I didn’t know my picture was going to be used! How fun is this!?
Our next door neighbor texted me with the link this morning and a “you’re famous!”
She only ever sees me in the yard with the kids, so this was pretty awesome!
Here it is among the other deals:
So a few weeks ago, Angela Tong came to Craftsy to teach her RIgid Heddle Weaving class. While she was here, everyone at work totally caught the weaving bug, including me. I’m not very hard to convince that any new fiber hobby is a good hobby…but even the camera guys were like, “This is so cool! I gotta get one of these looms!” Our camera crew is very crafty, and really gets into every single shoot, but there was something so amazing about weaving that we all just fell in love with it.
When Angela left, she left me with one of the looms, already warped, and with a “Stashbuster Scarf” already started & said that I could finish it and keep the end result! She had used scraps of tinsel, and even some wool felt fabric strips from Weeks Dye Works (Awesome fabric, threads, and more. If you haven’t checked out their products, do!) …I loved the scarf so far! And how much fun that my good friend had started it. It’s the one she’s working on in the picture above.
We had just come back from TNNA a few weeks before that, and I had some incredible carry – along yarns from SWTC that I’d been dying to try out. Jonelle had given me a spool of String – Me – Along, which is a very fine yarn with sequins.
If you know me at all, you know that I love bright colors, sequins, glitter, and anything shiny. So, to me, stringing this sequined yarn along with my weaving yarns seemed like the perfect way to add some cohesiveness to the project. (Just wait…you’ll see!)
I combined that and a bunch of fun yarns including some O-Wool left over from my Shapely Boyfriend sweater, some Ozark Handspun, and more than I can even remember.
AND…I finished the Stashbuster!
I just can’t believe that I made this!! It’s so awesome. I love the stashbuster effect, in that the colors and textures of the weft are so random…but the warp really ties them all together in a pleasing way. I can’t wait to try more weaving on the Cricket. I’ll have to watch Angela’s Craftsy class to learn how to warp it, though!!
Gratuitous Olive pic:
I finished this shawl not too long ago. I like it. Jenn took this photo of me the other day at work. the color of the wall is just amazing.
I used two techniques that I hadn’t tried before. I combined two lace patterns in the same project, without making them flow into each other…just separated them into sections. I also Knit with Beads in the last few rows.
I absolutely LOVE the yarn! It’s Bijou Basin Tibetan Dream…a gorgeously soft, warm, and lofty yak yarn. I’ve swatched Bijou yarns before (thanks to my great friend Marly Bird, who gave me a few samples.)
Here it is blocking:
And before blocking, I love this texture! AND…check out the beads!!
I caught the knitting with beads bug when Laura Nelkin was in Denver filming her Knitting with Beads Craftsy class.
(Here we are together at TNNA, back when she was planning her FIRST Craftsy class!)
Lots of shawl blogging this week!
We’re in full swing in class, and I’ve got some OBSESSED students…look for some truly beautiful FOs from this session!
I wanted to post one of my class examples, the full-square shawlette.
This is knit in the same format as my Mirth and Frost Diamonds shawls, only smaller. I used a bulky yarn (something that must be discontinued** from Blue Sky Alpacas) and a US 11 needle. It’s a simple lace pattern, but looks really elegant and feminine in this light pink color. The construction method gives it a great fullness which I think adds to its femininity.
Here are a couple more views:
Here, the fullness is all draped around to one side, so that the back is relatively simple and the flounce is on one side.
(My mannequin is a little tipsy this afternoon, I see!)
And this is how the back looks:
I love that the increase point makes such a nice strong diagonal across the entire back!
I cast this on using the big yarn and big needles to experiment with a lace pattern, and it’s just kinda cool how things turn out!
**I bought the yarn on deep-deep discount just before our LYS went out of business. I can’t find the labels right now, but I’m sure it’s from BSA. I don’t see anything similar on their website. It’s made of 5 plies, and each ply is also a multi-ply. It has a beautiful halo…and is ultra-ultra soft. Any yarn detectives care to hazard a guess?
Design Your Own Shawl class starts today, and as I get the site set up for new students, I’m admiring the work of the last group of students:
This is the shawlette that Holly designed in class:
Isn’t it so cute?
And here’s one from Ichun:
And Here is Diana B’s:
I love teaching this class! It’s amazing to see the students work through all of the design steps from choosing stitch patterns to charting and then finally to see the finished shawls! Many of my students have even gone on to publish their designs!
If you’re interested in adding in to this session, there’s still time, just click on the link above and scroll down to the class description.