Handspun Henslowe

My goodness this yarn and pattern are a beautiful combination!  The handspun Henslowe is now complete:



I'm really loving the slight changes of shade in the yarn, that add a subtle but interesting touch to the finished shawl.  Thanks Nicole - you spin lovely yarn in wonderfully rich colours.  Ooh yes, and let me also add that this yarn is as light as a feather.





The Henslowe shawl pattern is a really interesting knit that is worked in 3 distinct stages.  I made no mods to the pattern, and was thrilled that I got to use up the majority of the wonderful handspun yarn.  If I were to make again, however, I'd probably make the shawl a touch bigger.  The other thing to watch for is on the garter section of the shawl - be sure that your yarn overs at each edge are not too tight - my shawl would have benefitted from a double yarn over at each edge so that I would have had a little more elasticity between the garter stitch section and the roman lace pattern.



Otherwise I am really pleased with how this turned out.  A perfect knit for when those Autumn days start to roll around.



Wishing you a great week,
Sam

This Week's WIP: Handspun Henslowe (And the beginning of my weight loss journey)

I stumbled across Purl Verde Textiles online some weeks ago.  My goodness her handspun yarn is pretty.  Needless to say, I 'had' to have some:



This is 100% Falkland Wool in a fingering weight and the colourway is October Mums.  Doesn't it just make you dream of Autumn?  I love the subtle variations in the depth of the colour.  And the yarn is beautifully sproingy :)

I searched online for something to make with the 446 yards of loveliness.  The ravelry pattern search is perfect for this task: I knew I wanted to make a shawl and simply plugged in the weight of the yarn and the yardage into the pattern search tool.  Amongst the many beautiful results was Henslowe.  Yes, that was the one for me.



I've made pretty good progress this week on the garter section of the scarf, and have now started the lace pattern.  Thoroughly enjoying this knit.

I've been loving working with this yarn so much that I did a little repeat purchase this week:  Hidcote Lavender.  What a great colour for a winter shawl.  (The colour was very difficult to photograph and is far prettier in person than I could capture with my camera).

The other important thing that happened in the last couple of weeks is that I started to diet.  I hit a weight/size where I just wasn't happy with myself anymore - how I felt, or how I looked.  So it was time to take charge and make a change.  So far so good:  3lbs lost, and another 17 to go.  Slow and steady wins the race right.  One of the hardest parts is finding tasty ways to prepare fish, chicken, vegetables and keep it interesting.  If I discover any gems, I'll also be sharing them here.  This week's fave was a simple tilapia fillet with thinly sliced lemons that I broiled.  Very yummy indeed.  This week I added some fresh parsley and last week was dill.  Pick a herb you like and serve with steamed green veggies.  Yum! 

Now it's off to the farmer's market to get some more healthy goodies for the week.

Hope you have had a lovely week,
Sam xxx

Citron

I've been knitting like a maniac during the Olympics, and making good use of all that TV viewing and sofa time!  Here's what I have to show for it:  a Citron shawl.



Citron is a free pattern on the Knitty.com web site.  It was perfect TV knitting - lots of mindless stocking stitch.  The instructions are written for 5 repeats of the main pattern, with some extra guidelines for making it bigger, if so desired. 



I checked ravelry, and saw a bunch of folks had recommended 7 repeats.  I really like the size that the recommended 7 repeats produced.  The only other change I made was to go down a needle size to a US 5, which worked well for this lovely fine yarn.



And what is this lovely yarn you may ask.  It is a merino wool/silk mix lace yarn from Phydeaux Designs.  Isn't it beautiful.  Colorway is Alpha Centauri.  I think I may become a frequent shopper at this online store!



Hope you are having a good week and enjoying the Olympic Games,
Sam
xxx