Jobo Designs

Having worked this pattern before... I knew exactly what I was getting into as far as the actual knitting part goes.  I had not had the occasion to knit with Patons SWS (Soy Wool Stripes) before though... so that was a pretty new experience.

Basically, this yarn is like a big soft wooly single - a big fat worsted weight yarn.  I can see why people use it for felting.  When it is first knit it does show pretty nice stitch definition for a single-type yarn, but I can imagine that it would felt nicely into a fuzzy wooly felt without too much trouble.  I discovered near the end of the shawl just how easy it was to wet-felt splice the end of a ball together with the new strand... just by splitting apart the ends, feathering them together, wetting them, and rolling between my hands I was able to make some pretty solid joins!  Unfortunately, I didn't realize this until I had already had to weave in half a dozen ends... oh well :)

Just knowing the high Feltability (is that a word?) of the yarn, I will have to be sure and educate the eventual owner of this shawl that it should be washed with cold water only and with very little (no) agitation... or this shawl may become a felted mess!

The reason I chose this yarn is a little convoluted.  I had gone into a yarn store looking for something a) in a blue/grey/black, b) something worsted weight-ish, c) something that was made of natural fiber and warm.  The original 198 yds. of Heaven pattern used a worsted weight wool, so I thought I would take my chances on this.  I used the entirety of 4 balls... there are 5-6 very short pieces left and that is it.  I even ended up splicing a few pieces to complete the cast off.  It was close... I thought I would have to rip back a row and cast off again it was *so* close.

Before blocking, I wasn't sure if the shawl would be large enough.  The Recipient wanted it to be large, wooly and thick.  When it came off the needles, it measured 56 x 24 inches, but after a soak, stretch and rest the finished shawl blocked to 66 x 36 inches.  Perfect size! 

The final texture was a nice mix of thick warm stockinette panels and lacy open YOs.  The Arrowhead pattern really stands out pleasingly from the garter stitch bars and ladders of Yarn-Overs.  This lace pattern would be a good one for anyone who wants to get more comfortable with lace stitches, because it uses a good mix of stitches but does so in a predictable and easy to follow pattern of those stitches.  It is easy to see what the next "move" is and where the patter is going.

When I started out on this pattern I had test-driven a couple needle sizes to see the possible fabric textures... I settled on the 6mm circulars for the perfect mix of solid/lace.

The last time I knit this pattern I ran out of yarn before I was able to complete the border charts... I really liked the way the border completed the shawl.  The "points" turned out perfect!  I am a complete sucker for the finished curves and points on a shawl :)

Here is a photo to give you an idea of the finished size... it stretches most of the way across my sofa!  aaaaand it matches my living room decor!?  how weird is that?

More gratuitous post blocking photos!  There are the lovely points again!  For the first stitch of each row I slipped a stitch "purlwise" with yarn in back and then continued on.  I learned this technique on another shawl, and have translated it into many other projects.  The resulting edge has a nice "finished" look... almost braided.

And here she is all ready for pickup!  All in all, I was very pleased with this project, and I hope Teresa likes it too :)

ok...  The title seems random...  But the color of this yarn reminds me of Caterpillars!  Greens, Greys, Black, and a hint of Rust here and there.  When we were little we used to see lots of fuzzy little many-legged creatures in the back yard while playing outside :)

This is only the first little skein in what will be a 4 skein series...  at approximately 160 yards of fingering weight, navajo 3-ply.  I am tempted to jump in and start knitting this guy up, but alas, I should probably keep on spinning before I do too much more scheming. 

The fiber here is some Hand Dyed Polwarth, in 4 ounce bags, from London-Wul over in Moncton.  I have 2 bags... so 8 ounces total.

I was drawn to the colors immediately but when I dug into the bag,  I found that there isn't really any kind of shade distribution in the roving.  Really, it's just random splashes of color - which I don't mind - but there are long sections that are only lime green, and others that are only black and really dark colors.  It would have been nice to have a more predictable variance maybe.  There were also a few felted bits from the dyeing process.  Overall I am pleased with the fiber, and the finished yarn is delectable... but I think I will ask to open up the bag and examine the roving next time I buy this product, just to get an idea of the dyeing pattern before I take it home.

I'll post some more pics when the rest of the pile has been converted from Fluff to yarn :)

I finally finished spinning up my braid of Rainbow BFL from Sheepish Creations...  and what a delightful spin it was!  The fiber itself was very well prepared and light and lofty.  I really didn't need to predraft anything, the nice long staple length and fine quality fiber just sailed through my fingers and onto the bobbin.  I can't wait to dig into the 8 ounces of Corriedale I purchased from them...  I have a feeling it might be even more fun... with all of the plummy purples and rich gold and blues.  It's a good thing I am on vacation for a couple weeks! 

I ended up with around 470 yards of light fingering weight 2-ply yarn.  I tried to keep the colors together as much as possible, so the result is a long barber pole with a few meters of blended colors as the shifts happened.  At the time I was spinning it, I thought my finished yarn would be much thinner, and perhaps I would have gotten more yardage, but after a quick soak it seemed like the yarn really bloomed more than I would have expected.  It's all good though... My plan is to knit a scarf out of this to show off the long color changes.  Maybe something around 8-10 inches wide and open and lacy.  Originally I had thought of something like a "feather and fan" or "Old Shale" type pattern, but I have to do some more looking to see what else is out there.