I Knit a Butterfly...

Butterfly Cowl

This is a pattern by Marin Melchior and it’s called “Butterfly Cowl”.  It is a rather small cowl that I would call bandana or kerchief shaped.  The cowl is primarily knit back and forth on a long circular needle, but as the project is nearing completion, you join to work in the round (see photos).  It’s fun to check out the completed Butterfly Cowl on Ravelry to see the great yarn and color combinations other folks have chosen.  My color choices definitely remind me of a Monarch butterfly.  

You can find the pattern at the link below:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/butterfly-cowl-11

Some folks might feel that this pattern is kind of expensive but when you see how well done and how well written the pattern is, you will understand all the hard work and creativity that went to this design.

This same designer has a larger shawl in a similar design called “Butterfly / Papillon” and it is stunning.  You can find that pattern here:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/butterfly--papillon

I think the designer notes that if you are not sure if you will like knitting the larger shawl, you might first wish to try out the smaller Butterfly Cowl design to see how you enjoy the technique (Short Rows and Wrapping and Turning).  Well, I definitely liked the technique and I definitely plan to make the larger Butterfly / Papillon in the future.  

The multi-colored yarn I used in this project is called Jojoland Melody Superwash.  The black yarn, leftover from another project, is from Canon Hand Dyed Yarns.

Bojagi

Bojagi 

I have had this really nice yarn from “Ewetopia” in my stash for quite some time. The colors are called “Citron” and “Aster Blooms”. I purchased the yarn to make a pattern called “Spectra” but fell out of love with that idea. Truth be told, this yarn would look very nice in the Spectra pattern.

Then I found a pattern called “Goldfish Memory” and I started that pattern using this yarn along with some speckled hand dyed yarn.  It looked terrible together.  So I frogged it. The yarn lingered in my stash.

A few weeks back, I was looking on Instagram and I saw a shawl knit up in a pattern called “Bojagi”.  The lady who posted the shawl goes by “KAYTHEARKY”.  

Long story short, I went and grabbed this yarn, cast on the “Bojagi” pattern, and then just knit, knit, knitted merrily along until this project was done.  It was such a perfect and fun knit.  You start off with a little garter stitch, stitch some mosaic stitch, make some beautiful lace, switch back to mosaic stitch, and then race to the finish in garter stitch. It is very unusual for me to work on just one project from start to finish and complete a pattern like this in 12 days, but that’s just what I did because the pattern was so fun.              

It was kind of hard to photograph this project. I think the photos do not do it justice.  It’s really pretty and the yarn is dreamy, squishy soft.  If you’d like to knit this design, I’ve shared the FREE pattern link below.  And I can highly recommend yarn from “Ewetopia”.  I got the yarn at the Interweave Yarnfest in Loveland, Colorado, a few years back.

Here is the pattern link:

https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bojagi-shawl

Harmonia's Rings Cowl

Harmonia's Rings Cowl

In a prior post, I mentioned I attended a knitting retreat in October.  The hostess was Sivia Harding. The focus of the retreat was moebius knitting.  I had watched some moebius knitting videos in the past but had never tried any moebius projects.  The cast on and the moebius knitting process are  fascinating.  If you've never tried it, I encourage you to add a moebius knitting project to your knitting bucket list.

Just to give you an idea how unique moebius knitting is, I encourage you to check out this video from Cat Bordhi.  She is the clever woman who figured out this cast on.  The video can be found HERE.

Also, if you happen to subscribe to "Bluprint" (formerly called "Craftsy"), Cat Bordhi has some great videos and moebius knitting projects on that site.

This cowl starts out as a moebius. Perhaps you can see the unique shaping in the collar portion?  The collar portion also features a picot bind off which I don't think you can see in the photos.  I apologize the photos are not the greatest.

The yarn I used in this project is yarn I purchased at the retreat.  Folks representing Abundant Earth Fiber came to the retreat with yarn and yarn dyeing equipment.  The yarn I used is called "Aviary"; it's a worsted weight yarn made from Merino wool and alpaca.  I made my cowl much longer than the pattern called for so I could use as much of the yarn as possible.  I kind of think of this item as a short cape.  It's easy to wear and it's warm and cozy.  The Harmonia's Rings Cowl is available for purchase on Ravelry.

Sky Above, Earth Below

Sky Above, Earth Below

In October, I went to a knitting retreat in the San Juan Islands (Washington State).  The hostess of the retreat was Sivia Harding, who is a knitwear designer.  Prior to the retreat, she sent all the retreat participants a number of her patterns.  That way, we could pack accordingly... what yarn to buy, what needles to bring, and so on.

"Sky Above, Earth Below" is one of her patterns.  You can make a multi-colored larger version of the shawl or you can make a small version using just one skein of fingering weight yarn.  You can also opt to add beads or not.

Here is my one-skein version of Sky Above, Earth Below.  The yarn is from Sun Valley Fibers (Merino Wool, Cashmere Goat, and Nylon) and the colorway is called "Crimson Leaves".  I did not do a gauge swatch before starting this project and I noticed I was running out of yarn as I was nearing the end. I had to skip a number of rows at the end. Perhaps I was knitting too loosely and used up the yarn too fast.  Oh well!

I have completed a bunch of other projects in the past several weeks.  I'll take a little time to show you over the next few days.

