Crown Prince Sqaure Shawl Part 1 王儲方形披肩 - 第一章

Been wanting to knit this shawl since the book has been published. Nevertheless, I never got the right yarn, so I never started knitting, which was a good thing I guess, for there are so many details in this shawl knitting I would never have imagine there would be until I actually worked on it.
Knitted Lace of Estonia 在 2008 年一出版, 就想織封面這條披肩. 但因為沒有對的線, 一直都沒開工. 這也許是好事, 因為編織這條披肩的過程中, 發現了很多細節和問題, 是之前從沒想過碰過的. 真的要動手織了, 才會明瞭.

In spring, I learned that C has been buying undyed Estonian cobweb lace for hand painting, I asked her to keep 2 hanks for me. She asked what I planned to do with it, I told her I need them to knit the Crown Prince. She was intrigues and immediately said she would knit it, too, with me. And several other knitter friends joined us for a mini knit along.

今年春天, 聽說 C 進了愛沙尼亞蜘蛛絲蕾絲線來染, 馬上請她留兩絞. 她問我要拿來織什麼, 我說王儲. 聽完我的解釋, 她馬上要跟我一起織. 後來, 陸續有幾位熟識的織女朋友, 也一起加入這個迷你群織.

 

100g  1400m  100% wool

100 克 1400 公尺 100% 羊毛

We started at the end of June, when we got our yarn. This is the first shawl I knitted from this book. I've knitted quite a few Estonian lace shawls: several Swallowtail, several Percy, and Sofia Scarf. None of them were knitted with cobweb. Really wanted to used the right yarn. 

六月底, 當大家都拿到線, 或準備好線時, 就開始織. 這本書中, 織的第一條, 就是王儲. 愛沙尼亞風的蕾絲披肩織過不少條: 幾條 Swallowtail (燕尾), 幾條 Percy (珀西) 和 Sofia (蘇菲亞). 沒有一條是用蜘蛛絲. 真的很想規規矩矩地用蜘蛛絲來織.

Or so I thought.

我以為這樣就 OK 了.

Had quite a tough time starting out. Frogged several times. First time I used circular needles, the knit cast-on edge wasn't satisfactory but I went on. The garter stitch gauge was terrible, like the cat jumped on it, was what AH described. So I started over. The knit cast-on edge was better, so was the garter stitch gauge. It was better because I consciously tug after every stitch, and it resulted in too tight the stitches and they snagged  while being pushed forward from the cable to the needle and evetually, the yarn broke. Had to start over again. This time, I used a pair of short double-ended needles of my mom's. Surprisingly, the knit cast-on was great, the gauge was GOOD, and I actually CAN relax while knitting not straining my hands. It was then I realize the benefit of straight needles, which I wasn't a fan of. The gauge is way better. As to why Estonians use short ones, because the cobweb stitched can all fit onto them, and being short there are no extra weight of the needle weighing on the hands. And they are convenient to carry around, just like circular needles!

起頭就讓我踢到鐵板. 拆了好幾次. 第一次, 用輪針, knit cast-on 結果不甚滿意, 但繼續織下去. 到了 garter stitch (起伏針) 部分, 密度真的是爛到可以, AH 姐姐說像是被貓跳上去蹂躪過一樣. 所以, 重來. 第 2 次, 還是輪針, 但起針好些了, 密度也好點. 那是因為每一針打完後有拉一下. 這樣密度看起來好, 但是其實針目變太緊, 要推針目時不容易推到針頭上, 會卡在接頭處, 最後, 線就斷了. 再重來. 這次去老媽家翻出她的短雙頭棒針來用, 織出來結果出人意料: 起針超讚的, 很整齊; 密度很好; 重點是, 手可以放輕鬆織. 我才領悟到直針的好處. 一直以來就不喜歡棒針, 因為多針目的需要長棒針, 很重, 手很痛, 但是密度卻很好. 愛沙尼亞人用短棒針織蕾絲, 是因為用蜘蛛絲線, 再多的針目, 都可以通通擠在短棒針上, 沒有長棒針的多餘重量, 而且攜帶起來跟輪針一樣方便!

1st CO with circ and 7-st nupp

第 1 次起針. 輪針. 還是 7 針扁扣.

2nd CO with circ and 7-st nupp

第 2 次起針. 還是輪針 & 7 針扁扣.

3rd CO with dp & 9-st nupp

第 3 次起針. 雙頭短棒針. 9 針扁扣.

But, the needles I used were metal ones. They were heavy when my hands are tired and knitting with small needles and fine yarn my hand tired very quickly. In the end, I orderd some ebony and rose wood single point needles. And, they are a dream to work with.

