The quickest way to travel is by Candlelight
My first triangle shawl, done! And I LOVE how this turned out! Even if it does point to my ass.
I was surfing around Ravelry for something not socks and came across this gorgeous pattern by the blogless Saccade. It was *exactly* what I'd been looking for - light and airy, gorgeous and chic, not a hint of frilly grandma shawl in sight. I think rainbows actually popped out of the sky.
Unfortunately, the pattern hadn't been published yet. I dropped Saccade a PM and asked if it might be released soon, as I was hoping to knit it before my wedding anniversary at the end of May. Well, she turned out to be the awesome, sent me the pattern gratis, and let me "alpha" test knit it for her!
We exchanged a handful of Rav messages in the beginning to clarify some aspects of the pattern and she couldn't have been nicer. (Turns out we're both night owls, which was great! ;)) After that, I got knitting and this shawl just flew by.
The pattern is very intuitive and ridiculously easy to memorize - in fact, I didn't even use a row counter for most of it (which contributed to the quick knit-up). It was fun watching it meld into the triangle, too. Now I get why so many of you love knitting them!
Oh, and 'member how I thought an extra 100 yards of yarn would make this thing hee-yuge and voluminous? Um, yeeeeah, turns out once you get to those bottom rows with a billion stitches, 100 yards don't get you so far. But I think the sizing turned out just right - it's 60" wide by 25" long from the top to the tip of the triangle. Any larger and it would've ended up in the middle of my butt, and well, no one wants to see that.
In addition to this being my first triangle shawl, this was also my first try at a suspended bindoff - and I kinda suck at it. My bindoff tension was aaaall over the place. Luckily, it evened out when I blocked the bejeezus out of it!
Despite the aggressive blocking, however, you can see that my edging is not very bat-wing like, as many triangle shawls are. When I messaged Saccade that I was nearing the end, she suggested that I go with a looser bindoff than her half-shawl if I wanted pointier points. But, as all I had on hand were size 9s or size 13s (size 11s probably would've been perfect), I opted for the 9s and more subtle waves instead. I do think it would look a little more striking with super-defined points, but the waves are nice, too! ;)
All in all, a big thumbs up for the pattern, which is clear and easy to follow (and this is still in the initial draft phase, I'm sure it'll rock even more when it's published). Saccade even notes how much yarn you should allow yourself for the final rows, which totally saved me! After what I thought was my last repeat, I weighed the remaining yarn, could tell I was going to run short, and was able to tink back and keep from cursing the paint off the walls later.
Yarn thoughts
This is sKnitches Kettle Drum, a 60% merino/30% bamboo/10% nylon blend sock yarn that is an absolute dream to knit with. Amazingly soft and fluffy, with the fabulous sheen and drape of bamboo. Plus, with a bit of nylon, this shawl will probably wear incredibly well, and for a long time.
There was zero, and I mean zero, runoff in the soak - I actually dropped a shrug in the suds after I pulled the shawl out (what can I say, sometimes I'm a cheapass)! No fading or pilling afterwards, either.
And isn't the color just gorgeous? sKnitches is such a fabulous dyer! You can't see it very well in the pictures, but IRL, this colorway (called Goddess) has beautiful little flecks here and there in deeper shades of goldy-orange.
With the drape of the bamboo, I'm not sure how this yarn would fare for socks, but it's perfect for shawls!
Wrap it up
I didn't think triangle shawls were really my style, but I LOVE this thing! The pattern knit up so beautifully in this colorway, and both it and the yarn were fabulous on every level. I sense this will become a new wardrobe fave!
Candlelight Shawl
Pattern: by Saccade on Rav
Yarn: sKnitches Kettle Drum, 1 skein in Goddess
Needles: Holz & Stein Ebony in size 6, 24" + HiyaHiya Stainless Steel in size 9, 16" for bindoff
I was surfing around Ravelry for something not socks and came across this gorgeous pattern by the blogless Saccade. It was *exactly* what I'd been looking for - light and airy, gorgeous and chic, not a hint of frilly grandma shawl in sight. I think rainbows actually popped out of the sky.
Unfortunately, the pattern hadn't been published yet. I dropped Saccade a PM and asked if it might be released soon, as I was hoping to knit it before my wedding anniversary at the end of May. Well, she turned out to be the awesome, sent me the pattern gratis, and let me "alpha" test knit it for her!
We exchanged a handful of Rav messages in the beginning to clarify some aspects of the pattern and she couldn't have been nicer. (Turns out we're both night owls, which was great! ;)) After that, I got knitting and this shawl just flew by.
The pattern is very intuitive and ridiculously easy to memorize - in fact, I didn't even use a row counter for most of it (which contributed to the quick knit-up). It was fun watching it meld into the triangle, too. Now I get why so many of you love knitting them!
Oh, and 'member how I thought an extra 100 yards of yarn would make this thing hee-yuge and voluminous? Um, yeeeeah, turns out once you get to those bottom rows with a billion stitches, 100 yards don't get you so far. But I think the sizing turned out just right - it's 60" wide by 25" long from the top to the tip of the triangle. Any larger and it would've ended up in the middle of my butt, and well, no one wants to see that.
In addition to this being my first triangle shawl, this was also my first try at a suspended bindoff - and I kinda suck at it. My bindoff tension was aaaall over the place. Luckily, it evened out when I blocked the bejeezus out of it!
