Summer Knitting

I'm back after a 9 week hiatus. Life sometime intervenes in personal activities and I haven't had time to blog since just after my son's wedding. Things seem to be settling down and since we have hit that time of the summer when there's not much on TV to watch, I may have some time in the evenings to work on my blog and my website.

For the next few posts, I'm going to focus on the topic of "Summer Knitting". Summer is that time of year when I like to have a few smaller projects going on my needles. Small projects are very portable and can be easily tossed into the car or suitcase when heading out of town on a trip. These projects also need to be fairly simple patterns -- I don't like having to concentrate on a complex pattern when traveling or sitting with friends/relatives.


My first summer knitting project was a knitted doily. Knitted doilies are a bit of novelty for me -- since I also crochet, I have always crocheted my doilies and never really gave much thought to the possibility that doilies could also be knitted. However, I have recently discovered two lovely patterns for knitted doilies on the web and I knit them up using size 10 crochet cotton thread and size US 3 needles.





Doily 1 is “Liz Snella’s Heirloom Doily”. Finished it measured 12 inches in diameter. I used double point needles to start and then switched to a 24 inch circular needle. As with all doilies, this pattern knit up quickly and I was able to finish it in a couple of evenings.

Doily 2 is named “Doily with Star”. Finished it measured 10 inches in diameter. With this doily, I used two circular needles rather than double points and a circular needle. Again, I was able to finish this doily in only a few hours of knitting.



I gave both of these doilies to my MIL for Mother’s Day. She was delighted – and since she doesn’t knit, she was also surprised that I had knitted them rather than crocheted them.

So – if you are looking for a small summer project: try knitting a doily. It’s a great way to practice using double points and/or two circular needles. I’ve included links to the two patterns below.

Happy knitting. Lindy

Links to patterns: Liz Snella's Heirloom Doily

Doliy with Star

Secret of the Stole II: Savannah Completed

Finished hint 9 on 3/28/08 – just a week ahead of my son’s wedding. Didn’t have time to post pictures until now – busy with all the wedding activities. The bride loved the stole and she looked lovely wearing it with her wedding gown.

We don’t have pictures from the wedding yet, but here are a couple of pictures of the hint 9 and the completed stole.

The completed stole was very soft and draped beautifully.

Now working on finishing up the other shawl I have on needles – this one is for my daughter. It’s the Candle Flame shawl pattern from Knit Picks in light teal Zephyr yarn.

Secret of the Stole II: Hints 7 & 8

I finished hint 7 on 3/13/08, but had no time to post pictures.
You can see the length of the stole and the arch on the right edge.
This is a truly beautiful lace pattern and the cashmere yarn makes
it very special.







Close up view of hint 7 -- I just love this pattern!









Finished up hint 8 on Easter Sunday evening (3/23/08) and took pictures this morning. Close up shot shows the continuation of the "squares".






This picture shows the length of the stole and its lovely drape.
Hint 9 came out a week ago, so I did not complete this KAL before the theme and name were revealed. Meet the lovely "Savannah".

On to knit hint 9 -- I hope to finish this week -- the wedding is two weeks from last Saturday, but I should have enough time to finish knitting and block the stole.

Secret of the Stole II: Hint 6 Completed 3/13/08

I finished hint 6 last Thursday but haven't had time to post the pictures.

The stole is now two-thirds completed and is about 40 inches long.

The pattern continues with the lovely motifs that are repeating as we knit.


I have hint 7 nearly completed and I hope to finish it this evening.
I will post Friday.

Since hints 8 & 9 are now out, it's clear that I am behind and will not
complete this KAL on the timeframe. I should, however, have it done and blocked in time to give it to the bride for her wedding day.

Happy Leap Day! Hint 5 now done.

I finished hint 5 of the SoSii stole this morning. What a beautiful pattern this is turning out to be! Just love the design and the way the stole drapes.

I have slowed down on my knitting due to too many things to do and not enough time to knit. So while hint 7 was posted this morning, I will be starting hint 6 sometime later tonight (I hope...)

As our son's wedding draws closer, I find that I have more things to do related to the wedding and less time to just sit and knit. But, I need to stay with this project as it is intended to be a gift for the bride to wear on her wedding day.

Hint 4 Completed This Morning

I finished knitting hint 4 of the Secret of the Stole II this morning. You can see the close-up of the hint in this picture.

