Sunday Morning Knit Wit ~ Lace Shawl in Handspun Merino

Today I am featuring another hand knit lace shawl.

After gaining some experience and confidence in knitting these lacey wonders, I used my handspun fingering weight merino wool.  And I must say, that I am extremely pleased with the result.

I found this pattern in The Knitter's Book of Wool.  The pattern is called Prairie Rose Lace Shaw by Evelyn A. Clark. It is light and breezy and just way too much fun to make.  If you are going to give it a try, I would suggest you get some graph paper and write the chart out larger as the one in the book is printed very small.

I love the way this delicate lace drapes. 

Now that I have completed a couple lace projects I am pretty much stuck on them.  I already started another one in a beautiful rich burgandy. 

Next week I will be a the first Annual Central NY Fiber Festival on Route 20 near Bouchville, NY.  If you are local, please stop by and say hello.  I can't wait to see all the great fiber artists there and stock up on some more roving for spinning.  Keep your fingers crossed that the weather cooperates. 

Until next time ~  Keep your needles clicking!

Sunday Morning Knit Wit ~ Burgandy Lace Wrap

I've spent the past two months knitting and ripping out lace shawls. Mostly ripping if truth be told. In fact,  I have another triangle shawl that I put aside because I need to rip back 8 rows and I just don't want to look at it for awhile.  But, even though these patterns are challenging me mathmatically, I really like the look of lace.

So I decided to try doing a simple rectangle wrap design with the KISS (Keep it Simple, Stupid) mentality. With the rectangle wraps, there are no changes in the number of stitches each row and it is easy to keep track of.  The result is this ZigZag Lacy Wrap.

What makes this simple design special is the yarn that I used to knit it ~  my own handspun alpaca, merino, silk blend in a gorgeous burgandy with subtle shade changes.  This wrap is soft, flowing and drapes beautifully. 

This photo shows the gradiant changes in shades:





The yarn is in between fingering and sport weight and I used 10.5 US needles to make the zigzags pop. 

I think it is perfect for cool summer evenings as a wrap to keep the chill off.  Or it can be worn as a scarf in the fall too ~ 

I really had fun making this easy lace and knitting with some of my handspun. Sometimes doing something simple will help build confidence for the more complex designs!

Now, off to rip and finish my triangle shawl that awaits me ~~

Keep you needles clicking!