Degrade pink cotton shawl

Shawl, cotton, seed stitch, size 8 wood cable needle, 32 inches.

This has been lovely to knit, and I like the way it feels as it glides through my fingers while I'm knitting.  It will be a meditation shawl.

I am using a yarn that is dyed with very gradual color changes and I'm using two skeins at once, with the colors changing in slightly different sequences so that the color in the fabric is different than that in either skein of yarn being knitted.

It's about 28 inches from top to bottom and will grow to about 80 inches from end to end, so that it will wrap nicely around the body.

Tan and spring green linen tape

Scarf, linen tape, garter stitch, two colors, size 3 wood cable needle, 24 in

Second attempt - the first attempt didn't even last long enough for a photo. This one was a basketweave stitch.

This is the third attempt at a design using this very fine linen yarn from the Japanese company, Habu Textiles. The two colors fascinate and enrage me because I love them together but the previous two designs just couldn't bring that balance that is needed.  I've settled back into a garter stitch, which alternates the colors each row. 

The yarn at this point still has a crispy texture, and I cannot WAIT to see what it's like once it has been washed! The tape is suited to the garter stitch and enhances the pebbly effect.

Scarf, mauve cotton and silk

I have this yarn in a deep cherry red color, and when I saw this lovely mauve I knew I would love working with it.  It's not exactly a straightforward color and tends to be nice in lots of different kinds of light.

Scarf, cotton and silk garter sritch size 6  cable needle wood 24 inches

Debbie Bliss cotton silk aran made in Italy

I love this yarn!  It just feels so good going through my fingers because of the silk that is blended in with the cotton. I love the way it shows all the stitch definition.  It drapes beautifully and the heaviness is dreamy. It's an older yarn, and it's no longer easily found in retail markets.

At this point it's about a third of the way done.  It's a heavy fabric because the yarn is heavy and I've made a dense texture by using the small needle and the garter stitch, which can be rather thick.

It's perfect for "public knitting" because the stitch is very straightforward and distractions don't disrupt the flow.

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Light blue seed stitch shawl

Meditation shawl, mixed fibers, seed stitch size 5 nickle cable needle, 32 in

Using light weight yarns and a size 5 needle makes this fabric a lovely warmer weather wrap.

It is planned as a long shawl that will wrap around both shoulders in the style of an Indian shawl. The stripes will be vertical stripes.

Blue cotton meditation shawl - work in progress

Shawl, cotton tape, basketweave stitich, size 9 wood cable needle, 32 in.

The photos show how different it looks in different kinds of light.

The basketweave stitch is not perfectly even or symmetrical so as to keep it interesting and not have a perfect checkerboard effect.

The completed shawl will be quite large - about 30 in x 72 in or longer. It will make a very good meditation shawl.

Shiny and fuzzy blue green

My new fuzzy yarn needed trying, so I worked up this much of a triangle shawl.

Three silk yarns

Shawl, three silk yarns,  garter stitch, size 3 wooden and aluminum needles, 14 in.

I'm trying yet another fine gauge shawl, this time in three silk yarns. I am using slightly different sized needles in an alternating pattern that will make the fabric a little bit uneven in tension.

Chunky green merino and cashmere

Wimple, merino wool and cashmere, size 11 wood needles, 10"

I'm just casting on for a nice winter time wimple I'm going to knit a large rectangle and then seam it up the front to make a large tube.  I am going to make a crenolated border for the bottom by casting on and casting off, then I will make a perforated edge for the top, so that a drawstring can be pulled through and one may adjust it around the face.

Yellow and black cotton cloth

Wash cloth, cotton, basket weave stitch, size 4 wood needles, 10 in.

I'm experimenting with this cotton because I have a great deal of it and I think it will make very nice wash cloths, either for the bath or for the kitchen.  It's approximately 12 x 12 inches and has a fairly firm texture.

It has one heavy strand, or ply and is wrapped with a black thread and a yellow thread, which produce the tweedy look. Both sides look the same.

Organic gray wool

Scarf, organic wool, rib stitch variation, size 8 plastic needles, 7 in.

This is a thick and thin wool yarn, so the texture of the finished fabric is pleasantly uneven and has a  rustic attitude. It feels great going through my hands. Since it is knit with one yarn I have taken it every where with me in a bag and pulled it out for working when I have a few minutes to wait, or on a long car or bus ride.

The stitch is a variation of a k2 p2 ribt stitch.  I begin with k2 p2 for 8 rows, then switch to p2 kn2 for 8 rows and repeat for the length of the scarf.  I like the play of the light across the surface and the way it makes the scarf bulky. This stitch pattern is also similar to a basketweave pattern.

The wool is from Sweden and is quite soft and comfortable. The bulky weight will make it quite warm, and it is long enough to be wrapped around the neck twice for extra warmth on really cold days.

Scarf dimensions are 7 inches wide by 72 inches long.

For sale on Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/littlehandsstudio

Fuzzy and shiny - pastels for autumn

Shawl, 14 yarns, mohair, linen, silk, nylon, rayon, beads, seed stitch, size 9 nickle cable needle, 32 in.

Cast on 3 stitches, add four stitches to each row, change yarns each row.

A chart to help organize use of the colors and yarns in the fabric.

The rayon in the "ladder" yarn has a gorgeously shiny surface that reflects light in beautiful contrast to the mohair yarns, which remain a matte surface.

The long edge is about 72 inches, and at it's deepest point it is about 15 inches long.  The shawl can be worn over the shoulders like a traditional shawl with the point in the back, or it can be turned with the point in front.  It can also be worn as a babushka to keep the head and neck warm.

Freia Hand Paint Scarf - a Real Challenge!

Scarf,  fingering weight merino wool, with nylon, garter stitch, size 3 wood cable needle 24 in.

I love the hand painted yarn cakes! They are wound so that the color changes in exactly the opposite order if the yarn is pulled from the middle of each cake. This particular yarn is designed to change colors in very long and subtle lengths.  If one used a single yarn at a time it would make very broad stripes. I am using both skeins as I knit and pulling from the middle of each cake and alternating the yarns each row. I decided to use a plain stitch pattern so that the colors would be the stars of the show.

The light weight yarn and the small needles means very fine gauge knitting, but I think the fine gauge works best with these colors. The most contrast in the colors of the two yarns are at the ends.

At this stage the colors are into the purple and magenta part. Hand painted yarn is one way to closely control how the colors change from one to the other.

This is the middle, where the two yarns are the same magenta color.  After this the colors along the length of the fabric will begin to look symmetrical in order out to the finishing end.

At about three quarters of the way through the colors of the two yarns are different again so they are purple and magenta again.

The tiny needles make sure that the lightweight yarn still makes a warm and firm fabric that won't let the cold breezes of fall and winter blow right through. The wool makes a nice drape but it's not loosey goosey. It takes a very long time to make any amount of fabric. I've had to put this aside several times because I just don't feel like I'm getting anywhere with it, but I've always come back because I can't wait to see the beautiful color combination play out at the end!!!

Ta da

Basket weave organic cotton The basketweave series

Number 5 in the basketweave variations series

organic cotton size 3 needles 14 inch basketweave stitch six rows k6, p6 then six rows p6, k6

I've been enjoying making this series of basketweave cloths. They are approximately 12 x 12 inches and so they are good face cloths or dish cloths.