Blue Dahlia completed

I have finished my Dahlia shawl, less than three months after I started it. Not bad going for something which was my 'secondary' knitting project and which I could only knit in bursts as long as my (limited) concentration span!

Finished!

Mistakes and unpicking continued to the end, but did lessen as I established a process. Once I understood it properly, the pattern was actually quite straightforward. The wrong side rows are just knit and purl with no increases or decreases, so in effect they are 'rest rows'. The 22 rows of the pattern are repeated throughout, with the motif section knitted an increasing number of times in each repeat.

I came across these lovely stitch markers from Rebecca's Room, which come in different colour combinations in each set. They were ideal for colour-coding each section of the pattern, so that I always knew where I was in a row. Also, I got into the habit of counting my stitches at the end of each section, which meant that I never had more than 22 stitches to undo when I did go wrong.

Sections separated with different markers

There were a couple of occasions when I started knitting the wrong row, but fortunately noticed in time. Juliana of Urban Simplicity, who is both a talented knitter and kindly generous with her knowledge, suggested a couple of ways to avoid this pitfall and, thanks to her, I remembered that I have this chart holder. It's a sheet of steel with magnetic strips, which you arrange to highlight the section you are working from.

Highlighting the row I'm working on

I had no idea how much of the shawl I would be able to knit with the wool I was using, but had the idea to weigh the ball after 64 rows and again after 72 rows. I then knew that I had used five grams, and knitted 1,112 stitches, so approximately 222 stitches per gram. I kept weighing the ball as I worked, and it averaged out at around 240 stitches per gram. When I was getting towards the end of the pattern as written I still had quite a lot of wool left, and was able to calculate that I had enough for an extra (sixth) row of motif, so that was what I did.

As it turned out, I would have had enough wool to have done the whole shawl in blue, but having knitted the centre section in black I stuck with my original plan and knitted the edging in black as well. It was a new type of bind-off for me (knitting through the back of the loops), so I practised with some spare wool first.

I must admit that once the piece was off the needles, it didn't look very impressive.

On a single blocking mat, for scale

But thanks to the magic of blocking, it was transformed.

Blocking still feels akin to magic to me!

The finished shawl came out slightly smaller than the pattern (measured at the row of five motifs) presumably due to using a different wool. I think that I may have been slightly over-aggressive in the blocking, as it seems a bit more holey than the photos of the original, but it's possible that the correct wool is a bit fluffier.

Unfortunately, while it was actually sunny when I came to take pictures this afternoon it was also absurdly windy, so I had to work indoors. Looking at the photos, I am glad that I went for the black edging as it adds contrast. All in all, I'm really pleased with the end result, and am delighted to have added lacework to my knitting repertoire.

Showing the back centre and edging

Arranged to show the centre 'spine'

Trying, and failing, to take photos outdoors

At some point, I may have to add a 'knitting gallery' page to this blog. Who would have thought it?

Shrewsbury again

Yesterday I had a day out in Shrewsbury, and while browsing in a fabric shop spotted this in a remnant bin.

Jaunty!

Now I like the colour yellow, but sadly it has never much liked me. I also seem to be getting (even) paler as I get older so things which I could wear before, like my Big Stitch dress, no longer work with my colouring. Which is a shame, because even I like to wear something other than shades of blue occasionally! But this is definitely at the warmer end of the yellow spectrum, so I wondered if it was something I could wear. I tried holding it up to my face and, even with the unforgiving lighting of the shop, I didn’t look as though I only had hours to live. So, despite my best attempts to not acquire more fabric, I promptly gave in and bought it.

Whoops

It's a viscose, but with more weight to it than the fabrics I used for my two New Look 6594 dresses. It didn't shed any dye when I pre-washed it, which is always a good start, and it drapes nicely.

Some body, but not too stiff

Shade-wise, it's quite similar to the yellow of Vogue 2787 (which also has a noticeable amount of red in the overall print). Depending on the light, the background colour can actually look more peach or orange than yellow. The selvedge printing shows just how many different colours there are in the print, and how they are all in the red/orange/brown family.

These are always so useful for matching colours

I also called in to Maggie Mae's Vintage. It's always lovely to see the ladies there and have a chat, and while the chances of my finding any vintage items which fit my short-waisted self are incredibly slim, they do have some haberdashery and of course jewellery to look through as well. I struck lucky - not only did they have some splendid yellow earrings, I also found a buckle in a very pale peach shade which exactly matches one of the colours in the fabric.

Perfect!

I'm not sure yet what I'll make, but it will probably be a 1950s dress with a full skirt to use up all the yardage and make the most of that swishy drape. For now, I'm just delighted to have found a yellow that I can wear.

None of this was the reason for the trip, however. My Dahlia shawl has finally reached the point where it is impossible to continue knitting it on straight needles, but the only circular needles I can get locally have metal ends and for this yarn I definitely prefer wood. So it was time to pay a first visit to Ewe and Ply in Shrewsbury, which turned out to be an absolute treasure trove of knitting wonders. They sorted me out with wood tips and a long cable, which have made things much easier.

All spread out

I can definitely see more visits to Shrewsbury in the future!

