Tag: knitting lace

Posted in knitting

First Finish of 2026

Posted on by Laura Kate

Hello friends. Despite the fact that I have been silent for more than a month, my needles have been busy. I cast on this shawl pattern by designer Andrea Mowry in early December. I cast off on Friday. The close-up above gives you an idea of the shawl’s textures and colors. In the past, I would have photographed my yarn selections as I bag them up into project bags. This project got all knitted up without any photographs of the yarn. Reviewing my yarn buying history, I found these Knit Pick skeins were purchased in January of 2025. So I’ll just link you to the vendor’s site.

Hawthorn in colorway Goddess

Hawthorn in colorway Sweet Home Tonal

Twill in colorway Lavender

I am particularly fond of the Twill yarn. Because it is a 3-ply yarn in a plump merino wool, it makes very nice stitches that have good definition. I’ve already bought more for a fun cardigan that is planned for later in the year.

Anyway, back to the finish: This shawl is Big:

It stretches beyond the width of my queen-size guest bed. I’m guessing the wingspan is about seven feet. That will make for a good couple of wraps around the neck. Iowa is COLD. I have discovered that the more wool items I have on, the better I feel.

To learn more about Andrea Mowry and her fabulous designs, click here.

What’s on your needles?

Posted in knitting

Friday Finish – no, really

Posted on by Laura Kate

Yes, I know it’s Saturday. I photographed the image above yesterday. It is Little Whiskey, a sweet cape pattern for a little girl designed by Erica Jackofsky.

This morning, I sewed on Laura Lu’s prized button and took the garment out to the garden for a photo session.

The pattern was easy to follow. Because I didn’t quite get gauge, I cast on extra stitches and followed the instructions for the next larger size. Ultimately, the process of washing and blocking widened out the knitting, but didn’t add any length, which is a good thing. I got the length I was aiming for.

Wrong side view, close up of lace pattern

The lace pattern was not difficult, except for the popcorn stitch, which the designer called Nupps. They are kind of hard to see in the photos. They add some texture to what is mostly stockinette knitting. They also echo the picot edge stitches nicely.

This capelet will go with us on our next trip to Wisconsin. At that time, I’ll get a photo of the recipient wearing it, and know for sure if the fit works.

Posted in knitting

Cast-on Monday: A Shawl for Laura

Posted on by Laura Kate

It’s a lovely day for casting on a new project. Today I started knitting a capelet for my granddaughter. Last May she asked me to make her a shawl. I chose this pattern

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/little-whiskey

instead of a shawl, in the theory that the button will help keep on her shoulders while she rushes about her business. She specified that it be white – a bit of a surprise, but then, maybe her favorite princesses and fairies wear white capes. She also handed me a button, obviously found and scrupulously saved for just this moment.

The yarn was purchased at my number one favorite yarn store, North Wind Book and Fiber Store in Spooner, WI.

It is a light dk. Incredibly soft, it is made from 80% Merino Superwash wool and 20% bamboo. I was keen to see how well it performs.

There are four sections of lace in the body of the cape, so I don’t think this project will work for travel knitting. For our up-coming trip, I will continue working on the improvised shawl project that I carried while cruising through Canada in early July.

Posted in knitting

Friday Finish: Cheers Shawl

Posted on by Laura Kate

One of the resolutions I made to myself for 2023 was to clear up my backlog of UFOs. Today I celebrate another finish from the knitting category. This shawl, designed by Laura Nelkins….

http://www.nelkindesigns.com/index.cfm/gallery.page/265888.htm

….has been hanging around in its unfinished state for at least three years. I was working the beaded version and got into trouble by choosing beads that were too heavy. Anybody out in blogland work with beads on knitted garments? Let me know if you had any success. For me, the beads were so weighty that the shawl was pulled considerably downward. Sorry, Ms. Nelkin.

Anyway, I still loved the colors and the lace edging. It blocked out to 72 inches.

The beads weren’t totally wasted. I learned how to work them into knitted jewelry, eventually teaching a class on the technique, using up a few beads in the process.

This beadless shawl pairs nicely with my blush-colored boiled wool jacket.

Last time I looked in my craft room closet, there were still three knitting UFOs to finish. I hope to get them marked off the list before summer arrives.

Posted in knitting

Finished Object Friday: Sea and Sand Reveal

Posted on by Laura Kate

I had great plans on revealing this new shawl with a few last comments on its constructions. But my plans changed last Friday when we got on a plane.

My husband and two good friends and I are in Belize for a week of sun and fun. I took the shawl along and Bill did a photo shoot with me and the shawl on an actual Caribbean beach.

So in this post, I’ll just give some narration to accompany these lovely photos.

As you see here I added a lace border in a very pale yarn. This is Knit Picks Gloss in colorway Clarity, fingering weight. The lace pattern is from my stitch dictionary, called Spiral and Eyelet Panel. The only adaption I made was to insert a six-stitch panel of spiral eyelets between each 24 stitch panel. It worked pretty well with my ultimate stitch count of 320. The bind-off I used is the same as in the Water shawl pattern I knit earlier this year. You can read about that here:

https://wordpress.com/post/dailyfiberfun.wordpress.com/3400

I’m happy with the curviness created by the 24 stitch center panel. An element of waviness came along with the lace border. It reminds me of the foamy waves as they roll onto the sandy shore.

Now that I am actually standing on the beach, I find the colors on the shawl are a fine representation of those found in the warm waters of the lagoon inside Belize reef.

Sand and Sea Shawl final dimensions: 23″ high by 59″ wide. It took eleven different colors of fingering weight yarn (roughly 50 yards each color) plus slightly more than half the ball of Gloss for the border. If all goes well, I plan to publish the pattern, once I get home and have time to write it up.