Hogwarts Express

Hogwarts Express

If you are a fan of the Harry Potter books or movies you Muggles will likely know that "Hogwarts Express" is the name of the train students ride to Hogwarts, the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  You board the train at Platform 9 3/4 in London.

This shawl is also called "Hogwarts Express". This is a design by Susan Ashcroft.  She has another similar shawl pattern called "TGV: Highspeed Knitting" which is also named after a train.  Both shawls are identical until you get to the border. The main part of both shawls is garter stitch.  In the TGV pattern, the bottom edge is ribbing.  In the Hogwart's Express pattern, the bottom edge is owls created by cable stitches and the owls have bead eyes which are applied one at a time. I had intended to use some hematite beads for the owl eyes in my shawl but the holes in the beads were too narrow for my yarn. I ended up using some dark green beads instead.

I must admit I struggled with the Hogwarts Express pattern a bit.  The pattern gives you a few different options for how to make the tips of the shawl more rounded or less rounded.  The pattern also gives tips for when to start the owl border portion based upon the amount of yarn you have used and the amount of yarn you have remaining.  Frankly I just misunderstood a few things in the pattern and it wasn't until I had already knit the owls that a light bulb went off and I sort of got it.  I think I will probably make this project again and I bet I'll have better results.

I took a number of photos of this project because I've been fussing with the finished object.  I was struggling with how to wear this (it's kind of small), so I decided to overlap the ends of the shawl and I actually stitched it together so that it would be worn like a big collar or a yoke (if that makes sense). I tried it on and was still not happy with it so I undid the stitches and decided to wet block the shawl in hopes it would grow bigger.  It did get bigger and I am happier with this project now.

Here are the hematite beads that I had hoped to use.

Above you can see the yarn I used for this project.  It is Eden DK by Sublime. This yarn is an amazing wool cotton blend.  My local yarn shop, Yarned & Dangerous in Canon City, Colorado, carries this yarn in a variety of colorways.

Hogwarts Express on the blocking mats. What a fun knit!

Luscious Lace Scarf

Luscious Lace Scarf







This pattern is called "Luscious Lace Scarf". It's a free pattern which can be found on Ravelry.  I knit this project using the very last of my hand dyed yarn.  I had the opportunity to attend a yarn dyeing workshop this past summer at my local yarn shop (Yarned & Dangerous, Canon City, Colorado). The class was taught by Peggy (The 100th Sheep).

When I knit this rectangular shaped scarf, I did modify the pattern slightly.  First, I cast on only 52 stitches; the pattern as written called for a greater number of stitches. I wanted a longer, narrower scarf.  My scarf is about seven feet long and about nine inches wide.  Second, the pattern calls for slipping the last stitch of each row; I slipped the first stitch of each row instead.  I did this because I found it difficult to work the slipped stitches after I turned my work each row if slipped the last stitch. Slipping the first stitch of each row worked better for me and gave the scarf a nice looking edge on both the right and left sides.








Here a few photos of the yarn I dyed. If I have the opportunity to dye more yarn in the future, I'll definitely jump at the chance. It's very fun!

Beaded Infinity Scarf

Beaded Infinity Scarf





Pattern: BWC Infinity Scarf (Buffalo Wool Company)
Yarn:  "Nimue Sock" from Wooly Wonka Fibers, Colorway "Peacock"
Fiber Content:  50 percent silk/percent Merino wool
Beads: Size 6 seed beads from "Bead Biz", Color "Dark Bronze"
Number of stitches in project including cast on and bind off: 18,480
Number of beads used: 1,056
Number of beads left over: only 9 (that's cutting in close)
Numbers of rounds I knit before realizing I had the stitches twisted and my cowl is now a "double Moebius shape" (if that is a thing): 64 rounds out of 70 rounds.

Yep, I was nearly done with the entire project when I realized I twisted the stitches after I cast on and before I joined to knit in the round.

Number of years I've been knitting (and should have caught that way sooner): 10 stinkin' years.

Despite all that, isn't this lovely!?!  It sure looks nice when I wrapped the scarf (cowl) double and styled it on my mannequin.  I am sure I'll enjoy wearing this despite the HUGE mistake I made.  Oh well.  This is a project I told myself I will make only ONE TIME.  For this design, you do string the beads on ahead of time. This means you are FOREVER pushing beads (over 1,000 beads) out of your way to make yarn available for the rounds you work without beads before you start knitting with beads.  Another tricky thing about this pattern is that you are always looking at the wrong side of your work when you are knitting so when you are adding the beads so that they appear on on the right side of the work, you are constantly counting and flipping your work around to make sure you are getting the beads in the right spot.

While working on this project I was watching a video class about knitting with beads. The website is "Bluprint" (formerly Craftsy) and the instructor was Laura Nelkin.  She was discussing beads and how sometimes beads are rough inside and sometimes they are smooth.  She said this is an important consideration especially if you are stringing your beads onto your yarn before you begin knitting as I did in this project. Just imagine if my beads were rough inside and I kept pushing them down the length of my yarn until I needed to knit with them. This could really tatter your yarn. She suggested buying Japanese beads as they tend to be smoother inside.  I have a lot to learn about knitting with beads.  And apparently, I need some remedial training regarding casting on a large number of stitches and joining to knit in the round WITHOUT twisting my stitches.