WIP - Enchantment Shawl by Hélène Rush

I got the yarn and pattern as part of a fabulous knit kit at my LYS, Yarn Junkees. They have a wide variety of knit kits available from shawls to hats to gloves to scarves. This particular shawl kit ran me about $53. Included in the charming plastic bag was the Knit One, Crochet Too yarn brand in Crock-O-Dye #564 Teal and Kettle Tweed #4435 Bamboo, the pattern (which is worth about $6 or so on its own), and the needles required for finishing this project. Each hank of yarn is worth around $25 each and the needles are about $10-ish. You really do get your money's worth with these kits. Not to mention it's the perfect way to pick a project when you're feeling a little indecisive or if you're new to knitting and want to give yourself a challenge.

You begin with the border working side to side as you can see in the WIP photo above. The lacework gives the impression that you're creating cables with the edge, but you're not. They do look pretty convincing though. Once you've finished the border, you pick up the stitches along the edge to begin working on the body. I'm a few rows in and now I'm starting to feel a little lost. There's some confusing phrasing in the directions that I'm having some problems deciphering.

The rows I'm struggling with are as follows:
Row 7: K7, *(k1 wrapping yarn around needle 2 times) 3 times, k7; rep from * across
Row 8: Using B, k7, *sl 3 wyib dropping extra wrap for each, k7; rep from * across

So, I guess I'm not supposed to knit those stitches? I'll figure this out, but for right now I'm stumped. I know that there will be some bobbles up ahead and I'm looking forward to those. From the picture of the pattern it almost looks like the slipped stitches are actually knitted in later which makes a lot of sense. So far, I have to say that this pattern is a lot of fun. I can't wait to start working on the short rows.

As for the yarn itself, I am beyond amazed at the color, texture, and ease. The first thing I noticed were the gorgeous colors of the skeins of yarn of the Kettle Tweed and Crock-O-Dye. The Crock-O-Dye is made with superwash wool, nylon, and silk. It's very soft to the touch and doesn't break easily. One of the things I loved about working with it is that when I needed to do the P2togs with the YOs in the pattern, the yarn didn't untwist very much making it easier to pull those stitches off without having to retry them over and over again. The Kettle Tweed is crafted using merino wool, baby llama, bamboo, and donegal. It has a crimped texture and feels even softer than the Crock-O-Dye. The blending of the earthy colors are even smoother. I'm totally falling in love with this yarn. The cable definition is outstanding.

Virginia Is For Lovers

I've really been enjoying my stay in Shenandoah, Virginia. My grandma and I have been going through a lot since losing my grandpa but together we are getting through it. My heart has always belonged to the valley and I have been seriously considering a longer stay. I have the advantage of running my own business online. This means that I can pack up whatever I need to and go where ever I feel like going for as long as I desire. This freedom has allowed me to help my grandma in her greatest time of need. It makes me glad that I decided to follow my heart instead of submitting to the idea that the only way to make a living is by going to work for someone else in a retail store (or something like that).

So far I've been doing very well for myself. My collaboration with another Etsy shop is continuing, albeit with a few disadvantages with the distance but we are working it out through trial and error. There are many people that pass through this house and my grandma loves showing off everything that I make. She's my best promoter! Many of the people that I've met are interested in lessons. I'm sure that I could teach them in the house. It would be really great if I could get that part of my life back. I really miss teaching.

The landlady for the house also owns all of the buildings on the block. There are a lot of empty business spaces available in the gorgeous historic town of Shenandoah. I would very much love to open a yarn shop. It would be perfect in keeping with the aesthetic of an old train station town. She seemed to be really into the idea of having a yarn shop in the area. With all of the crafty people around, I should have no problem having people consign a few of their pieces. This will also be a great way to bring awareness to some of my favorite charities involving yarn. I really hope that this can happen!

I do have to be realistic. The chances of this shop coming to life are slim to none. I have no collateral for the bank, I have no money saved up, I don't have a business license (I would need a new one for the shop anyway), and I have no credit. There are a million things working against me right now. That doesn't mean that this dream of mine is impossible. I'll look into all of my options before I give up.

Owl Lace Sweater - WIP/Review

I've been working on an amazing sweater with owl lace for the past couple of days. It's Ginny's Cardigan by Mari Chiba from the Unofficial Harry Potter Knits magazine published by Interweave Knits. I love their regular magazine patterns, but this collection really knocks my Narcissa socks off. I literally want to knit every single pattern. They have a few sweaters, socks, scarves, and mittens. There's over 30 patterns for me to sink my teeth into.

Here's what I have so far. You can't really see the sides, but it's all stockinette stitch. This is worked mainly in one piece from the bottom up. I love the shaping techniques used in this cardigan. Short rows were used to construct the bust line. Decreasing, then increasing stitches creates a snug fit for the hips.

The owl lace is the main focus point of the cardigan. It's really important to pay close attention to the chart as you're working. I usually can pick up on a lace pattern rather quickly and won't have a need to follow the chart after a couple of passes. This lace pattern is to intricate for me to memorize like that. You work this pattern over 23-31 stitches which means that you gain and lose stitches as you go. Regardless, it offers a challenge that I enjoy. 

I'm going to make a trip to the yarn store later this week to pick up some size 4 and 6 DPNs. I've had to buy brand new needles to do this project, but luckily the yarn was free for me. The needles are the interchangeable kind from Knit Picks. I'm really loving them so far. I can't wait to get the DPNs. 

The yarn I'm using is the Bernat Nylo Sports wool blend. It's 50% wool and 50% nylon. The colorway is Silver Mix which gives a great denim effect to the cardigan. I love how soft it is. I can't wait to put this sweater on!

The Red Scarf Project

This year I've dedicated some of my time and yarn to a very special project that I'm rather fond of. It's called the Red Scarf Project. Basically, knitters and crocheters are invited to use various hues of red yarn to create beautiful, soft scarves for unisex college students. The students are foster kids putting themselves through school and may not receive such a kindhearted gift from a loved one. 

This year I have made three scarves to submit. I wanted to take this opportunity to teach myself some new skills and get rid of some extra red yarn I had lying around the house. Believe it or not, I still have some more. The new technique I taught myself this year was working short rows. You can see how I utilized this new technique in the scarf below:

I also converted a pattern that I've used about 20 times with a beret that seems to be a favorite among my customers. I took the cable panel and added a simple border around it. I plan on using this for future scarves to sell in sets with my berets. They look really lovely as their own accessories, so I can only imagine how beautiful they will look together as a dynamic set!

This year I came up with a clever little way to solve a couple of problems. One, I needed a way to keep the scarves folded. Two, I had such a small amount of each color left over that I really didn't have a lot of options as to what I could use that yarn for. So, I came up with the idea to make a coffee mug cozy to wrap around the scarves. This also presents a new gift to the student who receives this scarf. Not only is this a clever way to keep your scarf in place, but it also gives the student something to keep their coffee mug from being too hot or cold. And we all know how much college students love coffee. 

I've got some of my students making scarves as well. We're all writing letters with words of encouragement and shower them with some love for Valentine's Day. Next year I plan on getting involved much sooner. The range of time that donations are allowed are from September to December. This was a really fun experiment for me! I tried some new stuff and succeeded and tried some other things that didn't quite work out. I'll get it by next year though! 

Lemme Teach You A Thing - How To Cast On (Knitting)

I finally started making videos on how to knit. I'm so excited! Please tell me how I did, if you followed along, and if you have any specific stitches you'd like to learn.