Gilded paradise

Posted on May 25, 2016 by knitigatingcircumstances

I finished my gold shawl weeks ago, but waited until I was in Sicily to photograph it. We were staying in an absolutely fantastic villa, called the Commenda di San Cologero, which is beyond gorgeous. (It also has the nicest, most friendly staff you will ever meet. I’ve stayed there twice now, and hope to return soon.) It is on the eastern coast between Catania and Syracusa. As you can see from these photos, it was a most beautiful backdrop for this lovely piece of knitting.

The pattern is the #02 Reversible Cabled-Rib Shawl, by Lily Chin and originally from Vogue Knitting, Winter 1999/2000. It can now be found on-line as well; check the Ravelry pattern page here for details.

The shawl is knitted in the now discontinued yarn, Kidsilk Haze Eclipse, by Rowan Yarns in the colour Virgo. It is a very lovely shade of beige gold. If you don’t have any Eclipse saved up, don’t fret – Kidsilk Haze is readily available and works perfectly for this pattern. (I have previously knit this shawl in Kidsilk Haze in a vibrant green, which you can see in this post.)

Many people have commented on the repetitive (and endless) nature of this pattern. If you look over the projects on Ravelry you will see that I am not the only one who called it “boring”. (Although there are those who find it “meditative”). It is essentially a very big shawl knit in 2×2 ribbing in lace-weight yarn with cable crossings every 12 rows.

The first time I knit this pattern it took me 20 months to finish – it was so boring, I kept putting it aside to knit other things! I finished this one in just over 4 months. Perhaps this relative speed is because, having worn the green one countless times over the years, I know that the benefits outweigh the effort. Perhaps, I am simply in a more “product knitting” place right now. Or, dare I say it, perhaps I have been too lazy to cast new things on and thus managed to power through. Whatever the case, the end product is absolutely worth it.

In the above photo, Emma is wearing another project of mine, the Viajante shawl, which I knit in 2013; this was another endless, repetitive knit in lace-weight that produced a magical garment. (We photographed this piece in Sicily as well; it will feature in an upcoming Wearability Wednesday post, so keep your eye out for it.) Today just happens to be Emma’s 23rd birthday – Happy Birthday, gorgeous!

I am still planning a long travel post for you with lovely photos of our adventures in Sicily. It will have to wait until I get home, however. I am, rather ironically, writing this post in the middle of the night in my hotel room in Malaysia while suffering terrible jet lag.

See that smile in the above photo? Well, you would be smiling, too. It was the best holiday ever!

Gossamer modelled

Posted on April 19, 2015 by knitigatingcircumstances

Today, I can finally bring you some modelled shots of my Gossamer pullover.

I wrote in an earlier post that a discussion thread on Ravelry about the beautiful yarn Rowan Kidsilk Haze Eclipse, which was being discontinued, led to an impulse purchase of a dozen balls in the gorgeous golden shade called Virgo.

Because the yarn can be rather bling in certain lights, I wanted to keep the design very simple and stark. Instead of trying to find a pattern to suit the thoughts in my head, I designed it myself as I knit. I think it is rather like a 1950s Sweater Girl pullover. I call it Gossamer because it is as light as air.

The fabric is extremely sheer and I shopped around for an appropriate tank to wear under it. Just as I was finishing the pullover, I found a new Hanro tank design, in a creamy ivory lace that I thought would work perfectly. (And which gave me the perfect excuse to splurge on Hanro.) You can see what I mean in this shot:

The lace tank gives just the right amount of cover without being intrusive and distracting the eye from the beautiful yarn.

I knit this in pieces and seamed it together. I think that with a fabric this delicate, the seam helps to give the pullover some structure and hopefully will help it to maintain its shape. I didn’t use any fancy seaming technique for this – I just stitched it up rather quickly in mattress stitch. The halo of the mohair means that the seam is soft and so is rather forgiving. I think it looks great:

Here you can see the set-in shoulders. Again, I didn’t do anything fancy, just mattress-stitched the shoulder into place.

I have been trying to decide whether to write this pattern up and make it available. Even though the Kidsilk Haze Eclipse has been discontinued, this would work perfectly in Kidsilk Haze, which comes in so many beautiful colours. What do you think? Is it worth the effort?

The thing I like best about this pullover is that it is so light – it weighs in at less that 125 grams. It is the perfect travel sweater. It won’t take up any weight in a suitcase, won’t show any wrinkles, and can add a bit of “Wow!” to a travel wardrobe.

Gossamer unblocked

Posted on April 6, 2015 by knitigatingcircumstances

My Gossamer sweater is finished, but still unblocked. Today is a holiday in the UK (Easter Monday) and, as can be expected on the last day of a long, grey holiday weekend when everyone is on the highway on their way home, the skies are suddenly blue and the day is lovely. I couldn’t resist taking Gossamer outside to play in the sunshine.

This is knit with Rowan’s Kidsilk Haze Eclipse in the colour Virgo. This yarn has been sadly discontinued; I wrote here about how I aquired the yarn (Ravelry made me do it!). It is a lovely but very difficult to describe shade (champagne, perhaps?) shot through with a metallic thread.

The pattern is one I designed myself, and call Gossamer. Once I got the yarn in my hands, I realized that it needed a very simple sweater design – stark, even. I envisioned it as a very classic, v-neck pullover. Since I had the design in my head I didn’t bother to try to find a pattern; I just cast on and designed it as I went.

Although the Eclipse line has been discontinued, you could easily knit this in Kidsilk Haze, which is still going strong, with many luscious colours. The fabric it produces is incredibly sheer and fine – this sweater weighs less than 125 grams! It is like wearing a cloud.

The fit is perfect; my only concerns are that the bottom edging rolls, and it is just a tad short. However, I have yet to block it so hopefully both of these problems will be easy to fix. I won’t show you modelled shots today for two reasons. First, I want to block it beforehand. Second, this is the type of sweater that needs appropriate undergarments. I have found something I think will be just right and have ordered it; we shall see how it turns out. In the meantime, in the interests of decency, you’ll have to make do with an unmodelled Gossamer.