1 of 12: Maluka

And the race is on to knit 12 shawls in 2012! My first little beauty is Maluka by Bea Schmidt.

In picking this pattern, I was looking for a bit of open lace, but not so complicated that the pattern would be lost in the black, slightly fuzzy yarn.

I also wanted something totally wearable to go with my new burgundy pea coat.  While I love complicated lace, sometimes it feels too fancy or delicate to wear on a daily basis.

Gridwork

I'm famous!  A shot of my Gridwork scarf is being featured in the examples section for the pattern on Ravelry.  Scroll down to the fourth photo.

I love the geometric effect of this pattern and look forward to making this one again.  At a generous 10 inches wide, this would certainly count as a stole towards my 12 in 2012 goal if I cast on again!

The Challenge: 12 shawls in 2012

If it wasn't already obvious, I have a thing for shawls.  I've decided to make it official and have joined the 12 shawls in 2012 group on Ravelry.  This might have been an easier feat if I had jumped on board back when the group was born as 10 shawls in 2010...but I think I'm up to the challenge.

Just in case a certain someone is scared that this means only shawls for 2012 Christmas and birthdays, rest assured that stoles - aka big scarves - also count towards the goal.

The rules:

All shawls must be started and completed anytime in 2012. The minimum requirement of meterage is 250 meter (ca 273 yards) whereas 2 must use at least 500 meters (ca 546 yards) of yarn. There are no upper limits to meterage if you want to knit 12 big shawls :) Any shapes will do - but no sleeves and cowls - and you can even be your own designer!  The minimum width requirement on scarves, is 10 inches, or 25 centimeters.

Here's to a year of wonderful knitting!

Does not count towards total.  Example of lacy knits to come!

Making short work of short rows

My very first scarf involved short rows.  Not that I did them on purpose mind you, I just couldn't keep the front and back of the work straight if I happened to put it down in the middle of a row.  When I finally realized what I was doing, I thought I had been accidentally brilliant - creating an innovative technique, never discovered by anyone else. 

Boy, was I wrong. As I learn more about knitting, I learn that there are many variations one can do to a stitch to get just the look you want.

After making a few quarter-moon shawls that feature short rows, I wasn't super happy with the finished result of simple short rows, knitting together your last and first stitch when you come back.  It looked a bit sloppy and obvious to my eye, but not thinking there was an alternative I carried on.

See where the lace transitions into the body of the scarf - the highlighted change in direction?  That's where the short row joins.  It looks sloppy.  Trust me.

Again, wrong.  If there is an aesthetic look that can be solved, chances are some creative knitter has thought about it before you.  To the internets!

After stumbling upon the prolific TECHknitting, my short row aversion has been solved.  In a wonderful step by step guide, she takes you through four different short row possibilities.  I love her illustrations, and will certainly be going back for more tutorials and ideas!

(this image belongs to the TECHknitter.  go check her out!)

Here's my current WIP hanging out with a set of bobby pins to hold the turn loops.  We'll see how it turns out, but I have a good feeling about this one!

Helper

Princess Dot helps finish Princess Wabecca's scarf.

Colonel Mustard in the Living Room with the Knitting Needles

Recently I've been in love with mustard.  The color not the condiment.  Though it is quite nice on pretzels.  But I digress.  I found a lovely cotton/ramie blend at the thrift store and have been knitting away.  Since it's more of a summer blend, some lace work was definitely in order.

First, there was Gridwork by Janelle Martin (ravelry), my Thanksgiving vacation project between bouts of cooking.

Second, we have Summer Flies by Holly and Ella Knits (ravelry), my Christmas vacation project.  This is the second time I've knit this pattern and really enjoy its results.  Can you see the butterfly stitch across the middle?

These two projects used up about half of the unraveled sweater, so look for more mustardy fun to come.

Penalty Gift

Sitting in the office at 5 PM on Christmas Eve Eve, about to leave for my flight back to Ohio, I realized that I had forgotten my sister's gift at home.  With no time to run back, I immediately started feeling guilty as she had so graciously served as Postmaster General for all of my owls dropping internet purchases throughout the month of December.  She had already gotten her knit gift back in November, so I was feeling doubly bad showing up empty handed.

Enter my constant desire to knit ALL the things - a knitspace gift certificate!  Upon making the offer of any knit gift she might desire, she immediately looked at the half-knit scarf in my hand and demanded that I knit faster.  A few weeks and 6 ft of knitting later, voila!

Meet the Carla Pearl 2 by Yarn Market (ravelry).  Knit in a single ply merino wool, this scarf is amazingly soft and fluffy.  While I'm going to take a break after 6 ft, the pattern was fun enough that I'll probably make this one again.  Easy to memorize, enough detail not to get bored, looks great - a winning combination!

A little summer sunshine

This lovely piece came off the needles last summer but has been languishing in my blocking pile. I wasn't totally thrilled with how it looked while I was knitting, so I wasn't in a rush to finish it. However, after blocking it turned out wonderfully - that'll teach me to write off a project before it is done!

The Echo Flowers Shawl by Jenny Johnson Johnen (ravelry) is a really beautiful pattern. I loved working on the flower body...

 ... and the edging is awesome.

The brilliant yellow makes me think of liquid sunshine, a wonderful piece of summer to comfort from the winter's cold.