Influential Knitter

A few months ago I posted on Instagram a photo of a lace shawl that I had inprogress. It garnered quite a few likes and some questions. The next day the pattern for this shawl was number one on Ravelry's 'Hot Right Now' list.  It's called sweet dreams. 

I was shocked. I have more influence on the knitting community than I realized. I must admit to being a little proud too. The timing of the thing was too perfect for it to have been a coincidence. 

Then when I visited the Yarn Harlots website I realized how delusional I could be.  She was knitting this shawl too. Independent of what I was doing, she had cast on for the exact shawl.   The Yarn Harlot! What was I thinking. Of course the 60 likes I had gotten on Instagram (still impressive in my books) couldn't be enough to influence the top 10 Hot Right Now on Ravelry. But it was really nice for that brief moment.  

I was inspired to cast this on after seeing it knit up in 100% mink yarn at Dartmouth Yarns in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.  It was gorgeous. I purchased the exact same yarn. It was a little darker colour but that didn't matter. I also purchased the same colour glass beads from a store here in town. (There are several stores here that sell beads. We are lucky that way). 

I have no recipient in mind for this little shawl. It is so unbelievably perfect though. The mink. The colour. The beading. And of course the lace. Just look those points. 

The bindoff - as the yarn harlot noted - took forever.  But it was so worth it. 

I had purchased this little shawl pin from an etsy seller out of Montreal called Every Day Peacock.  It is so beautiful!!

And it suits this little shawl so very perfectly. It is the cherry on top of you will. 

By the way if you are in the market for shawl pins or even some very special stitch markers - do check this guy out. His packaging alone made the purchase worth it. I also purchased a really unique music themed pin as a gift for my daughter. It is so beautiful. 

The funny thing was both the Yarn Harlot and I cast on for these shawls about 18 weeks ago (according to Instagram)

And we are both finishing up at the same time even though this shawl didn't take that long to knit. She made many mods to her version making it much larger. I knit mine exactly as the pattern suggested. I did worry about running out of yarn towards the end but it all worked out. 

I wonder what this knitter will be casting on next? Keep looking at Ravelry's top ten. You never know what might show up next. 

Knitting and Stress

Needless to say, the past month or so has been very stressful. Dealing with contractors and insurance adjusters hasn't been fun. I found myself very stressed - too stressed to knit even. I know, shocker. So, I've been thinking was I not knitting because I was stressed or was I stressed because I wasn't knitting?

I'm starting to think the answer is the latter, because I've forced myself to make a conscious effort to knit a little every day and I no long feel quite as stressed. I'm able to cope a little better.

As a result, I have some amazing FOs to show off.

First up, is this great little shawl. Its from the Knitspot Bare Naked Club. I loved knitting this shawl so much. It was knit with Brooklyn Tweeds Loft yarn in all natural colours. I predict I'll knit more of this pattern. I've always been a big fan of feather and fan lace.

And this beauty is my first forray into beaded knitting. Its called "My Hope" and it was designed by Laura Linneman of the Knitgirllls podcast to be used as a fundraiser for the Make a Wish Foundation. I enjoyed knitting this as well, but I totally messed up the beaded bind off. My fault for not reading the pattern correctly at all. I've put off weaving in ends because I've noticed several mistakes and I'm debating try to fudge/fix them or take it out and do it again. We'll see how it goes. But isn't it gorgeous? The yarn is Tanis Fibrearts blue label and OMG - Look at that purple. It nearly glows!

And my final FO is another Minty (Knitty pattern). This is the third minty that I've knit. It remains my daughter's favorite hat pattern. I started knitting this with her in mind, but it turns out that she isn't a fan of the variegated yarn. Oh well, I loved it. And I think it will likely be a gift for someone. The yarn is very unique. I've lost the tag (it came off in the washing of the stash that I could save because of the fire) but I know it came from a stall at the Farmer's market in Halifax. It came from Lismore Sheep Farm Wool Shop and it was a part of their "Easy Scarf Kit". Nat gave me this for Christmas last year. I'm not an easy scarf knitter, but I loved this yarn so much!

To make up for the disappointment that Amy felt with not having the hat that she wanted (ie solid) I started knitting Amy a Honey Cowl. She really liked this handspun (even though its not solid. Whats up with that Amy?) Its one of my Loop Batts. And boy, am I ever enjoying knitting this one. I think I'll be knitting more Honey Cowls this season. Maybe for Christmas gifts. I can see all my girls wearing these.

So, to sum up....lots of knitting going on....less stress. I can't say no stress because that would be nearly impossible - but certainly less. The moral of the story is to knit more, knit often, take lots of knitting stress breaks. Its good for your health.