New Shawl Design: "Once Upon A Leaf".

I have been thinking about this shawl for a little while, before starting knitting it. Once I started I could not put the shawl down :)) The lace pattern is so addictive and most of all I loved how the lace pattern was coming out. I have played around with some familiar patterns for this shawl to achieve winding leaves and twigs effect.  I choose Filatura Di Crosa Centolavaggi for this shawl and knitted with yarn held double. The yarn is wonderfully soft and warm and after blocking drapes beautifully. I love the green color of this yarn.

I got a little carried away and shawl came out bigger then I planned, but I do love big shawls :-)) I think it will be great to wear for special occasions or just by the ocean over a summer dress :-))

I have called this shawl "Once Upon A Leaf". My project can be found on Ravelry.

The pattern will be available after test knitting is completed  late April early May :))

Happy knitting,

Diana

"Silhouette" Shawl Pattern is now available :-)

My sister asked me for an airy summer shawl and "Silhouette" is the shawl that  I have designed for her.  She did not see her shawl in person yet, but loved it via the pictures and cannot wait to wear it :))
"Silhouette" shawl has been test knitted and pattern is now available on Ravelry and my blog.
Thank you so much to all readers of my blog and my Ravelry friends for your support and kind comments about this project :-))
Original post about this pattern can be found here.

Happy Knitting,

Diana

Free Pattern :"Coronado Bay" Stole

I have knitted "Coronado Bay" stole back in December 2011, but since then could not find time to write up a pattern for it. Today I stayed home from work due to a little cold and decided to finish this pattern while I had a little free time on my hands :)))
"Coronado Bay" stole pattern is now available on Ravelry and my blog as a free download.
Thank you so much to all readers of my blog and my Ravelry friends for your support and kind comments about this project :-))
Original post about this pattern can be found here.

Палантин "Coronado Bay" связался ещё в Декабре прошлого года, но никак не могла найти свободного времени и написать инструкции. Сегодня немного приболела и не пошла на работу, вот и решила воспользоваться свободной минуткой и дописать инструкции :-))
Инструкции к "Coronado Bay" можно бесплатно загрузить через мой блог или Равелри.

Please drop me a line by leaving a comment on my blog or Ravelry if you are downloading this pattern and planning to knit this stole :-))

Буду рада если вы дадите мне знать что загрузили инструкции и планируете связать этот палантин оставив коментарий у меня в блоге или на Равелри :-))

Enjoy the pattern and Happy knitting,

Diana

"Layered" shawl pattern is now available :-)

"Layered" shawl pattern is now available on Ravelry and my blog.
Thank you so much to all my wonderful test knitters for helping me out with this pattern and to all readers of my blog and my Ravelry friends for your support and kind comments :-))
Original post about this pattern can be found here.

Happy knitting,

Diana

New Shawl Design: "Silhouette".

 My sister’s birthday is coming up at the end of March and she asked me if I could knit her a summer shawl. I searched for silk or linen yarn for this project and found this beautiful Handmaiden Fine Yarn Sea Silk  that I thought would be perfect for summer. My sister loved the yarn and colorway "Dandelion" had  the colors that she wanted. My sister loves modern clean lines and bold accessories.  I just had to come up with something beautiful that she will like :-))

This particular colorway has few colors in it and it is always a concern when choosing a pattern for such variegated yarn.  I though about the design for a while and remembered an idea for a shawl I had after I designed my "Lemon Drops" shawl.  The idea was to try to knit a shawl using a stitch pattern I designed for the border of "Lemon Drops". I thought this would be perfect project to try this idea on.  I wanted an airy and lacy summer shawl and I love how it all beautifully came together in this design I called "Silhouette". I choose the name "Silhouette" because the lace stitch reminds me of leaves  silhouettes.

I hope my sister will love and enjoy this shawl :-)))
The shawl is currently being test knitted and will be available on Ravelry and my blog after that. Until then, you can find this project and more details on the shawl on Ravelry.

Happy Knitting,

Diana

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