Archives for October 2012

Originally published as part of The Charles Collection, the Back Bay wrap is now available as a single pattern. I love wearing this wrap. The Ultra Alpaca makes it extra warm on the coldest days of winter and the long fringe makes it extra sassy. (I'm not one to shy away from a little sass.)

I love the bright heathered tones of the Cobalt Mix colorway that I used for this shawl, but it wasn't an easy decision. Ultra Alpaca comes in an amazing range of colors. I would love to find the time to  knit another in a neutral shade like Winter White or Moon Shadow.

Any drapey, worsted weight yarn would work for this shawl. Ultra Alpaca is a blend of Peruvian wool and alpaca, but merino, merino/silk, or even a Merino/Cashmere/Nylon would all be excellent choices.

The pretty edge with its eyelets is worked all in one piece with the body of the shawl. Once you've worked the repeat a few times you will find yourself referring to the chart less and less. The stitch pattern is given in both charted and written form.

There are more eyelets on the short ends so if you're not a fan of fringe it can easily be left off. If you decide not to add fringe you'll need about one skein less yarn.

Back Bay

Size: One Size

Finished Measurements: 20 x 85” with out fringe. Sample measures 20 x 112” including fringe.

Yarn: Berroco Ultra Alpaca [50% Superfine Alpaca, 50% Peruvian Wool; 215 yd (198 m); 100 g skein]; color: #62172 Cobalt Mix, 6 skeins.

Needles: US 9 (5.5 mm) circular needle, 24 or 32" long  or size to obtain gauge

Gauge: 20 stitches and 20 rows = 4" in cable stitch pattern (worked from repeat area on chart 2 or written instructions for chart 2) stitch pattern on US 9 (5.5 mm) needles

Other Materials: stitch markers, cable needle (CN), tapestry needle, Crochet hook size G or H (4 or 5 mm)

Price: $6.00 US

There is something about colorwork projects that make them very difficult for me to put down. This mitten was knit in about two and a half days (including weaving in all of the ends). The key here will be to get its mate on the needles before I get sidetracked by something else. I really, really want to wear these this winter.

Pattern: Kanagawa Mittens

Yarn: Cascade 220 Sport in colors (in no particular order): 4010, 8914, 7803, 9448, 7824, 2401, 8885, 9454, 2452, 9566, & 9456

Needles: US 2

For: TTL Colorwork KAL

After I posted my colorwork mitten bundle last week, a few of us decided that it would be fun to have a colorwork KAL. We'd love to have you join us over in the Through the Loops group on Ravelry. This is a no pressure KAL. We're starting today, but are very flexible about when you join in.

I've decided to knit Kanagawa. The first pair I made was given away as a gift, and I've wanted to make a pair of my own ever since.

The pattern uses 5 colors. I've come up with three options and have asked group members to vote on which they think I should use. Head over to the KAL discussion to vote.