Despite the aggressive blocking, however, you can see that my edging is not very bat-wing like, as many triangle shawls are. When I messaged Saccade that I was nearing the end, she suggested that I go with a looser bindoff than her half-shawl if I wanted pointier points. But, as all I had on hand were size 9s or size 13s (size 11s probably would've been perfect), I opted for the 9s and more subtle waves instead. I do think it would look a little more striking with super-defined points, but the waves are nice, too! ;)
All in all, a big thumbs up for the pattern, which is clear and easy to follow (and this is still in the initial draft phase, I'm sure it'll rock even more when it's published). Saccade even notes how much yarn you should allow yourself for the final rows, which totally saved me! After what I thought was my last repeat, I weighed the remaining yarn, could tell I was going to run short, and was able to tink back and keep from cursing the paint off the walls later.
Yarn thoughts
This is sKnitches Kettle Drum, a 60% merino/30% bamboo/10% nylon blend sock yarn that is an absolute dream to knit with. Amazingly soft and fluffy, with the fabulous sheen and drape of bamboo. Plus, with a bit of nylon, this shawl will probably wear incredibly well, and for a long time.
There was zero, and I mean zero, runoff in the soak - I actually dropped a shrug in the suds after I pulled the shawl out (what can I say, sometimes I'm a cheapass)! No fading or pilling afterwards, either.
And isn't the color just gorgeous? sKnitches is such a fabulous dyer! You can't see it very well in the pictures, but IRL, this colorway (called Goddess) has beautiful little flecks here and there in deeper shades of goldy-orange.
With the drape of the bamboo, I'm not sure how this yarn would fare for socks, but it's perfect for shawls!
Wrap it up
I didn't think triangle shawls were really my style, but I LOVE this thing! The pattern knit up so beautifully in this colorway, and both it and the yarn were fabulous on every level. I sense this will become a new wardrobe fave!
Candlelight Shawl
Pattern: by Saccade on Rav
Yarn: sKnitches Kettle Drum, 1 skein in Goddess
Needles: Holz & Stein Ebony in size 6, 24" + HiyaHiya Stainless Steel in size 9, 16" for bindoff
posted by weezalana at 5:21 PM
27 Comments:
Wow. That's insanely beautiful. Well done!!!
So pretty, I love it. I have a hard time finding non-leafy patterns that don't get awkward and flat looking towards the center line.
Beautiful job, and thanks so much! Wear in in good health.
P.S. Happy to find a fellow Holz & Stein lover -- mine was knit on H&S too!
oh wow, it's GORGEOUS!! the design, the colour, everything. i totally know what you mean about not thinking that a triangle shawl would be something you'd want. I knit my first triangle shawl a few weeks ago, and was surprised at how much I loved wearing it! Yours is awesome.
- Julie
It's gorgeous - and once you knit one - you're pretty much done for! Now...do we stalk you for the pattern release since she doesn't have a blog :)
Very pretty! I like the subtle edge. It gives it a very clean look. Pretty!
Just gorgeous!
Just gorgeous! I love how airy and modern it looks -- not fussy or frilly. What a wonderful project, and how neat to be an "alpha" test knitter.
Beautiful!!! The color and pattern go together perfectly. I'll have to keep an eye out for that one when she publishes it for sure!
I love it. The color is so serene. I just started my first shawl, and I'm really enjoying the process.
Oooooo! That's way purdy! I love the color too. Not many people can wear that color, but it looks faboo on you.
Nice Gaiman reference, by the way.
That is absolutely gorgeous - what a beautiful shawl! Love the pattern, and I really love the yarn/color. Off to add this to my Ravelry queue...
"Alpha" test knitter? That scares me. I hope you didn't have the urge to start slashing anyone with your needles or at the very least peeing on balls of yarn to show your domination. Ok, and now that those obscure/bizzare remarkes are over--lovely shawl! And done in time--bonus points!
it looks beautiful--so light and airy!
Ooooooo, me must have. I love the stitch pattern. I have some Knit Picks laceweight I've been holding for the perfect pattern and that one just may be it. I love it! Great job weez!
Beautifully done! This pattern is totally going in my queue.
Damn! That's not grandma lookin' at all! That's always my issue with some of the shawls....you look fabulous in it!
Wow -- that looks amazing! That pattern and yarn really match well.
Mary Mother of G*d this is the coolest shawl I've seen in ages! Can't wait for its release:)
I LOVE I LOVE I LOVE!! Looks beautiful and looks like a fairly easy pattern to follow. Am I right?
That's gorgeous! I hadn't seen that pattern before, and I wonder why. It's beautiful!
I already added this to my Ravelry queue, but the pattern is not due to come out anytime soon. Do you think she would mind giving some of us a preview if we make the donation now?
NiseyGlobeTrotting - I hope you come back to check the comments, as you didn't leave an email address!
I honestly couldn't tell you, as this is Saccade's pattern, I was just one of her test knitters. It certainly couldn't hurt to ask her though. Why don't you send her a PM on Rav?
It's BEAUTIFUL!!!!
totally luscious!!! great job...
And *what* pray tell...is the pattern in your blog banner above?? LOVE IT!
Lori in Michigan - I hope you come back to check the comments, as you didn't leave an email address and you don't appear to have an active blog!
The banner pic is of my Fir Cone Stashmina. For deets, enter "stashmina" in the search box on the right side of the blog, hit enter, and you'll find the FO post. It's also listed in my projects on Rav. :)
Beautiful! I'm so not a shawl girl but I can see that one. It's very nice!
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