shawl | The Blue Brick | Photography and Handcrafts by Shireen Nadir

Posts Tagged 'shawl'

The Salvadoran Henslowe

Published March 31, 2013 Knitting , Travels Leave a Comment
Tags: El Salvador, Henslowe, knitting, shawl

I still haven’t processed all the photos from our trip to El Salvador… but I did finish the Salvadoran knitting. Introducing Yolanda’s Henslowe:

Every time I make one of these I think ‘these shawls go fast!’ and I always forget that bloody picot bind off. This time I got hung up enough on it to calculate – I spent 4.5 hours on the bind off, which is more than a third again of the time it took to make the shawl. However… there were a few things that made this alright this time around… more than alright really, for a start, most of it was done here.

And then there’s the fact that the results are so, so worth it.

The yarn is Tanis Fiber Arts Silver Label Mulberry Silk, 550 yards, and a-one-of-a-kind skein that I picked up at my first ever knitters frolic and have been hoarding since. Nothing could be special enough for this skein.

But then…Tito told me that his mom and I have the same favourite colour. His mom, who I never get to see because she lives in Winnipeg, who treated me with such warmth and kindness on the one occasion I got to meet her. Yes, his mom deserved something lovely from this precious skein.

And of course, Tito’s mom is from El Salvador. Where better to knit her shawl?

I made a few alterations to the pattern (Beth Kling is great by the way, and very helpful). I increased until I had 60 yarn overs, and worked 5 repeats of her Roman Stripe pattern before beginning the bind off. One skein of TFA Silver Label goes a long way and I wanted to use up every last inch if I could. I love the final size, 55″ across and 17″ deep.

I hate it when you cast off a shawl and it’s so tiny, even after blocking, that it sits awkwardly on your shoulders like the funny little wings of newly hatched butterflies…but the pattern increases here resulted in a generously sized shawl.

Many thanks to my effortlessly beautiful model Leslie for helping out with the FO photos :) Ravelry project page here:

Oh, and in between knitting? I took baby steps in surfing ;)

Disorganized Knitters: Why they are Awesome

Published February 15, 2013 Knitting 1 Comment
Tags: knitting, Magrathea, Martina Behm, scarf, Serenity Silk, shawl, Zen Yarn Garden

Because long after Christmas has passed, and you’re into that long, dreary period of no holidays and slushy weather, odds are if you know a disorganized knitter then you still have at least one gift to look forward to. This, at least, is what I told myself as I cast off, almost 2 months late, Beverly’s scarf.

The pattern is ‘Magrathea‘ by Martina Behm, charmingly named after the planet factory in the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. It’s an asymmetrical knit, worked sideways for the most part with squishy garter stitch for the body.

I worked 30 repeats of the lace pattern before I ~~couldn’t take it anymore~~ felt I had made it large enough. I kept thinking I should max out the delicious 500 yard skein of Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk, but I’m glad I stopped when I did.

Blocking never fails to amaze. When it came off the needles it was wrinkly and little and I was regretting not going for more repeats. It ended up blocking to an impressive 66″ wide though, and 20″ deep, and a beautiful crescent shape. I went from ‘ugh’ to ‘love’ :)

This is my first pattern from Martina, and I was really pleased with the result. The pattern is well written, and sizing is very flexible. I would definitely make another :)

Ravelry Project Page here:

Christmas knitting takes stamina

Published December 3, 2012 Knitting 5 Comments
Tags: Henslowe, knitting, Serenity Silk, shawl, Zen Garden

I finally knitted a Henslowe! I kept holding out for a skein of yarn that was at least 450 yards, since the pattern calls for up to 437 yards. This was knitted up in Zen Yarn Garden Serenity Silk (Colour: Yellow Opal) which comes in skeins of 500 yards. I bought it at Eweknit in downtown Toronto which is where I discovered the loveliness that is Zen Yarn Garden.

I read up on a few other projects in Ravelry – one user was using a smaller skein of yarn but still had a lot left over, so she repeated the lace panel one extra time. I did this – and still had an enormous amount of yarn left over (27g!). I wish I’d known – I would have added extra repeats to the garter stitch body.

