Of butterflies and batwings

I found that "something else to crochet" I was looking for. A quick test pattern came up for a crocheted square, designed by Marie over at Underground Crafter. I took the call for testers because I was looking for a small project that wouldn't take much time while I was continuing with my other knitting work.

This square, as yet unnamed, showcases the bullion stitch, which I had never attempted before, as well as crossed double crochets, so it was an opportunity to teach this old dog some new tricks. Using some Cascade 220 remnants from previous projects, it worked up PDQ. I love the dark ombre color creating a frame for the bullions. Very pretty!

So, that was a nice little breather. Then on back to the shawl, which I finished yesterday.

This gorgeous Faroese shawl, titled Thunder and Lightning, is the brainchild of a budding new designer named Tanja Lüscher. I was so impressed with the complexity of stitches Tanja used to create the beautiful and intricate lace design, and I learned a little something here too, about Faroese shawls.

Did you know there were Norwegian islands north of Great Britain called the Faroe Islands? I didn't! But I do now! It seems the traditional shawls created by the artisans on these islands are famous for their clever shaping. Instead of being triangles, they form bat or butterfly wings, designed to allow the ends of the shawl to hang forward securely over the shoulders without the aid of a pin. Brilliant!

With my recycled silk laceweight yarn in the pale icy yellow color, this shawl knitted up fairly quickly. I cast off and blocked it yesterday, and here is the result:

The center panel or gusset is one of the distinguishing features of Faroese shawls. The others are the short lines of yarnovers coming off either side of the gusset towards the top. That shoulder shaping is what makes this puppy different than a triangular shawl, directing the stitches at an almost 90 degree angle from the previous work and causing the ends to fall forward over the shoulders.

Here is a closer look at the lace detail at center back:

I will never cease to be dazzled and amazed by the cleverness of these designers who manage to create feats of engineering while producing such things of beauty. And I'm so privileged to be able to try my hand at their masterpieces.

Summer Has Begun

It's hard to believe almost a month has gone by since I last posted. Lots of busyness happening in our lives, though not much of it was fiber-related. However, I did get a chance to fit in a few new projects.

In early May, I discovered a wonderful thing. There are many creative folks out there designing knit and crochet projects that need folks like me who aren't so creative to test their designs and patterns for them. I am all on board with this, since I am an editor by nature and always find those little mistakes that can undo a beautiful project. I have often contacted designers and publishers to notify them of errors in the pattern, so I appreciate when a designer takes the time to have his/her pattern tested by others. I admire creative people, but they aren't often quite so picky about the little details as I am.

Anyway, my discovery and, subsequently, Project 11. On Ravelry, groups have begun popping up calling for pattern testers, and that got my attention. So I waited until I knew I'd have a little time to take on a small project and then found one that I thought I could tackle. The Surfer Boy Wallet by Michelle B. over at MyDailyFiber was a cute billfold-type item made with crochet cotton. I have TONS of this stuff, so I thought it would help with the destashing while giving me an opportunity to work with a designer. I checked out her other patterns and loved what I saw, so I raised my hand...and she picked me! Yay!

I used two different color threads: navy blue and a red/white/blue ombre.

Both of these threads are size 10, and the pattern called for a size 8 steel crochet hook. The project worked up very easily, and the small single crochets quickly created a stiff, dense fabric. I used the blue for the main color and the ombre for the card pocket.

Here's the finished product:

It holds bills and credit cards, but not coins, and can get wet with no issues. It's machine washable, and you just lay it open flat to dry. Thanks, Michelle, for giving me the chance! It was a pleasure to work with you!

After all that small crochet work, I was ready to knit again. I looked in my stash and found a large bag of red boucle called Marks & Kattens Freesia.

I think I found this yarn at Goodwill many moons ago, and just put it with the rest of the stash, waiting for the right project and then forgetting about it. It's a cotton/acrylic blend, and it's a true boucle, something you can't easily find anymore.

So I began my search (thank you, again, Ravelry) and even added the term "boucle" and, lo and behold, I found the perfect project. Janis Abel created a sweet little shawlette using a rayon boucle called the Ruffled Triangle Scarf. Although it was her first attempt a writing a pattern, she did a bang-up job of carefully explaining her short-row technique (which I love, by the way, as it requires no wraps). Because you use the short rows to create the ruffle, it takes longer than your average scarf or shawlette, but I love the results and am enjoying the process.

The combination of the boucle yarn and the short-row ruffles creates a gorgeous drape. I can't wait to finish this! And I believe I have enough yarn to make two!

And since I tend to have more than one project going, and since I found something groovy project that Leisure Arts posted on Facebook, and since my sister has now taken up crocheting and we like to do stuff together (is that enough excuse?), I started another project while the shawlette above is still in progress.

Project 13: Floppy Brimmed Hat. Two of my stash items, given to me several years back by my friend Keo (you've got to check out her amazing blog here), along with two ENORMOUS bags of yarn and crochet thread were two spools of J&P Coats Crochet Nylon. These are worsted-weight nylon cords that are strong and stiff, perfect for outdoor-type items. I had one new spool in beige,

and one in a very pale green that was started, but then rewound. Here's a photo of it after I finished the hat, though the green color is not quite true:

The hat called for 2 spools of cord, so I decided to use both of these and break up the colors. While very stiff, it crocheted with no problems, although weaving in is something of a challenge. Nevertheless, I got it finished just today, and present to you now my Summer Beach Hat, or what I like to call "How to Hide from the Sun and Everything Else"

Yes, I'm in there somewhere and, no, it doesn't matter which direction I'm facing, it would look like this. I take it the designer has a slightly larger head than I. Actually, I may pull out the last three rows on the brim and just leave a single row of the green for piping. Then I may be able to see out of it. :)