Le Paon Bleu Shawl

Knitting lace is my favorite kind project to work on.  I had started a lace shawl earlier this year, and for some reason I never wanted to work on it.  So, since I wasn't enjoying it, I frogged it and started a new pattern.  I chose the Le Paon Bleu Shawl by Inbar Rofman.  

I really enjoyed this pattern.  One reason I love knitting lace is almost every row is a different pattern.  This pattern consisted of 7 different charts.  The patterns changed considerably between each charts, so it always kept me interested. 

I used my Chiaogoo needles, because I love the cables so much.  I realized after I had started working on this, I definitely should have used wooden needles.  I used Malabrigo Silkpaca which was sooo soft.  I used the Pagoda colorway.  Unfortunately the silk made it very slick on my metal needles.  I was nervous I was going to drop stitches.  Thankfully, I never had any issues with it as long as I was careful.  I thought about switching to my Dreamz, but I was afraid it was going to noticeably change my guage.

 
The bind off used was crocheted.   About 15 years ago I used to know how to crochet.  At some point I put it down for too long, and I have forgotten just about everything I used to know.  I thought I would just end up using a different bind off, but after a quick google search, I was able to refresh my memory enough to be able to complete it without any issues.

 

I really enjoyed the Silkpaca.  It is so very soft, and it has a very nice drape to it.  It is also a very light weight shawl.  I only used about 62 grams of yarn.  I used the suggested size US 5 needle.  I wish I had used a 6 instead.  I was planning of using up a majority of the two skeins I had.   The pattern says 699-733 yards will be used.  I used somewhere about 520 yards, leaving me with a skein with only about 12 grams of 50 used.  I am very pleased with the results though.  I don't really have a use for this, so it may be the first completed project set aside for sale at some point.

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ChiaoGoo Shorties

I'm going to review some of the needles that I have in upcoming posts.  Today I'm starting with the ChiaoGoo Shorties.  All opinions are mine.  They are my personal preference, and others may feel differently about them.

As stated in a previous post, I often have socks on my needles.  The socks below are using the US1 2" needles with a 5" cable.

This sock is cuff down, and I'm close to coming up to the toe.  I was able to use nothing but the Shorties to get to this point.  I used the Fish Lips Kiss Heel.  I'm going to try using it for the toe as well.  If I like the end results, I will probably only use that toe from now on.  I really like the idea of being able to use the Shorties for the entire sock.  I will post more about how that goes once the pair is finished.

Next up is the specifics of these needles.  They come with everything you need to get started including a fabric pouch, tip sleeve, cables, stitch markers, t-pins, end stoppers, and a needle gauge.  The needles are US sizes 0-3.  There are 2" and 3" needles for each set.  They can make 9"-14" circulars.

Barely Started Works in Progress

Today's topic is my current works in progress.  I usually have three or four projects at various levels of completeness.  For the first time, in a long while, I have slowed some on my knitting.  I'm getting back into my groove, but after Christmas I needed a bit of a break.

First up is my sweater.  The pattern is Buckwheat by Veera Välimäki.