Almost Done: Bluebells and Roses Shrug

Here's the shrug, finally, almost done. Note, it hasn't been blocked yet.

Unfortunately, it doesn't fit because I changed the yarn from the previous shrug and this one isn't quite as loose when knit. :-( Sniff. I really, really love it, especially the colour, but it will go into my Etsy shop to make someone else happy.



Here are the sleeves in more detail - I shaped them like bluebells and I love the little points and the way they make the shrug into something really special. The shrug still needs blocking to ensure the sleeves fall into perfect bluebell shapes.


Here are the three rose brooches. Each brooch is different and has been embellished with a little lace (some of it vintage with a teeny bit of aged staining).


The brooches make the shrug really versatile as they can be worn in a variety of ways, here are just some:

- wear them in a clump like shown,
- leave them off and make it into an every day shrug,
- wear one on each sleeve and the third on the collar or bow,
- wear them in a clump at the lower back or arranged on the bow.




The shrug would be perfect worn with a pair of jeans or with a wedding gown. It's been designed to be as versatile as possible. :-)

The yarn is handpainted and varies from an almost (pale) cornflower blue to turquoise to pale aqua green to silvery white. The 'overall' colour impression works with a variety of other colours - from a white wedding dress to a brown evening gown to a pair of jeans to a wine red or dark green dress.

Look out for it in my Etsy shop.

In Progress: Icy Shrug

This is what I've been working on when the mermaid shawl got too much. The shawl is very fiddly to do and sometimes I just need some time to think about what I'll do next or how things fit together (it is a bit like a jigsaw).

The shrug is knitted in the same way as the Smolder shrug, but with a few little changes to ensure a better fit (the red shrug is a little looser).


It's not quite finished - hence the stitch holders - because I ran out of yarn. Well, not quite, but I did not have enough to make the bell shaped sleeves I want for this. I'd like to wear it in Summer and Winter, and thought 3/4 length sleeves are therefore better and look prettier with this colour.

I ordered my yarn last week and unfortunately it wasn't in stock - BUT credit to Nicola at YarnBox she ordered it away and it arrived today - one day earlier than expected. :-)



Here you can see the beautiful yarn (Louisa Harding, Grace Handpainted in shade 02, aqua) in detail - I've used a seed stich for the tie:


And here is the plain stotcking stitch:



The yarn is absolutely wonderful to knit with. It has a well defined stitch pattern and the colour variation is well done and there's no pooling. It's half silk, half merino and light and very soft with a beautiful soft sheen. Perfect! I can only recommend it.

The shrug will also have some removable flower brooches (3 altogether) which I can use to dress it up or down. I can't wait for it to be finished as it's just so lovely.... :-)

Progress report: Mermaid Shawl Part 3

Here's the next installment of the mermaid shawl:


And here's a detail image of the anemones:



I took more images but the morning sunlight reflected too much off some of the metallic threads and the photos looked blurred. So more details with the next installment.

The shawl is between a third and half done. As you can see it's wider in some parts than others which means it flows and drapes nicely.

I have so far included:

acetate floss in turquoise
metallic thread in peacock blue
hand dyed bamboo in shades of jade green
Rowan kidsilk in medici blue
handpainted kidsilk in shades of turquoise and blue
opalescent glitter thread
furry thread
hemp in blue and green
lurex in black and turquoise mix
silver white fuzzy novelty yarn
sequins (shells and spirals)
beads (various Magatama and Miyuki beads, seed beads, glass pearls)

The design choices I make are based on the story of the little mermaid by Andersen. I thought that she might be homesick and this shawl should be something that reminds her of the life she left behind. Hence, anemones, starfish, shells and sea snails, blues, greens, waves and nets.