February progress report

I have a college assignment due at the end of the month, and don't currently have much time for sewing, knitting, or blogging. So instead, here's a quick update on where I am with my various works in progress.

First up, sewing. My accidentally striped pinafore dress is looking a bit tired - hardly surprising as it's almost seven years old, and has had a lot of wear. I've made a start on a new one, using some black pinstripe wool which I bought for this purpose last year. It's all cut out, and the bodice is part done; it still needs the lining sewing down at the shoulders, understitching, and the front pleats tacked in place.

Pinafore bodice

I never thought that I would have more knitting projects on the go than sewing projects, but here we are. My slate Wondrella is cast on, and is my project for when I want to chat while knitting or am too tired for anything complicated. I have knitted the whole body, including front cables, up to the point of splitting of the fronts and back. I decided to knit the back before doing the fronts, although I can't now remember my logic for this! All the armscye shaping is done, so it's just a case of stocking stitch for another 50 or so rows.

The whole thing

Close-up on the right front

My blue Dahlia shawl remains my 'concentration required' project. I am finding it easier as I become more familiar with the pattern, but the slightest bit of wandering mind and I can be sure that I'll make a mistake. I bought a lovely set of coloured stitch markers (in colourway 'Thistle') from Rebecca’s Room Knitting and use them to colour-code the different sections of the pattern; they are perfect for reminding me where I am in a row.

Markers is shades of silver, purple and green

In terms of rows, I am more than halfway through. However because each row increases by four stitches, in terms of total number of stitches I am only around 30% done.

One side, partially stretched out

Occasionally I stop halfway through a row, just to get an idea of what the finished shawl might look like. Although I can't really tell now, as I can no longer space the stitches out properly. I will definitely need some more blocking mats to fit it all on!

Trying to show the whole thing

And that is where things are currently up to.

Blue Dahlia

It's hard to believe that I've only been knitting properly for a year. I still regard myself as a beginner, but nonetheless I've gone from only being able to make small and/or basic items to understanding knitting patterns (Wondrella, which is a very clear pattern, might as well have been written in runes when I first tried to follow it!) and even having a go at adapting them.

My local fabric shop also has a wool section, and I have taken advantage of special sale days to stack up on supplies for a few future projects (shown here with the leftovers from my first Wondrella, for which I have Plans).

What can I say - I like blue!

By and large, though, I am trying to avoid building up a wool stash. So when my friend F mentioned that there was a one-day wool show taking place in her village, and was I interested, we went along purely for me to 'have a look'.

I was actually fairly restrained. I bought a kit for a scarf, and some bits and bobs such as stitch markers. Oh, and at the last minute, a hank of blue-with-black-accents 4ply from Bellica Yarns somehow came into my possession!

I really like blue!

I had no idea what to make with it, I just really liked the colour. But then Susan Crawford Vintage had a pattern sale, and browsing through that I came across the Dahlia shawl.

The recommended wool seemed to be a similar weight and after all, if a shawl doesn't come out to the exact size, it’s not really a disaster. Because the pattern only uses part skeins of several of the recommended yarns, I don't know what its exact yardage is. So, I decided to get some extra wool to supplement the hank. Matching the blue was going to be impossible, so I went for black instead. As I already know, matching blacks is not as straightforward as it sounds, but I struck lucky with this Rico superba 4ply which is the same mix of merino and nylon as well as a reasonable colour match. To add interest (and to attempt to hide the possible fact that I ran out of wool!) I decided to use it for the initial section of the shawl, and will go back to it either when the blue runs out or for the final edging.

The two together

I'm learning lots of new things on this project, not least just how long it takes to wind a 425m hank of wool into a (pleasingly large) ball.

It's probably as well that I don't have a cat - it would be carnage!

The pattern uses a circular needle, but I remain true to my lever knitting roots whenever possible, so I decided to work on straight needles until the shawl gets too big for them. Once I finally started knitting, I discovered that wool/nylon 4-ply on 4mm needles is in permanent danger of slipping off the needles and dropping stitches - in my hands, anyway. Luckily, I had a set of bamboo needles which I had bought as an experiment and never used, so tried them instead and found them much better.

I'm finding lace knitting - not difficult exactly, but intense. The stitches were easy to master, but you do need to concentrate. This is not knitting to do while I'm chatting to my mum or even listening to the radio; I will stick to my latest Wondrella for those times. I have also discovered, via quite a lot of practice, that unpicking lace knitting is not fun. When you are starting out on this technique safety lines are definitely your friend!

For me, at least for now, it has to be done in short bursts until my concentration lapses. But at the same time, it's so much fun to see the design develop. The pattern starts at the centre of the longest edge of the shawl, and works outwards with an increase of two stitches on every right side row. This does mean that the knitting 'bunches' on my straight needles.

On the bamboo needle

So I temporarily transferred it onto a circular needle, purely to admire my progress so far and to take pictures!

Spread out in all its glory

I'm about a third of the way through in terms of number of rows knitted, but of course the rows get much longer as the work progresses. So don't expect to see a completed shawl on here any time soon. But I'm greatly enjoying learning a new type of knitting, and using up some of my yarn stash!