Pattern is absolutely lovely and is knitting up beautifully in the 100 % Monogolian Cashmere yarn. I can't tell for certain at this point whether the right edge will continue growing at an angle or will begin to form a curved edge on the next hint.

This picture shows the entire length of the stole as knitted to this point. Very lovely and soft -- and perfect for a bride!

Secret of the Stole II: Hint 3

Finished Hint 3 in the cashmere yarn on 2/7/08. It's turning out to be an intriguing pattern. Diamonds, rosettes and slanting lines.

Pinned flat the piece is at least 24 inches wide. So it will be wider still when wet blocked. It's also about 30 inches long, so it appears that the finished length will be longer than the estimated 60 inches DK gave at the start of this KAL.

I have decided to put the superfine merino yarn on hold for now. I'm finding that I don't have as much time to knit as I thought I would.

Started hint 4 yesterday -- and there was an interesting change in the pattern -- we started adding additional stitches along the right side. Is this going to be a triangle? Hmmm....

SoSii -- Hint 2 finished in Merino

Finished hint 2 in the Superfine Merino yarn on Saturday. Good way to finish up Ground Hog's Day.

The merino is not as soft as the cashmere, but it does knit up well and shows the lace pattern stitch definition.

SoS ii Hint 2 done (in cashmere)

I finished knitting hint 2 in the cashmere yarn last evening. Waited until this morning to take pics. The cashmere version is knitting up very nicely. It's very soft and drapes well. I think it shows the stitch definition nicely as well.

This is a lovely pattern so far -- it is developing into an intriguing design. Hint 2 took longer to knit this week. This was in part because I was busy with family things most of the weekend and really didn't get down to knitting until Sunday.

Started working the hint up in the superfine merino -- but only got about 10 rows done last night and haven't started knitting yet this evening. Hint 3 arrives tomorrow -- so I'm going to be behind on version 2.

Secret of the Stole II: Hint 1 - A Tale of Two Yarns

---

The first hint for the Secret of the Stole II came out last Friday. I finished the hint twice. Yes -- twice.

I had decided to use the cashmere yarn for this stole -- and then I tried to cast on using the long tail cast on recommended by DK. Much to my surprise and dismay -- the yarn broke each time I attempted to cast on -- I did finally cast on using a knit on cast on method. After the rough start, the cashmere yarn knit up fine and I like the result. But I am a little concerned about this yarn's stability and strength. Hence, the second version of hint 1 in the superfine merino.

Casting on with the merino yarn using the long tail cast on was uneventful -- no breaks. Now, this is what I am used to with yarns -- even fine yarns. So, I am now doing this KAL in two yarns -- and then I'll decide which one I like better.

I'd appreciate hearing from others with more experience knitting cashmere yarn. What has been your experience?

Secret of the Stole II Group

If you've never done a Knit A Long -- give it a try! My first was the Secret of the Stole -- and I really enjoyed it. (See my earlier posts.) DK does a wonderful job with the designs and moderating the KAL. If you are interested in trying knitting lace and want a project with lots of support and encouragement, I'd recommend joining the Secret of the Stole II KAL.

The Secret of the Stole II Knit A Long begins January 18, 2008. The KAL is still open for those who are interested but have not yet joined. For further information or to join the group go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/secretofthestole-ii/.

Good knitting! Lindy

New Website from DK & Mr. K

DK - the nautical knitter and her husband, Mr. K have just launched this wonderful new website. It is fantastic! Kudos to Mr. K -- as I understand it, he is the computer genius and this is one of the best knitting websites I've seen.

It's filled with lots of stuff for knitters -- You must check out this website -- go to this link:
Knit with Us

Secret of the Stole II Swatches

Happy New Year!

I have finished two swatches for the Secret of the Stole II KAL -- which begins January 18.

I am trying to decide which yarn to use for this KAL. I may be giving this stole to my future DIL for her wedding in April. Both yarns are lovely and knit up well in the swatches.

The first yarn is Sarah's Yarns 100% Monogolian cashmere 2 ply. It has a really soft feel to it and I'm sure it would be warm. The color is natural white.

The second yarn is JaggerSpun Superfine merino wool 2/18. It is not as soft and is less fuzzy than the cashmere. The color is vanilla, so it is a bit darker in color as well. It appears to be a little lacy-er than the cashmere in the swatch.

Opinions anyone?