只不過, 老媽的短雙頭棒針是金屬的, 有點重量, 手容易累. 細針細線的更容易累. 最後, 還是訂了黑檀木和紫檀木的短棒針. 真的好好用.

4rd CO with ebony dp & 9-st nupp

第 4 次起針. 黑檀木短棒針. 9 針扁扣.

All the nupps I made with previous shawls were mostly 7-stitch nupps. I really like the strong contrast of the nupps with the airy lacey cobweb background, so I made 9-stitch nupps. The center progressed s l o w l y . . .
以前織愛沙尼亞蕾絲披肩的特色扁扣 nupp 時, 都是做 7 針的. 我比較喜歡對比強烈的, 覺得白白一顆顆扁扣在空氣感蜘蛛絲蕾絲底上的感覺超讚, 所以這次做的是 9 針的. 披肩的中心部分針的是以龜  速  在  長  .  .  . 

6 Shawls in 3 Weeks 三星期六條披肩

From left to right: Swallowtail, Holden, Sur un petit nuage, Yasmine (shawl), Yasmine (scarf), Alice.

左到右: 燕尾, 霍爾登, 小小雲端上, 雅思敏 (披肩), 雅思敏 (圍巾), 愛麗絲.

After Swallowtail, I finally felt I could use a break. And when I look up I realized that I've knitted SIX shawls in... what?... THREE weeks?!

打完燕尾後, 終於覺得想要休息了, 然後赫然發現自己在三星期內打了六條披肩?!


Seriously, I didn't rush-knit any one of them. I just knitted, finished, went on to the next and so on... couldn't stop!

我沒有趕工打任何一條. 就是打一條, 完成後再接著打下一條... 就停不下來啦!

Swallowtail Pour Moi 我的燕尾

Swallowtail Shawl by Evelyn A. Clarke

Handmaiden Fine Yarn Sea Silk in Rose Garden

3.75 mm needles 

2011/10/31 ~ 11/4

Finally had a chance to knit a Swallowtail for myself using the Sea Silk bought ages ago specifically for this shawl. No modifications were made. Knitted according to pattern. Love the outcome! The color Rose Garden and Swallowtail match perfectly!

終於有機會給自己打條燕尾, 且是用 n 年前為了打這條披肩買的 Sea Silk. 尺寸沒有加打, 完全照織圖做. 成品很令人滿意, 用的線顏色名為玫瑰園, 打成燕尾感覺很對!

Feels quite punky paired with leather jacket.

配皮衣感覺有點龐克.

Sur un petit nuage pour moi 我的小小雲端上

Sur un petit nuage by Marie-Adeline Boyer

Malabrigo Yarm Lace in Tuareg

4 mm circular needles

2011/10/20 ~ 23

This SUPN is for me. I've knitted another one about a year ago for Christmas Exchange for a  friend using the exactly same color of yarn but with a smaller needle and used exactly one skein of yarn. This one, I followed every word in the pattern and only used 70% of a skein. A smaller shawl, a nice scarf. Perfect for me!

這條小小雲端上是打給自己的. 去年一個聖誕交換活動中打過一條給朋友. 那時也是用同一款線, 同一個顏色, 不過小一號針, 且把整絞蕾絲線通通用上. 這一條完全照織圖的指示打, 只用了 70% 絞. 因此, 是條比較小的披肩, 比較像圍巾, 很適合我.

I've always loved Marie-Adeline's designs. And I love this scarf, this yarn, this color, and above all, I love wearing it!

我一直都很喜歡 Marie-Adeline 設計的東西. 我喜歡這條蕾絲圍巾, 喜歡這款線, 喜歡這個顏色, 重點是我很喜歡圍小小雲端上!

I especially like to pair it with my leather jacket! Bisou a MA!

尤其我喜歡把它拿來配皮衣! 給 MA 親一個!

Yasmine Shawl Version Test Knitting 雅思敏蕾絲披肩版測織

Test knitting Yasmine by Marie-Adeline Boyer in shawl version with Malabrigo Lace Merino in Emerald. Yasmine shawl weights about 40g and measures approximately 160 cm wide and 70 cm long.

I gave myself two weeks to test knit Yasmine. For the scarf/sock yarn version that is. Since I finished it in two days, I couldn't help but also test knit the shawl/lace weight version, which was completed equally fast.

I am in LOVE with this pattern. It is really an easy knit. The design is so pure and simple and yet elegant and sophisticated. After knitting both scarf and shawl version with two very different yarn, it is needless to say that Yasmine is the most versatile accessory for this fall/winter.  Should I say more? Want a Yasmine, or maybe two, anyone?

