"Haruni" shawl finished

"Haruni" shawl, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Instead of a crocheted cast-off I chose an ordinary one - not as pretty, perhaps, but I think it accentuates the shape of the edge.

This design by Emily Ross is really great, I think! The shape and patterns enhance each other, and the two patterns blend beautifully. It's fun to knit too, easy to learn, but with enough variation to keep it from getting monotonous.

I used about 2½ balls of Rowan kidsilk haze, which makes it weigh only some 60 grams even though it's about 150 cm wide and 60 cm deep.

blocking

When I blocked it I folded it in half to make sure the two halves were identical in shape and size, and then reblocked the centre to get rid of the crease.






Christine: I agree, you couldn't get a yarn more opposite! Actually, my hands were rather sore after knitting a sweater and a cardigan with Harris wool, especially since I had a deadline and spent most of last weekend knitting with it. Well worth it, though. (And maybe the shawl can be used as a beard too!)

Som avslutning bestämde jag mig för en enkel men väldigt lös avmaskning i stället för den (fina, ska jag tillägga) virkade kanten. Delvis av lättja, men mest för att framhäva formen på kanten. 

När jag sträckte sjalen vek jag den först på mitten för att få de två halvorna identiska i form och storlek, och sedan fuktade jag och sträckte om mitten för att bli av med "pressvecket". 

Det är ett mönster jag rekommenderar varmt, inte särskilt svårt och med lagom variation. Mönstren och formen går så fint ihop också. Det gick åt ungefär 2½ nystan Rowan kidsilk haze, så den väger inte mer än ca 60 gram, trots att den är nästan 150 cm vid och drygt 60 cm djup.

Goldilocks

"Haruni" shawl in progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

In my previous post I mentioned I was knitting a sweater and a cardigan for a designer student and couldn't post photos of them.

They're finished, blocked, sent and accepted - but I can't publish photos of them for another few weeks. In short, both are fairly chunky, fisherman-style knitted with beautiful 4-ply wool from Harris.

Craving something light and airy I celebrated finishing them by casting on to make something completely different: reknitting "Haruni" by Emily Ross (Ravelry link). A couple of years ago I knitted it using Viva, a wool-silk blend; this time Rowan kidsilk haze, a mohair-silk blend.

Yesterday a colleague thought for a moment I was clutching a wig! :-)

Minor modifications (like last time):

• rows beginning and ending with stocking stitch (not garter stitch)
• stem in the middle three stitches wide (instead of one)

Mina två beställningsarbeten som jag nämnde i förra inlägget är klara, ivägskickade och godkända - men jag kan inte publicera bilder på dem ännu.

Efter att ha stickat en tröja och en kofta i tjockt och ganska strävt (men mycket vackert) garn behövde jag något lätt, skirt och fluffigt som motvikt. Tre nystan Rowan kidsilk haze blev det, och jag håller på och stickar mönstret "Haruni" av Emily Ross för andra gången. Gårdagens höjdpunkt var en kollega som avslöjade att hon ett ögonblick tyckte att det såg ut som om jag satt och höll i en peruk!

"Haruni" shawl by Emily Ross

WIP: Haruni shawl
Originally uploaded by Asplund

It's really exciting casting off some 700 stitches crowded on a needle: suddenly it's possible to actually see what the project looks like!

My modifications:

1. This shawl is 18x2 repeats wide (instead of the original 12x2). One of the many things I like about the design is that the size is easy to change.

2. Instead of casting of by crocheting and adding chains, I simply cast off as usual but very loosely.

3. In the middle there are three stitches instead of one, simply because I wanted a chunkier "stem" for the leaves. Contrary to what I expected it wasn't necessary to make a double decrease when changing charts for the border.

4. Instead of garter stitch at the beginning and end, I have used stocking stitch and slipped the first stitch. The reason for this is:

5. I just picked up stitches along the hypotenuse to add a border and will turn to Victorian Lace Today for inspiration.

It seems two skeins of wool-silk "Viva" from Wetterhoff will be sufficient. So, what do you do when you have bought three? Return one? Of course not; you buy one more to have enough for another shawl. Plus two skeins of another colour you can't resist.

Slipping through my fingers

"Christoffer" neckwarmer
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Here's a neck warmer I finished for myself yesterday (it's cold!) with some "Lucca" wool from BC Garn.

It was perfect for testing a slip-stitch pattern, a technique I was eager to make use of after seeing some glorious examples of patterns in Britt-Marie Christoffersson's new book Stickning - ett hantverk att utveckla.

This triangle pattern is practically one of hers except I resized it and turned it upside down. Why? To see how it would turn out! Well, also to make it blend with the 3x3 ribbing I had decided on. It's a great book, a kind of stitch-technique-inspiration treasury.

It's a wonderful technique in many ways; what I like best is that you get a lot of effect with minimal effort. I also like it that it's so subtle and that the floats on the wrong side make it warm. However, it's not very elastic. Not that it matters much in this kind of garment (in my opinion, it's actually an advantage here) , but in a sweater it would be important to keep it in mind.

After finishing it I cast on my First Real Knitting Treat of 2010. (Let there be many!) I've promised my friend and former colleague Karin a triangular shawl; about a month ago I found the perfect yarn for it, a wool-silk blend from Finnish Wetterhoff, and the other day I came across a beautiful free pattern on Ravelry: Haruni by Emily Ross.

Needless to say, I couldn't resist testing a couple of modifications, but I'll get back to them some other day.