Mother's Day ideas: Upon the Spanish Main

Are you planning to knit something special for Mother's Day? How about Upon the Spanish Main - a pretty, wide-triangle shawl with a deep lace border (charted and written versions included). You will only need one skein of sock yarn (maybe that special one? the one with some cashmere and/or silk? you know the one) to create your own version of this lacy beauty.

Upon the Spanish Main is worked from the top-center out. The deep border of Spanish Lace (often called Frost Flowers) is worked on both sides, but the pattern is easier to master than you might think. I was intimidated by this one for years, but once I started working it, I realized that it made a lot of sense and the rows flowed from one to the next with only one big change when you switched from the leafy part to the openwork part. I promise that you can knit this one! I've even charted and written it out, so you've now run out of excuses. Go get that special yarn and get knitting ;)

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!

xoxo, Kathleen

P.S. Looking for something not-so-lacy? Find more shawls here.

Meet me in the Forum

Are you on Ravelry? My RavID is Purly - go ahead and "friend" me. (Do you ever marvel over the effect the internet has had on the English language? "Email" and "friend" are verbs, "like" is a noun...)

I have a forum over there, too, which is a great place to chat. Come say "hello", meet other knitters, and have fun. Some of us are knitting-along on the Kellynch Cardigan, and test-knits are wrapping up for some patterns I'm very excited to share with you later this month.

Now that two weeks of Spring Break plus having Good Friday off is behind me (I love my kids, but it is hard to focus on knitting work when they are home), I could use some interaction with other adults. Come tell me what you're working on or share a yarn you've fallen for (I'm always looking for new yarns to work with).

Happy knitting!
xoxo,

Kathleen

P.S. With all the friend-ing and like-ing, don't forget to sign up for my newsletter. I share exciting announcements with you there first.

quick + purly: 5 pullovers

Are you still in the mood for lace but looking for something a little quicker? Perhaps a worsted weight pullover with a smidge of lace would fit the bill.

1. Levina by Laura Chau $7 CAD 

   

   pretty and flattering use of Ostrich Plumes

2. Indian ocean pullover by Ayako Monier $6.50 USD 

   

   streamlined use of lace

3. Tracery by Norah Gaughan $6 USD 

   

   simple lace produces an intriguing sweater

4. Peabody by Leila Raabe $6 USD 

   

   just the right amount of interesting lace

5. Mailin by Isabell Kraemer €5.30 EUR

   

   simple lace for a cozy knit

All images from the patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended - I just want to share the love!

Once a week I share five patterns that have caught my eye. If there is a category you'd like me to explore, let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

Two sticks and some string | TEDxYouth@TheSchool

Last Fall I spoke at TEDxYouth@TheSchool about knitting (what else?) and creativity. While it was live-streamed, I hadn't tracked down the archived video until now...







How do you think about knitting? Let me know in the comments.


Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!

xoxo, Kathleen

Easter Egg Yarn Dying - DIY

As a knitter, how do you choose your yarn?

I am drawn to its fiber, its twist, its weight. But the first pull is always its color. The first yarn I ever fell for was kettle-dyed Manos del Uruguay, and I always fall for beautiful hand-dyed yarn over the uniformity of yarns dyed in the wool. (That said, there are times where a uniformly-dyed yarn brings out the best in a design.)

My Kids Knit-ters tried their hands at dying yarn after Easter last year, when buying Easter Egg kits was pleasantly thrifty (even at full-price the PAAS tablet kits are quite inexpensive). We created single-color mini skeins in an approximation of kettle-dying. I gleaned this approach from lots of Pinterest browsing and some make-do use of my kitchen supplies (we have gone through a lot of Bonne Maman Raspberry preserves over the years, and I always save the jars for storing buttons or vinaigrette).

Ingredients

• undyed wool (Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool, which comes in half-pound skeins)
• crochet cotton (or other waste yarn) for tying skeins to prevent tangles
• PAAS Easter Egg dying kit (the big one with nine tabs, IIRC)
• microwave-safe glass jars
• white vinegar to lower the pH of water
• water
• spoons
• oven mitts
• oil cloth (to protect table)
• large stainless steel bowl (or sink)
• colander
• microwave
• hanging rack

Method

1. Wind up undyed wool into mini skeins that will fit in your jars (in our case each mini skein was about 1oz, so eight minis per original skein)

   

   mini skeins tied to prevent tangling and twisted up

2. Prep skeins by soaking in tepid water with some vinegar (3:1 water to vinegar) in bowl or sink for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours 

   

   a good soak with acidulated water

3. Prep dye jars by placing one tab* in each jar and following directions on box for adding vinegar (or not, depending on tab), then add water to dilute dye being careful to leave room in jar for yarn 

   

   dissolving the tabs in water or vinegar

   
   