Now, some pics of me with my dear Yasmine, just to let you know what a marvel this is. I know I need to get outdoors and take some real pictures with my face visible, but before that please bear with these self-taken crappy pics a little longer!

Please look out for the publishing of Yasmine pattern on Marie-Adeline's Ravelry page. Besides Yasmine, we will be seeing more of Marie-Adeline's designs very soon!

Yasmine Scarf Version Test Knitting 雅思敏圍巾版測織

Test knitting Marie-Adeline Boyer's latest scarf/shawl design: Yasmine.

The scarf version was knitted with Noro Kureyon Sock. Variegated yarn wasn't what I intended for Yasmine but I really wanted to try this pretty Noro Kureyon gifted by Mary L. I thought if I didn't like the color combination after a few rows, I could just rip and switch to lace weight and knit it double stranded, since I have plenty of solid lace weight yarn.

Surprisingly, I finished Yasmine scarf version in two days. Yes. Two. I myself was alarmed by the speed. This pic shows how it's being blocked.

Yasmine scarf version is about 120 cm wide and 60 cm deep. And used up way less than one skein of Noro Kureyon Sock.

I had some issues with Noro Kureyon Sock. First, I didn't like how it feels. It's kind of hard and not smooth. Second, the yarn goes thick and thin while you knit, and sometimes the thin part comes to be so thin that I think it would break while blocking. But after the scarf was removed after blocking, I couldn't find that assumed would be breaking part which I intended to reinforce by darning.

 

And third, I was afraid I wouldn't like the color combination of the famous Noro yarn and that it would compete with the design itself. Luckily, the yarn lives up to its reputation and it actually shows off elegantly the beautiful scarf Marie-Adeline designed.

Guess what? I'm in love with the marriage of this yarn and the design!  Now I'm off to knit the shawl version of Yasmine. Will keep you posted!

Few pics of me wearing Yasmine scarf:

 

Alice 愛麗絲

Alice was planned to be knitted up right after Cassandra, but Alice was busy with her life and so she didn't come out until a few days ago.

It was a very quick knit, even for me, who had a four-month knitting break. I could have finished it in two days, definitely less than three, but when I started the leaf border, my stitch count was off. I had more stitches on the first half of the triangle, and I couldn't fix it unless a visit to the frog pond. Besides, the garter stitch main body makes any fixes glaringly visible. So, I ripped back to row 10. Yes. 10. Row 10.

It took me another half day to re-knit the garter stitch body, but the leaf border was easy enough and it was finished in no time.

Alice used up almost a whole skein of cotton silk blend yarn. Only a little was left. No modifications were made, except the way I did the ssk: slip 1, place slipped stitch back to left needle, k2tog tbl. That way the stitch definition was great for it resembles exactly the k2tog.

Mother's Day 2011 100年母親節

This is Cassandra. Marie Adeline Boyer's latest. It's not done yet, not quite, but it will be. Real soon. I promise.





MA's Cassandra is my saviour. I was suffering from a nasty cold and was too tired and weak to knit anything. When I saw MA modeling Cassandra on Raverly, my eyes widened immediately for I have just the yarn and cause for this pretty shawl. It is a real pick-me-up! Years ago I bought 2 cakes approximatley 250 grams of these hand-dyed fingering weight 80/20 cotton/silk in apple green and planned to knit into a summery top, which never happened, of course. And I'm almost sure it will not happen. For they are even better if knitted into this lovely Cassandra! So, I fished the cakes of out my yarn chest, assembled my Knit Picks Harmony Wood Interchangeables with US6 needle heads and cast on. I was so quick, even I haven't been knitting the same overall patterned shawl for quite some time. And I am now 7 reps out of the 8 reps chart B called for.



Leaf motif


Leaf motif, you can see the buds!


As to the yarn, I really don't know the brand and such. It was dyed by a local knitter here. She bought undyed yarns in bulk off eBay UK and hand painted herself. I don't even know the yardage. And I'm too lazy to calculate! Anyway, 2 cakes 250 grams is suffice to a simple short sleeve top. It is very loosely spun with 5 strands of 2 plies. Have to be very careful while knitting so as not to pick up any single 2 ply strands, which will then stick out real ugly. Although wet blocking does not change the size of the finishing shawl, but it will help smooth out uneveness and loose picked single strands. That is the single not so good thing I can say about this yarn.

Carrot Percy 卡羅特珀西小披肩

One day some time last September, I wore Percy on a windy morning when I sent the twins to Kindergarten, Ms Mini saw it and marvelled it for quite a while. From her blog I found that she's a Capricorn, like the twins, so I secretly asked Ms Su when is Ms Mini's birthday (sometime in January). So I decided to knit her a Percy Shawlette in one of her favorite color orange.

