Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Stars

I am not posting about the nursery rhyme (although it's one of my favorites) but my latest creation .....

.... a little round yoke cardigan knitted with 2 skeins of Tanis Fiber Arts cashmere/merino. I love the stitch pattern that I used in my Cathedral Shawl that I wanted to use it on a cardigan. This k3tog stitch produces a lovely effect & with all of them in a row, they resembled little stars.

The cardigan is knitted from the top down (of course) & the increases for the yoke are incorporated into the 12 row pattern. Once there is enough width for the sleeves, the sleeves are casted off. Then the body is joined to knit back & forth until the required length. Right & left bands of the cardigan are also knitted on at the same time.

This is a quick knit as I worked out all the calculations in the beginning & I could try it on as I go. I love this cardigan & it fitted perfectly. I would have liked it a little longer but as I have only 2 skeins, this is the maximum length that I can get to.

Anyway, now that I have all the calculations done, I can easily knit another one & maybe with long sleeves for next winter.

I love the color of this yarn, so deep & rich but not easy to photograph. I must have taken more than 50 photos & I still can't get it right.

.... I just love those little stars & can't get enough of them.

My 1st Handspun

A couple of years ago, I tried spindle spinning but had to stop due to my allergy to the short fibers & many other stuff.

As I have been undergoing treatment by a naturopath for a year & feeling much better, I decided to give spinning another try. Last month I joined a group of spinners during World Wide Spinning Day & refreshed my spinning skills. I really enjoyed spinning but I can't do it for long as it will trigger off the allergy again. If I keep the spinning to about half an hour every day, then it's fine.

So I have been spinning & I did this ......

...... the natural color is wool & the colored is merino. As I was just trying it out, I only bought a few grams of each fiber. Anyway, I decided to ply them together & I had my 1st handspun .....

.... I was so proud of this little skein. It's only 30 gms & about 80 m & I am planning to knit a pair of cuffs for next winter.

I was so glad that I could spin that I bought 100 gms of merino .....

..... I love the color of this merino & I hope I can spin enough for a little shawl.

Enough of spinning & back to knitting - I have published another shawl pattern & it's up for sale on ravelry ......

... it's the Cathedral Shawl

The Results

Perth's Royal Show came & went & my entries for the Creative Craft Section ....... won !

I just can't believe it when I heard that both my entries won 1st prizes .....

.... the Sanquhar Socks

.....the Cottage Garden Shawl

In fact, many of this year's entries reflected the recent styles of knitting. It was so great to see the display.

....this Featherweight Cardigan knitted by a friend, Helen won 1st prize in Adult Garments & she also won 1st prize in the Hats section .....

.... the Gloves Section

.... more winning shawls.

I was also invited to give a knitting demo at the show with the other winner, Helen. It was a good opportunity for us to promote the craft of knitting & we did created some interest .....

It Took Me 4 Months ....

.... to knit this shawl. I cast on in June during our Annual Knitting Retreat as I was inspired by a fellow knitter who was knitting it. She finished the shawl at the retreat but I had to put mine aside as I wanted beads in place of the nupps. So I ordered my beads & when they arrived, I just put them aside.

For the past 4 months, I forgot all about this shawl until recently, I was doing some tidying up of my project bags & found it.

It took me 2 days to complete the rest of the shawl - a day to place the beads & finish the lace border & another day for the short row stocking stitch portion & it was done. I did not realise that this shawl was such a quick knit & it is a lovely pattern. I should have done this months ago & would have a lovely shawl to wear during winter. Now it would have to wait till next year but anyway, I am really happy with it.

The shawl is knitted with String Theory yarn (a blend of merino & cashmere) & it's a sock yarn instead of the lace yarn suggested in the pattern. Although the shawl does not look so lacy but I love the shape & the softness of the yarn. Mine turned out longer (70") but narrower (12").

I just love the silver beads that I used in place of the nupps. I am not a fan of nupps & usually don't knit shawls with nupps.

I have also finished the vest which is knitted from this pattern. I like the structure & shape but the pattern is knitted in thick yarn. I knitted mine in Fleece Artist BFL 2/28 which is a 3ply & therefore had to re-work all the numbers. It was a simple knit but it took me a while to work out the size & the shaping & there was a lot of frogging. But I did managed it & the vest fitted ......

On the whole, the vest looks alright but I am not totally happy with it as it does not have the drape at the bottom. I think it's the yarn which is not so soft but I love the color.

The drape that I wanted is at the sides of the vest & I wanted it to be more drapey. This is created by yos at both sides of the vest. Maybe I should have done more yos ?

One thing that I am really pleased with is the top of the vest which I knitted from the top down. I used this technique for a lovely tubular cast on. The yos on the raglan increases make a lovely design & I did a few rows of moss stitch for the neckline & the edge of the armholes.

Now that I have the right technique & numbers, I plan to knit another one in a thinner & softer yarn - maybe silk .......