The pattern itself is a breeze – way easier than it looks (with that complicated cascade of heirloom-looking lace at the bottom….so yummy). It’s good take-along knitting – the pattern is mindless and relaxing and doesn’t demand too much attention.

The picot edging however…. I took it on a business trip to Montreal naively wishing I’d brought more knitting since, with only the bind off to achieve, I would doubtless run out. Not so – the picot edging took a surprising amount of time – possibly about a third of what it took to knit the rest! Stamina should be listed as a notion for this pattern.

The results are worth it though – and I already know who it’s for and she’s already seen it so I’m not blowing my cover. She’s on the short list of people I think are awesome enough to endure a picot bind-off for, my spinning instructor and kitty-cohort Leslie! Ravelry Project Page here.

Les, I’ll pack it up nicely, remember to act surprised :)

New FO and How To Fix Curly Shawls

Published September 6, 2012 Crochet , Knitting 3 Comments
Tags: Crochet, edging, knitting, Mystic Fire, Northbound Knitting, shawl, tutorial

So I finished this lace shawl, and it’s so gorgeous I can’t believe I knit it.

It’s the first thing I’ve done entirely from charts, and I have to say I’m pretty pleased with m’bad self. The pattern is Mystic Fire by Anna Dalvi, and the yarn is Northbound knitting Superwash Merino in the gorgeous colour way ‘Artemisia’.

The pattern is great – some of the charts look intimidating at first but one row at a time I managed just fine. I have an iPad, and an app called ‘Good Reader‘ that opens and lets me mark up pdf files. I can’t recommend it enough – it let me outline the row I was on for easy reading, insert other lines to break up the chart into digestible chunks and leave notes for myself on the side, such as which repeat I was on, and directions another knitter used to make it bigger if I felt so inclined.

Still, when it was all done, there was a problem. I may have needed a few extra rows of garter stitch in there, but the thing curls up faster then my cat in the sunny spot on the couch. I didn’t discover this until after it was bound off and blocked.

I needed a solution, because the curl really bothered me, and damned if I wasn’t going to get to enjoy the best bit of lace knitting I’d ever done. I bat around different ideas like sewing on edging, blocking it even more aggressively, threatening it, and finally hit on a solution that I’m sure many knitters before me have discovered but was brand new and shiny to me and had a good amount of it’s-so-simple-it-just-might-work going for it. I was going to crochet on a simple trim.

Here’s how I did it:

I used the leftover yarn from the project, luckily there was some. You only need a small amount.
I used a smaller hook size then the needles I’d used. 1.25mm smaller to be exact.

I tied the working yarn to the bottom corner of the shawl and single-crocheted my way across, using the small holes left by the stretchy k2tog bind off (highlighted in yellow). At the corner I did 3 SC in the same stitch to turn.

Even after only 1 row of SC you can see it’s looking better:

I did 2 rows of SC before tying off the yarn and blocking it again.

It worked like a charm. I know some folks might not be fond of having a thick border below their lace, but in this case I feel it works. It’s certainly way better than the curled edge I was getting before, even after removing the pins and wearing it the edge stays flat, allowing me to take this creepy instagram pic:

Best of all, it cost me nothing extra and I was able to work directly into a cast off piece. The beauty of crochet was that if it didn’t work I could have just pulled it out without damage to the shawl. I’m pretty happy with the results :)

Ravelry Project Page here.

Black Puddin

Published July 5, 2012 Knitting 2 Comments
Tags: knitting, shawl, Sugared Violets, tanis fiber arts

To Kris; if you’re reading my blog this morning, this one’s for you :)

Black Puddin is created for my dear childhood friend Kris, who does not wear colour.

Kris can be seen in black, off-black, grey-black, brown-black and very occasionally dark burgundy-black. This is Kris’s way of introducing variety into her wardrobe ;)

So, when I saw this gorgeous skein of Tanis on Etsy I knew I had to snap it up. It’s a one-of-a-kind colourway called ‘Woodland Path’, a beautiful variegated soft brown sock weight merino with tones of moss green and deep reds. It’s so subtle and so beautiful that it made me see, even more than her brighter, punchier colourways, what a master of colour Tanis is. The yarn is simply delicious.