九月一個風大的早上, 我圍著珀西小披肩(當圍巾用)送兩小去幼稚園, Mini 老師看到了喜歡得不的了. 從 Mini 老師的幼教部落格上知道老師和兩小一樣是魔羯座, 於是偷偷向蘇老師打聽 Mini 老師的生日, 是一月某日. 於是決定用 Mini 老師喜歡的橘色打條珀西小披肩給老師當生日禮物.


I ordered the yarn and sent it to dear Mary's sister's house before Mary went to the States. She was so sweet to bring it back for me, among other things.

親愛的瑪莉十月去美國前就下單買了線 (和其他東西) 寄到瑪莉的姊解家, 再請瑪莉帶回來.


So I had plenty of time to knit with this glorious Knit Picks Gloss Lace, and with previous experience, I know that knitting Percy slow is the key to success. I did not rip one row. Unravelled a few stitches only. YAY!

因此, 這次有充裕的時間用這組 KP 的 Gloss 蕾絲線慢慢打珀西. 根據上次經驗, 打珀西不能急. 這次都沒有拆, 頂多改幾針. 耶~




The shawlette was started and finished in December. I didn't block it right away and when I did, I found that 1 stith was dropped while binding off. It was really bizarre. I thought if a stitch was dropped the bind-off process would be interrupted. Anyway, I ripped the BO and redid it, making sure I got every stitch, and block it again.

小披肩十二月開打十二月完成, 不過沒有馬上定型. 定型時發現收針時有一針沒收到. 很奇怪. 如果沒收到, 後面的針也應該收不起來吧? 反正, 就是把針再打開重收一次, 再重新定型.


It was perfect!

這次結果很完美!


I was amazed how KP Gloss presented the pattern. It was so crisp and well-defined.

KP 的 Gloss 蕾絲線打作品真的很美, 充分展現蕾絲花, 且花樣分明清晰.






Ms. Mini was thrilled! She was going to show it off to her friends!

Mini 老師超開心的說要去跟朋友炫耀!

Mandala II (2) 第二條曼陀羅II

Back in 2008 I knitted my first Renee Leverington shawl: the Mandala. It was also one of the 3 shawl knit-alongs I participated, and it was also my first shawl knit-along outside Taiwan. I have always been a fan of Renee's but never really had the courage to start one of her designs, when the Anniversary Mystery Shawl Knit-along started, I just had to jump in! I used a cobweb deep purple merino lace yarn DH brought back from Beijing and casted on. I didn't designated the shawl to anyone while knitting it until a little before I was finishing it: my grandmother. It was her 80th birthday. What could be a better gift than this circlular lace shawl which took me 8 weeks to finish (TONS of effort, including spending ONE week unravelling 6 rounds 3456 stitches one by one for my son JUMPED on me and a stitch fell several rows...)? She loves it a lot.


Two years later, another Anniversary Mystery Shawl Knit-along had started and right from the beginning we knew that it was Mandala II. And again, I had to jump in! Right away I knew this shawl is for my mother's 60th birthday. I used the same yarn as my grandmother's but in the color deep red. I chose the most complicated pattern from each clue which I knew my mother would appreciate. She did! This time, with more lace knitting experience it took me about 5 weeks to finish.

My aunt likes my grandmother's Mandala a lot, and likes my mother's Mandala II even more! I did plan to knit her one for her 60th birthday in another 2 years, but seeing her yearning so much for hers, I decided to move up the schedule and knit hers now. I ordered yarn specifically for this project. The yarn is Knit Picks Gloss in Cyan. She likes bright colors and since she has lots of black in her wardrobe, the color would go with any piece she wears.


Choosing the pattern from each part is kind of tricky for I have to avoid knitting the same pattern in my mother's Mandala. But the remainning patterns left in each part sometimes don't meet with my liking. Anyway, I just started part 3, still a lot to go!


Clue 2 chart B
第二部分模樣B



Clue 2 chart B
第二部分模樣B



Clue 1 chart B
第一部分模樣B

Citron is done! 香櫞第一彈完成!

Finally, I finished Citron, the first one I casted on.

終於把第一條香櫞完成了.