   

   follow package directions on what to dissolve tabs in

4. Drain yarn in colander and squeeze out excess water
5. Submerge skeins in dye jars, stirring to make sure dye is dispersed throughout (alternatively, if your lids are secure, cover and shake jars gently) 

   

   gently stirring the dye into the yarn

6. Remove lids if used and place jars in microwave for one minute on full power, then let rest for one minute; repeat three more times
7. With oven mitts carefully remove jars from microwave and allow to cool - water should be clear, since the dye has been absorbed into the yarn 

   

   clear water = exhausted dye bath

   
   

   

   nine pretties with clear water

8. Soak cooled skeins in bowl or sink full of water to remove vinegar smell and any loose dye (optional: add a little wool wash to the water) 

   

   a final soak and rinse to make sure everything is clean

9. Drain yarn in colander and squeeze out excess water
10. Hang skeins to dry from rack 

    

    IKEA octopus helps with skein drying

    
    

    

    a bottom-up view of drying skeins

11. Enjoy your colorful mini skeins 

    

    a pile of wool pretty enough to eat

*I found it difficult to determine which tab was which color in tab form, so I made a little grid of the tabs (and numbered our jars using a wax pencil), then did dip tests with strips of paper towel. You can see the wound-up skeins arranged in the grid in the last photo.

tabs in grid - which one will give which shade?

dip tests in grid - who knew that orange-y tab was apple green?

final skeins in grid - so much color!

As you can see from our finished skeins, gentle stirring makes for a more uniform yarn (in this instance, the yellow and green, especially). We also found that the purple (made up, of course, of red and blue dyes) tended to split if not stirred thoroughly. We rather liked the final effect of letting it sit.

This year I'm thinking we will try hand-dying skeins rather than kettle-dying, so after picking up a bunch of PAAS kits today, I'm going to ponder the best (read: cleanest) way to apply the dyes to sections of a skein.

Have you experimented with dye? It was lots of fun! Why not hop out and grab a dye pack today? They're probably on sale. If you do, be sure to let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo, Kathleen

quick + purly: 5 triangle shawls

Spring! Spring. Come on, Spring. What better way to keep warm than a pretty triangle shawl? We are finally getting to those days where it is heavenly in the sunshine, but it can still be chilly in the shade. And for that I love a little shawl, preferably lacy. In an attempt to narrow things down, the focus is on top-down, lace triangle shawls using just one skein of fingering weight yarn. I waded through eight pages of gorgeousness this week to find some treasures for you. Enjoy!

1. Mercury in Retrogade by Deborah Frank $6 USD 

   

   We Virgos need this shawl to protect us
   when Mercury goes retrograde

   
   
2. Woodland Spring Shawl by Christina Wall $4 USD 

   

   Love the story of Christina's motif choices

   
   
3. Vestland Shawl by Anne-Lise Maigaard k4.50.00 SEK (approx. $5.94 USD) 

   

   Spectacular and unusual lace motifs

   
   
4. Sunray Shawl by Henna Markkanen $4 USD 

   

   Reversible and a perfect combo of geometric and organic motifs

   
   
5. East Gable Shawl by Judy Marples $6 USD 

   

   There is something beautifully verdant about this lace

I have designed a number of triangle shawls, and my Springtime favorite is Upon the Spanish Main $7USD

Love this lace motif

All images from the patterns' Ravelry pages. No copyright infringement intended - I just want to share the love!

I hope Spring is springing where you are. Do you have a favorite triangle shawl I missed? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!

xoxo, Kathleen

No April Fool's over at Interweave

The good people of Interweave are offering half-off over on their site all April Fool's Day on everything. Pretty sweet, especially if you want to buy something like The Best of Jane Austen Knits:

The Best of Jane Austen Knits
edited by Amy Clarke Moore
published by Interweave

I've been meaning to tell you about this book, and now is the perfect time! It is filled with lovely patterns previously published in issues of Jane Austen Knits (including four *blush* of mine: An Aran for Frederick, Benwick, Sotherton, and A Vest for Charles). Click here to check out all 27 patterns included in this lovely paperback collection on Ravelry (I definitely need to put some more of those in my queue-that-never-gets-knit-because-I'm-designing-more-Jane-stuff-but-i-want-to-knit-that-pinball), then hop over to the Interweave Store to check out all the goodies and save an additional 50% off with offer code NOJOKE50.

I'm going to do a KAL for Benwick later this Spring, so maybe you want to get a copy of the book now and join me?

Thanks for stopping by, and happy knitting!
xoxo,
Kathleen

P.S. The non-Ravelry links are Interweave Affiliate links. Should you choose to purchase through those links, I receive a micropayment. I only share links I am directly connected to and that I think you might benefit from. You can always visit Interweave directly and avoid those links by typing "interweavestore" into your favorite search engine.