Yarn Contest from Lost City Knits and the Ravelry 10 Shawls in 2010 Group

The coming year, 2010, will be a year to knit lace shawls.....A total of 10 is the goal of the group, ravelry.com/groups/10-shawls-in-2010 recently formed on Ravelry.com. Can you do it? Why not??? First of all, kick out any notions that you can't do this. With cooperation from our husbands and any children that remain at home(yeah, right), we'll band together, sticks in hand and knit lace til we drop! Right??? Agreed??? Also, Lost City Knits/blogspot.com, is holding a yarn giveaway contest that ends on December 31, 2009, a 500 yard skein of Lost City Knit's, Silver Bell yarn!!! Beautiful stuff! So, I'm offering up my own design, recently published on Ravelry and soon to be offered through Knitpicks' designer program for $1.99.....CHALICE TRIANGLE SHAWL The first person to make a comment about the Lost City Knits contest, to my blog will, of course, receive the PDF for Chalice Triangle absolutely free!!! See ya'll!

Squircle

Squircle is a portmanteau word used to refer to a mathematical shape with properties between those of a square and those of a circle. So if you decide to knit a lace project in a circle, manipulating the stitches until it becomes a square it will become a SQUIRCLE!!!

Just another version of Sunstar for my collection of Lace Beauties!!! Now, this is made from a product, produced by Valley Yarns called Carpet Warp in Spectra Yellow. Looks very "Sunnish" wouldn't you say? And yes, you read that right...Carpet Warp. Untrampled and free from cat/dog hair and sand particles! Carpet Warp is a very soft, 100% Cotton that consists of 4 plys of size 8 thread. It's slightly thinner than a 3/2 but larger than a 5/2. I would think it would work as well for crochet as it does for knitting. It can be found in the Weaving section at Yarn.com (WEBS) Hope to post again soon!

Twirlstar

Twirlstar is a lacy, layered, child's skirt with the pattern available in sizes 2T-4T. It is knit in the round using circular needles. No seaming is required although each skirt is knitted separately. Both skirts are attached at the waist with an elastic casing and the use of a provisional cast on. Bind off for both skirts is traditional. A good working knowledge of increase and decrease lace stitches is recommended. The pattern is a PDF download and can be purchased on Ravelry.com or Patternfish.com.

Sunstar

This pattern is available for $6.00. Sunstar is a reminder of celebrations. Beginning with a multitude of yarnover explosions, it is combined with the ladybird stitch pattern, creating a project that can be worn as a shawl, grace a party table or as a decorative blanket or throw. The featured project has been produced using size 8 needles in a lace weight yarn but any needle size and yarn weight can be used. Written with detailed instructions, the pattern can be completed with experience in lace increases and decreases; includes yarnovers, one, two and three stitch decreases and increases. Every effort to provide the user with an error free pattern has been made. The finished edge is done with a three stitch, crocheted bind off, however any form of bind off can be utilized. The project blocks with ease and should radiate perfectly in any yarn.

Facet And Filigree

A Bridal Veil.. placed as a Topper over a pale peach tablecloth....or a light and airy summer Shawl? So many uses...I am so excited about this new design. Using size 4 needles and an 8/2 Cotton Linen from WEBS, this promises to be an heirloom. More to come....

Not An Ordinary Clipboard!

A friend of ours made this for me yesterday and I just love it! It helps me read patterns line by line without getting lost and works perfectly! Works with charted patterns as well! He took an ordinary clipboard and some thin sheet metal, purchased from the hardware store. Then he cut the metal so that it covers the front and wraps around the edges of the board on both sides and the bottom. It is formed to the shape of the board. Next, he used reinforced duct tape to cover the edges of the metal on the back. Wha La!!! I had some thin magnetic, 8-1/2” x 11 sheets, found at an office supply store. I cut a strip about 4” to use, big enough to cover lines that follow the line I’m reading. Cut a second strip 1” for covering the previous lines. Since I like to make notes when knitting, I stuck a Post It note onto the magnet strip. Highly functional, simple, portable and cheap!!