Tag Archives: pattern

Knit

Kottarainen shawl and a stash down

Kottarainen shawl

I decided to decrease my yarn stash by using up partial balls of Morris and Sons Empire 8 ply merino on this free shawl pattern called Kottarainen by Heidi Alander.

The original pattern uses two colours but I had three shades of green and three lighter colours of grey, beige and white, so I began with the darkest of the light colours and the lightest of the greens and switched colours as I ran out of yarn.

While the pattern was written for 4 ply yarn, this fabric is still wonderfully flexible, soft and cosy, and I now have a large 200cm x 72cm triangular shawl.

If you use the English version of the pattern, note that in the bind-off the k2tog is through the back loop – it seems like it from the instructions but I wasn’t certain until I checked the Finnish version to be certain.

A few more details can be found on my Ravelry project page for the Kottarainen shawl.

Knit

Zoolandia shawl

Zoolandia shawlStill on my kick from discovering a fantastic and very local indie dyer, I cast on the free Zoolandia shawl by Stephen West and DrawFour Designs with a few skeins of Pinnacle Merino Singles from Atelier Yarn.

I had spent time swatching with the yarns and began a few different patterns before settling on Zoolandia because the main yarn is heavily variegated in very striking colours. It worked up well in garter stitch but I wanted to knit something more dramatic and Zoolandia’s slip stitches and yarn overs was the answer. Continue reading →

Knit

Berry Sockhead Hat

Berry Sockhead Hat

I’ve been meaning to cast on a Sockhead Hat for a while and, with the weather cooling off here in Sydney, and my new found love of Atelier Yarn‘s Pinnacle Merino Singles, I cast on for the simple but soothing project.

It was an easy project with a long stretch of ribbing and then lots and lots of stockinette in the round before basic decreases for the crown. It gave me a chance to practice knitting-without-looking which is something I plan to master this year.

It turned out perfect!

Needles: 2.5mm circular for a magic loop
Yarn: Fingering/4 ply 100% Merino 311 metres/340 yards
My Ravelry notes: Berry Sockhead Hat