Here are some shawls that I made for the local cancer centre before I started this blog. The green shawl is the Aran Plaid shawl from Folk Shawls. The yarn is Wool of the Andes from Knit Picks in Grass Green. The blue shawl is the Lacy Prarie shawl, also from Folk Shawls. The is also Wool of the Andes in Stream. The peach shawl is Cozy from knitty.com. The yarn I used was Cloudspun from Bernat...long ago discontinued, but it's such a nice yarn. It's a wool/mohair/acrylic blend.
7 comments:
Your shawls are so beautiful! I just found an old comment and link from you at Knitters Review ... would you recommend the Leaf Lace over Flower Basket for a novice lace knitter? I liked the FB because I wanted something very open (I'm using a mohair blend) but I don't want to bite off more than I can chew ... thanks!
Hilary
Hi Hilary,
I would recommend Leaf Lace over Flower Basket for your first time out. I found the pattern to be easier and it was easy to get understand.
If you're following the chart, I'd recommend that you get some highlighters and highlight the stitches so yo can easily identify them. For example, I highlight the k2tog in blue, ssk in green, yo in yellow, purl in pink, and s2k in orange. It's just an easier way of knowing what stitch you're on. And on the purl rows, I got into the habit of making sure every "leaf" has 10 sts so I don't have an extra yo or forgot a yo, which is easily corrected on the purl row without tinking (you just pick up a stitch if you forget a yo and drop the yo if you have one where it doesn't belong).
The FB is a bit more open than the leaf lace, but look closely at the photos I've posted and you can see there isn't a big deal of difference.
One more choice that I might recommend is the Cocoon Lace shawl also from Fiber Trends. I think that would be gorgeous in a mohair blend. And it's rectangular, which might be a better for a novice lace knitter. Give that one some consideration, too. It's very light and airy and looks beautiful in mohair. That's next on my list to knit, after the Knitting Olympics!
Thank you for the advice! The Cocoon shawl is beautiful ... I think I definitely might want to go easier and save the Leaf Lace for my next project. Your pictures make me want to make them all! You haven't ever tried the Estelle Signature Shawl or the Simply Stunning Lace Shawl from St. Seraphina Knits, have you? I thought they both looked simpler but then I read some comments about the St. Seraphina shawl being complicated. Not that I'm obsessing about this or anything! You could probably finish 10 shawls in the time I worry about which one to try. :)
Hilary
Hi Hilary,
I haven't tried either of the shawls you mention, but both are gorgeous. I have all of the St. Seraphina Knits patterns but have only made the Catherdral Window and Victoria Lace shawls, both of which are gorgeous. I looked at the pattern for the Simply Stunning shawl and it didn't look too complicated. She gives a little "test knit" section to let you try out the pattern and get the hang of it before trying to make the shawl, which is a great idea.
I can't wait for Friday to cast on the first shawl of my two shawls for the Knitting Olympics! I just hope I don't end up with the East German judge (a very old joke!).
Mari
I'm old enough to get it! :) I thought of trying to do my shawl for the Olympics, in which case I'd better go with the Estelle shawl since I already have the pattern. I might have to order the others, though ...
Thanks again, and now I'm totally hooked on looking at your work!
Hilary
Mari,
I just came across your shawls. Delicious! I have Bernat Colorspun "vintage" yarn and would like to make that very shawl that you made. Do you recall what needle size you used? PS: I was ready to throw this yarn out because I could not find a pattern. Maria
Maria, I used a size 7 needle with that yarn. You could easily use a size 8 to get a slightly lacier wrap. The fluffiness of the yarn suits the pattern quite well. I was very happy with the way it turned out.
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