Free Pattern "Etude in Stripes"

"Etude in Stripes" Cardigan is now available as a free download from my Ravelry designer page  or on my blog.
This cardigan is knitted seamless top-down. It has raglan sleeves. The sleeves are knitted seamless in the yoke and knitted flat and seamed after the separation for sleeves and the body. The cardigan is knitted in stockinette stitch with a little garter stitch border on the body and sleeves.
The cardigan is knitted with 2ly lace yarn held double.
For more pictures and details on this project visit my original post or my Ravelry project page.
This pattern was not test knitted. Please use it at your own risk ;-))

Happy knitting,

Diana

One more "Platochek".

Today I would like to show you another "Platochek" shawl :-) Right after I have designed and knitted the original shawl, I wanted to knit one more to use up some of the leftover Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4 Ply yarn in this sunny yellow color. I absolutely love how this shawl come out and how the lace stitch looks in solid color and in slightly heavier yarn than the original shawl was. In addition, this yarn is exceptionally soft and pleasant to have on.

Project can be found on Ravelry.
Pattern for "Platochek" shawl is available on Ravelry and my blog.

Сегодня я хочу показать вам ещё одну шаль "Платочек" :-) Сразу после того как я связала первую шаль, мне захотелось связать ещё одну используя остатки пряжи Rowan RYC Cashsoft 4 Ply солнечного жёлтого цвета. Я очень довольна как получился мой новый Платочек. Мне нравиться как ажурный узор смотрится на однотонной и более толстой пряже. В дополнение, ниточка необыкновенно мягкая и приятная в носке :-)

Happy Knitting,

Diana

New Design: Etude in Stripes.

~Etude~ is a musical composition written solely to improve technique. Often performed for artistic interest.

I love the color combination of grey and yellow and wanted a simple cardigan with yellow and gray stripes for a while.  I also wanted to practice knitting seamless top-down raglan construction. I have originally started to work on this project 5 month ago by  using single strand of each yarn. I was not completely happy with the way it was coming out…a little too thin and flimsy. However, I loved this color combo a lot and decided to give this cardi another go by knitting with 2 strands of each yarn and designing my own cardigan instead of "Amiga" pattern I originally started.

 
Project called " Etude in Stripes" and can be found on Ravelry.
Yarn:
Grey:  2/14 Alpaca Silk by Valley Yarns ( Lace / 2 ply 80% Alpaca, 20% Silk)
Yellow: Supersock Lace by Cherry Tree Hill ( Lace / 2 ply 100% Merino )

I love how this cardigan turned out and the whole process of knitting it. It took a little longer then anticipated, since I took some time to work on my “Layered” shawl design, but it was an easy and unproblematic knit. Basic top-down raglan construction. Sleeves knitted seamless to the armholes and then knitted flat and seamed. I do love seamless everything, but came to realization that it is much easier for me to knit sleeves flat after separation for the sleeves and the body.

 I loved both yarns used in this project. Knitted both of them in 2 strands. Variegate yellow yarn (Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Lace) knitted up makes some lovely stripes. I think this type of yarn is perfect for stripes and make them come alive due to all the shades of the yarn. Alpaca silk from Valley yarns is a wonderful yarn too. The finished cardigan feels very silky and soft to the skin. I really enjoyed knitting this cardigan with the lace yarn held double. I will knit this way in the future for sure, because there were very few loose end to hide (lace yarn just comes in one big skein) and also the whole project cost was just $30.00 :-))

Happy Knitting,

Diana

New Shawl design : "Layered"

I have wanted to design a two colored shawl for a while now. However, there are so many shawls with stripes available on Ravelry, that I was wondering of some new ways to combine different colors in a shawl. Some weeks ago while thinking about completely different project, a cardigan, I realized that I am thinking about color in one dimensional way and had an idea of making a layered shawl.
As many of you I am sure noticed, lace patterns in shawls sometimes get lost when shawls are worn on wrong color clothing or clothing with patterns or just on bare skin. When shawl is layered with a lacy shawl on top, the lace is always visible no matter what you wear.
I was not sure till the very end what the shawl will look like when done. What can I say now? I absolutely love this shawl. The lace looks like spilled silvery beads or maybe frost on the window or sky when it is snowing.

My project for " Layered and information about the yarn used can be found on Ravelry.

A little on construction. “Layered” is a seamless shawl knitted bottom-up from few stitches to the edge. The finished shawl constructed from two shawls knitted separate and connected at the top edge. The bottom shawl is knitted in plain stockinette stitch with a little decorative edge. The top shawl has a little leaf lace pattern.

The pattern for the shawl is being test knitted and will be available on Ravelry and my blog after that :-)

Happy knitting,

Diana