On triangular shawls and why I design them the way I do

I've been thinking about this for a while and planned to do a post about it, but because I'm lazy and a master procrastinator, before I could post, a question was posted on the Mawelucky group.

Both Gail and Luiza use the exact same construction and it's no coincidence.  Knitting a shawl from the neck down is a great way to use the most of the yarn you have without running out of yarn or leaving out parts of designing elements.
The fact that I used leaves isn't an accident either.  Granted, I do like leaf pattern sts, but it's the shape that makes leaves so easy to place on a triangular shawl.
Because leaves usually have increases on both sides, it makes for a smooth riding when placing them in a triangular shape without having to do pieces of a st pattern - the increases are there for the designer already, no need for complex calculations!

Now, before I get designers angry at me thinking I'm dismissing their efforts, let me say this.  What I wrote above is a gross simplification of the process so people can understand the construction of a shawl.  People thinking that all they have to do is crack open a stitch dictionary, choose a st pattern and publish a "new design" are bound to be disappointed with the number of items knit from it.
A good design involves putting together different elements in a harmonious way, and most times, to achieve that, a designer has to modify (heavily) a st pattern or create their own.

Back to the topic.  Some time ago Fleegle described Luiza as being a beer bottle shawl - as in the song 99 bottles of beer on the wall.  I had the image in my mind for some time already, but had never thought about the song.  And it makes perfect sense.
Imagine, if you will, a pyramid made of cans. How would you go about stacking the cans up? Every row has one less can than the previous one, right?

Now, if you turn the pyramid upside down, you’ll have a clear image of how each half (left and right) of the shawl is created.   So:

- on the first row you have one can,

- on the second you have two,

- on the third you have three…

Each row of cans is actually a repeat. Did you notice that the row number is the same as the number of repeats you have on that row?


I blame the smooth time I have putting st patterns together on 2 years of folding origami tessellations.  When doing them there are only so many geometric shapes that will behave well (give you a decent grid): triangles and squares being the best two.
Paper, of course, is way less flexible than yarn, and there are only so many shapes you can create when following the grid lines, yet the combinations are mind blowing.
Somehow, this mental exercise made it easier for me to visualize how different st patterns go together and I usually only tink because I find out I'm running out of yarn or I decided that an element doesn't go so well where I'd put it.

If you look closely at a leaf, you'll realise it's a rhombus, or two triangles placed together with one side touching.  The rhomboid shape makes them very easy to stack together.


I hope I didn't make things ever harder to understand.  Feel free to message cursing me for my lacking of writing skills.

Long time...no post

:P I've been meaning to post for some time now, but time just flew by and I did nothing...

So, I finally finished Luiza in 20/2 yarn. It took me forever to finish, there are 22 repeats. If I were to do it again (won’t!) I’d go with 3.5mm 3.00mm needles .
ETA: After writting this , I tried the same yarn with 3.5mm and didn't like the result. I think a 3.00mm would work better. I don't know what is going on...I'm usually quite good at finding which size needles goes well with a yarn, but this one is beating me into a pulp.

I used some 700 yds of yarn (Jaggerspun Heather) and the finished shawl weights 55g (2 oz). This yarn blocks beautifully and isn't too fuzzy. The fact that it comes in cones is always a plus ;)
Do not, I repeat, do not use the same size needles I did. When I took the shawl out of the washer (spinning cycle) it was so small it would only fit a doll.


With this behind me, I can focus on other, new things. I'm back to spinning and dyeing again, although at this moment I have nothing to show (maybe in a few days). One of my handspun was lost in the mail and I spent the last week or so dyeing more roving and spinning yarn so I can replace it. I ended up doing two skeins and am just waiting for them to dry so I can send pics to the buyer.

I'm also doing a test knit for Linda Choo - LindaCC on Ravelry. The name of the pattern is Clematis Stole and you can see two versions of it here and here. This pattern offer a choice of two different borders, two different bodies and the option to choose between nupps or beads.

On the design front, I'm working on a stole design. So far I've cast on...oh...I don't know...maybe 4 times. I get the center almost done, then find something that is off and frog. I've changed the yarn, the needles, the color, the position of elements...sigh. I'll get it done, though. I have to, since there are 3 other ideas floating around in my head, one of which I've already dyed the roving for.

Signs of spring and giveaway results

The other day, when I opened the back door so the cats could go out, I heard geese; then when I got to the living room the flowers above were open to greet me. Yup, it's finally here - Spring! Time to get the dyeing pot going again :D

I know I was supposed to post the name of the winner last Friday, but, as usual, life got in the way...
Due to the number of entries, I could do the drawing using an old fashioned way - wrote the names down on small pieces of paper, shook them well, threw them up in the air and picked up the one that landed on my hand.
And the winner is...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

Elaine! Congratulations! I'll contact you with further info.

Thanks to everybody who participated.

Luiza in 20/2

As I said in my previous post, I'm working on another Luiza, this time using 20/2 yarn, so I could answer questions coming from people knitting it in lace weight



The yarn I'm using is Jaeggerspun and it comes waxed, in a cone. It will bloom a bit after soaking.
This wasn't as intensive a blocking as I'd normally do with a FO, but it gives me an idea of how many repeats I'll need to do. On the pic above, I'm starting a new repeat (8 flowers).

Since the yarn comes in a cone, I don't have to worry about running out of yarn, and I'll keep on knitting until I have a good sized shawl (I'm hoping for somewhere around a 5 foot wingspan).

I don't know how much yarn I used so far, because I forgot to weight the yarn and needles before I began :P

People who know me, know I get bored easily and seldom knit the same design twice. This will be my third time with this one and I'm thinking about creating a different edging for it, so I don't poke my eyes out. If it works, I'll make it available as an addendum to the pattern.

Agressive Ideas

I've been having an awful time falling asleep for the last two nights. I get to bed and keep on flipping around, with images of shawls and stitch patterns floating around my head.

This morning it dawned on me. Those images are ghosts of ideas knocking on my skull, demanding to get out.
They might turn out to be wrong, not work out or be ugly, but they need to be knit...or I'll go crazy(ier).

There are a few things I need to do/finish before I can sit down and work on them. I have a few UFOs that have been sitting in their bags for so long, I'm beginning to wonder if they'll run away. I also need to knit another Luiza. You see, Fleegle is selling kits for this shawl - you can find them here.
Both times I knit it, it was done with sock yarn and her kit has a 20/2 yarn. With the kit you have the option to make a very big shawl (she is generous like that) using a single strand of yarn or you can use two strands and get more of a gradation of color (knit with one color,then with the two colors and end with two strands of the second color).

As luck has it, I happen to have a similar yarn in one of my many yarn bins and will knit Luiza again so I can post the specs for that weight.

Got to go weight some yarn to put in my shop.