUM! Can't wait for mine to come in so that I can start knitting, too. Love the lavender.

Laritza said...

Lovely colors. Very pretty!

KSee said...

So pretty and like the rose garland idea.

Carla Willingham said...

I love your shawl..but I'm entering too, so I can't love it too much!! LOL!!
Good Luck!! Carla

Shea said...

Beautiful as always. I'll be shocked if you don't win. I've never seen anyone work lace like you do. I love the rose garland idea. Very original. Everyone is doing beads these days. It's nice to see someone break out of the pack.

Courtney said...

I love the color and the little roses are sooo cute!!! From what I can see the shawl is really pretty!

Carol said...

That was not a boring post. The shawl experiment is lovely. Very delicate looking and pretty.

fluffbuff said...

That garnet shawl looks fabulous! I can't wait to see it finished.

Lacefreak said...

Your Spring Shawl looks great in that color! The Trenna shawl is also very interesting. I'm also not really into beads on a shawl so I'm interested to see your variation. I think the pattern and color are beautiful in the Trenna.

StashDiva said...

It looks wonderful, I envious of the perfect cone bag you have also and the Lavender was bound to pop up sooner or later since it's such a lovely color.

Anonymous said...

Both your shawls look utterly covetable! Such lovely lacework, so yummy. I like the way you've played with the feather and fan pattern, and the complex one is just exquisite. And thanks for the link to the video, hilarious :-)

z's momma said...

Beautiful! (as always). I do covet your cone bag.

Unknown said...

I definitely must check out your lace book recommendations. I really want to branch out to something more intricate. Thanks for the showing some amazing WIP.

BadCatDesigns said...

I can't wait to see your Trenna design, and I want a cone bag too...thanks for the excellent news clip. I could almost believe it to be real. Certainly, the news from my state (NY) this week is surreal!

LittleBerry said...

The competition shawl looks very interesting, and the colour is lovely I like that sort of red what yarn are you using?

The HK Spring shawl looks good too and I look fwd to more photos as it grows....

Monika said...

I'm loving your Little Knits shawl already! Can't wait to see it finished. THe little roses are a very nice touch, and the color is lovely too. Your are too funny, love reading your posts! :o)

Anonymous said...

I want to see, I want to see!

Sue

KnitYoga said...

That red is lovely and rich looking and the ribbon rose garland and rose closure will make nich finishing touches.

Claire said...

Love both shawls. The red one is so pretty, and the colour's just divine.

Romi said...

Ooooooooh. Yummy. :)