Lady's Circular Cape

Lady's Circular Cape, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

Here's my friend and colleague Gunilla (Lady Gunilla) posing in the shawl I made for her. The pattern is from Victorian Lace Today by Jane Sowerby, and the yarn is Garnstudio Drops Lace, an alpaca-silk blend.

And here's a car that put a smile on my face this morning.

"Lady's circular cape" in progress

"Lady's circular cape" in progress, a photo by Asplund on Flickr.

I'm knitting Jane Sowerby's "Lady's circular cape" from Victorian Lace Today for the third time with some new modifications. The scalloped egde is rather pointed in the original design, and I'm trying to achieve a softer outline by redistributing the decreases. (Not so many next to each other but spread more evenly across the repeat.) The yarn is Drops Lace, a blend of baby alpaca and silk. Knitting the edge around it is rather boring, but I know it will be worth it once it's done.


The sweater One of my sweater projects is finished and will hopefully be dry in the morning so I can try it on. I like blocking sweaters inside out - easier to get the seams straight, I think.

Something completely off topic that makes me laugh:



För tredje gången gör jag en sjal ur "Victorian Lace Today" av Jane Sowerby, fast nu med nya ändringar; jag försöker göra formen mjukare, inte så spetsig, genom att fördela hoptagningarna på ett annat sätt. (Inte så många på raken, utan mer utspridda över rapporten.)

Min fiskartröja är äntligen klar! Nu ligger den på tork, och jag hoppas kunna prova den i morgon bitti. Jag brukar låta tröjor ligga på tork med avigsidan ut när jag har sköljt och sträckt dem - det är lite lättare att få sömmarna raka på det sättet.   

 

Happy shawl!

"Lady's Circular Cape"
Originally uploaded by Asplund

The shawl I finished a couple of weeks ago got to meet Annika last night. I hope and believe they will live happily ever after!

Before and after

Before and after blocking
Originally uploaded by Asplund

Same miraculous transformation every time one blocks a shawl! I finished the knitted-on edge late last night, and decided to wash and block it before going to bed. It was dry in the morning, so now it's just waiting to be wrapped around my friend Annika's shoulders.

This is a project I will associate with many pleasant things; to name just two:

1. The memorable afternoon I met up with fellow Raveler Ian to go yarn hunting in Stockholm. This yarn was my prey.

2. The company of my greatcolleagues. We started a knitting and sewing group a couple of months ago, and last night Mimmi invited us and our projects to her beautiful house outside Uppsala. After a long and unusually cold winter, being able to spend a warm and light evening in a garden felt almost surreal. We were quite spoiled too: home-made rhubarb pie and elderflower juice. Delicious!

Circular Cape no 2

WIP: Lady's Circular Cape
Originally uploaded by Asplund

One of my favourite yarns is Wetterhoff's Viva, a shimmering wool-silk blend - like knitting with champagne! I recently found three skeins in a colour I hadn't seen before and thought it was my duty to buy them, and it didn't take more than a couple of days to decide what to use them for.

I'm knitting "Lady's Circular Cape in Shell Pattern" by Jane Sowerby (Victorian Lace Today), a design I first knitted exactly a year ago and gave to my aunt ("Lady Caroline's Circular Cape"). This one will be "Lady Annika's Circular Cape", for a dear friend and shawl lover who's moving back to Sweden after quite a few years abroad. Hooray!

Some modifications:
1. Wedge-shaped repeats elongated with increase rows placed more regularly in the original pattern, where it grows very quickly towards the end.
2. 5 repeats instead of 12 to keep her extra warm in the winter.
3. Edging knitted with slightly thinner needles.

Feel like something new for your computer desktop? How about some elephants from Mattias Inks?