This Citron has 7 sections instead of the original 5 for I used a thinner lace yarn. And to achieve the textural effect I had to use a smaller 3.5mm needle. Since I work mostly with merino, the cobweb/lace weight wool yarn was a bit hard to get along with at the beginning. Besides, I was practicing knitting Continental method with this project and it might also be a contribution to the slightly rough start. I knitted all the way to the start of section 7 and then was interrupted by other projects such a Citron a la española, Fair Isle vests for the twins, Summer Flies, and Scareltt's Ribbed Lace Bolero. I did managed to finish section 7 in between these projects but the beaded bind-off took ages. It took me maybe two or three weeks to finish but then I wasn't binding off everyday. I needed to work in a cool and quiet place for a bead had to be hooked up to every stitch I bind off, and there were 732 stitches... In the end, all the hard work paid off. The beads really complimented the shawlette, and the shawlette itself, although being wool, it quite exquisite in the texture and I love it. Perfect for summer inside air-conditioned spaces.

這條香櫞有七段比原作五段還要多, 因為我用了組極細純羊毛蕾絲線, 且為了要讓平針和皺皺部分的層次感明顯, 還用了較小的 3.5mm 針, 我又用這 project 練習左手掛線, 所以一開始有點慢, 主要是左手掛線鬆緊度的拿捏還有純羊毛較粗又細線磨手. 儘管如此, 我還是一口氣打到第七段, 才被其他 project 插隊: 西班牙版香櫞, 兩小的費爾島風背心, 夏日飛逝小披肩, 和若的蕾絲波麗路. 第七段是在個 project 中完成的, 是珠收針比較麻煩花了很多時間, 前後可能拖了兩三星期吧. 因為珠收針每一針都要掛珠子, 總共有 732 針要收, 且要在涼快的地方安靜地做才行. 不過最後的結果證明一切的辛苦都是值得的. 淡綠透明閃虹光的珠子很能襯托芹菜綠的小披肩, 披肩本身雖為純羊毛, 但因線極細打出來的質感輕薄, 平針與皺皺間的層次感分明, 很適合夏天冷氣房內用. 我喜歡!



The layering
皺皺與非皺皺間的層次感


The yarn is Cigno Nero 2/25 Pura Lana Vergine Irrestringibile, which I procured from my dear friend M. She bought this during a ayrn shopping spree in Milan. When I saw the many yarns she brought back during her visit in April, this one caught my eye for its color. I didn't have that in my stash and I was sure I could easily use this in any project and that the light, refreshing celery color would make any project delightful. It did!

這組線是瑪姐這次回來跟她買的. 它是瑪姐去米蘭血拼毛線的戰利品. 看瑪姐帶回的眾多毛線中就這組最吸引我注意, 主要是它的顏色, 我庫存中沒這種色. 我相信一定可以很容易就找到適合的織圖用它, 它清新的芹菜綠也可讓任何一個織圖打起來心曠神怡. 的確是! 只不過我自己龜毛, 打慣了美麗諾打純羊毛極細蕾絲就覺得粗硬, 哈!



The beaded bind-off
珠收針



The ruchings
皺皺



The beads: light green transparent iridescent
珠珠: 淺綠透明虹光

夏日飛逝小披肩 Summer Flies

Several months ago while surfing Ravelry, I encountered several shawls/shawlettes/scarves that I wanted to knit, but at the time wasn't motivated to cast-on right away for I didn't know what yarn in my stash to use. I used to like my shawls to be large: long enough to cover almost the whole of my back for a triangel shawl, or wide enough to do the same for a rectangular one. Recently, however, and strangely enough, I'm only interested in shawlettes, shawls that were designed not to be too large and could be used as a not-to0-bulky scarf. Percy, Citron and Summer Flies.

I started Percy first, for it was tigergirl who suggested that TKA make it a project. And then I started on the celery green Citron, which is still being beaded bind-off (I knitted SEVEN sections), and when the celery was half way done I started another Citron the a la española one, knitted Vent d'Est Vent d'Ouest cowl, and went back to Citron #1. I was bored by the beaded bind-off and one time when I opened the camphor chest where I stash my yarn, I spotted Lana Grossa Gala.


Lana Grossa Gala

I bought a pack of four Lana Grossa Gala in black three years ago for knitting the Reading in Bed Shrug to go with a Mango dress. I was never satisfied with the shrug and vowed to rip it and knit a bolero instead. And now I decided a shawlette would be nice, too!


The Mango dress, a bit wrinkled I'm afraid!

3.75mm needles were used to test knit the shawlette and what was I thinking? The knitting was definitely too small! Yes, I was afraid that I would run out of yarn, although according to the pattern the Gala I have should be enough for one Summer Flies. So I frogged and used US8. It was a very quick knit, I finished it in 2 nights and 1 day! I couldn't belive it myself! And strangely, I have almost one ball (95m) of Gala left!







Really love the result!