It’s being modelled by my other beloved childhood friend, Yvette. There’s so much love in these shots, it’s perfect! We even had a cheesy Snow White moment when even the little birds came and sat next to Yvette, admiring my shawl, no doubt, and perhaps contemplating what a shame it was they couldn’t get some of that yummy yarn for a nest. I gave them dirty looks before they could get any ideas, of course.

I paired it with the pattern for a shawl called Sugared Violets by Rose Beck that I fell in love with a year ago but never managed to knit properly. When I was knitting it the fleurette mesh looked terrible – to the point where I was eager to get it off the needles and be done with it. But then I blocked it, magic happened, and I thought “I need to make one of these for myself!”. Isn’t that always the way? So if your mesh looks weird, wait for it!

I followed the pattern for the 550 yard version with one mod: because I wasn’t worried about running out of yarn I used 4.5mm needles instead of the recommended 4mm. The bigger needles added so much drape, and the shawl blocked out to an impressive 6 feet by 20 inches (and I still stayed under the 550 yard mark!).

Ravelry project page here:

The Ocean and Earth Shawl

Published June 25, 2012 Knitting 12 Comments
Tags: Colour Affection, knitting, shawl, Viola Viola

I loved my TFA Colour Affection so much that I had to make another one – in colours that sing Shireen. Ocean and earth colours from 3 skeins of Viola Viola that I seem to recall having made, and discarded, other plans for, came together for this beloved new wardrobe staple of mine.

This time I followed the Yarn Harlot’s suggestion of adding a yarn over at the beginning of each row and dropping it on the way back to create some ease along the edge. Worked like a charm.

I’ve taken FO shots of this shawl no less than 4 times, and this was the only set that survived. I’ve been plagued by tech fails, including, but not limited to, my camera!

It all worked out – that day there was a Nova Scotia and New Brunswick tourism event going on at Harbourfront. Now, if you read this blog with any regularity you know that I think the East Coast is the most beautiful place in the world. My shawl, having been inspired by that very region, belonged at this event…

….where I had pie for breakfast…

…got to watch someone spin on a wheel…

…and got to have this giant cat model my shawl.

Oh, what did I do with this lovely version?

I gave it to Jeanette, my beautiful shawl model of course. It suits her perfectly :)

TFA Colour KAL – the Neapolitan Ice Cream Shawl

Published May 31, 2012 Knitting 6 Comments
Tags: colour, Colour Affection, KAL, knitting, shawl, tanis fiber arts

My TFA Colour KAL project is finally finished, off the needles and I love it. I love it so much I’ve already cast on another one. The Pink Grapefruit turned out to be just the thing. Ravelry project page here:

This is the Colour Affection shawl all done! Thank you to the lovely Jeanette for modelling it for me.

I love the way these three colours come together. The only change I’m making on the next one is following the Yarn Harlot’s suggestion of adding a yarn over after the first stitch on every row and dropping it on the way back to give the edge some ease. Despite my best efforts, this one is a little tight.

I hate it when I finally cast off a new shawl and it turns out to be way too small to actually wear as a shawl. It becomes a cute little neck warmer that leaves me feeling just a wee bit disappointed. Well, this shawl delivered and then some. It’s super snuggly and easy to wear at a whopping 8 feet by 16 inches after blocking.

The garter stitch does feel endless at the end but it’s …. garter stitch. It’s mindless and fast and I even managed to whip off a few rows in a movie theatre. Honestly, 2 weeks start to finish and I’m not a fast knitter. I’ve already got another one in the works – this time combining 3 skeins (all of which had other plans initially but Oh Well) of precious Viola yarn:

Selfish knitting on both fronts. Oh yes, I cannot bear to part with these babies. Not much can make me wish for winter weather in May… but this comes close!

The Blue Brick | Photography and Handcrafts by Shireen Nadir

Posts Tagged 'shawl'

The Salvadoran Henslowe

Disorganized Knitters: Why they are Awesome

Christmas knitting takes stamina

New FO and How To Fix Curly Shawls

Black Puddin

The Ocean and Earth Shawl

TFA Colour KAL – the Neapolitan Ice Cream Shawl

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