iris finished
i’m so proud, i love this demi-shawl. this is my second handspun knitted project, and the first that’s 100% spindle-spun. yay! it’s funny, i don’t like knitting with variegated yarn usually, but i absolutely love spinning it. and in this case, i agree with others, the simpler the lace stitch is, the better it works with variegated yarn. here, the feather and fan stitch worked beautifully, if i may say so myself. ;) aren’t the colors amazing? and that last pic is kinda crazy with its super-saturation but it does show the pretty lace pattern.
i started out with the some blue faced leicester roving, in the colourway “iris”, about 4 oz of it. this resulted in about 300 yards of yarn in mostly dk weight.
i doubled up the yarn, cast on, and three days later had a finished scarf. it bled a bit in the water, but i threw in some vinegar in the second wash, so that helped. then i blocked it pretty strongly, going back every few hours to re-stretch and re-pin it. as a result, it grew from 30 inches long to over 42 inches! hence the change from scarf to demi-shawl, since it’s so wide and really feels nice around my shoulders. more pics and info on the project page.
and that’s it. how satisfying! too bad it’s like 69 degrees outside. ah well, tomorrow it’s supposed to rain. good.
off to class ~ first week of school and last night’s class on “preservation of heritage materials” was excellent. i even figured out a way to bring some fiber research into my final paper, and maybe even some spinning. whatever works, right?
{ posted 13 January 06, under knitting & iris shawl }
comments
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It looks gorgeous! I was looking for a table runner pattern for a variegated laceweight and I think a feather and fan is the way to go.
the yarn is beautiful, great work!
~ kaitlyn
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oh it’s lovely andrea. the color of the yarn just brings out the stitch pattern. and you spun the yarn too! you must be mighty proud.
~ winnie
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Wow Andrea, that was a mistake colorway that I created… Now I think I’ll keep it! I love the way it turned out…. I want to spin some now! Your shawl is beautiful… I just love the feather and fan pattern.
—Janel~ janel
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I can not believe you spun that yarn. It is really beautiful. I really like how the variegation enhances the pattern.
Oh!!! Preservation of heritage materials, do you get to work with electron microscopes for your research? I took several similar class in college, but mine was for fiber research. The coolest thing in the world is to watch natural fibers decay under an electron microscope when exposed to light. It is so cool to watch on a cellular level garments waste away just due to 5 candle lights.
During class we were working on cleaning and stabilizing natural fibers that had been submerged in the ocean for over 120 years and stabilizing fibers that had been exposed to Chlorine and large amounts of light in museum settings. (We were working on stabilizing the fibers in the space suits at the Smithsonian and also on Project Discovery which was a ship that sank off the coast of FL.) Have fun, I really love preservation classes you should have a blast.
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It’s wonderful! How cool to have that as your second knit & spin project (your first was great, too!). I have two braids of Janel’s roving and more on the way, but I’ve been saving it for when I’m a little more advanced. I just moved from bfl to merino this week, so I should be on to merino/silk soon. I love seeing the little shots of your apartment, too. Those exposed brick walls are great. Makes me miss our place in DC.
~ Julia
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That is truly lovely! I love the purples and greens. Way to go!
~ beth
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Andrea, that is so beautiful! I am not skilled in the spinning arts, but I can imagine that there is a great amount of pride in that beautiful shawl!
I took a Preservation class at Library of Congress last spring, and it was great. I learned so much… hope your classes go well this semester!
~ Lolly
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That’s such a beautiful stole, Andrea. And to think you did it all, from roving to finished product in a week! Next you’ll have to dye your own roving!
And I’m so glad to see that I’m not the only one with her xmas tree still up. :)
~ Liz
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Oh Andrea, that looks amazing. Lovely yarn, beautiful knitting.
~ rose
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Congratulations on making your own item from roving to finished project! That must feel like such an accomplishment! The colors are beautiful and highlighted just right in the feather and fan.
~ Kelly
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everytime I see your stuff it makes me want to re-learn how to spin! Just gorgeous!
~ moni
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Ooh, it looks really beautiful. Did you however say “three days later had a finished scarf”? I may have to smack you…
Sincerely yours,
The slowest knitter in the known universe~ Collette
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It looks beautiful. I love your colorway. Your spinning has definitely gotten better and better, Andrea!
~ MJ
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very beautiful! the yarn and how it is applied, it just looks like it was meant to be!
~ erika
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oh that is beautiful, andrea! so cool that you’ve spun the yarn yourself.
~ kris
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yummy shawl!!!
Well done!!!~ Kimberli