The Autumn Garden Stole

When my dear friend Lara and her husband were in the process of adopting 3 children from Ethiopia, there were two things she asked me to make, a bag and a scarf/shawl/wrap. 

I got the bag finished and sent off quite a while ago (you can read about it here), and started work on the stole.

The colors were easy -- based on the colors of the Ethiopian flag.  The pattern came about after flipping through my stitch dictionary and putting a three of them together.  I got to work, it was going well, and then I feared I had run out of yarn. 

I wasn't able to get any more yarn of the same dye lot, and at least one of the colors is no longer available, so simply getting more wasn't an option.  I decided the only thing I could do was rip back to the last repeat and get it finished.  I then noticed I had broken the yarn at the cast on edge because I had cast on too tightly.  So I ripped that out, too, and left the edge unfinished.  With both edges unfinished, I had an opportunity to add a new border, so I combined the two center colors and knit on a garter stitch edge.

I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.  And although it wasn't finished in time for their trip to Ethiopia, Lara was (and is!) very pleased with it as well. 

Sorry about the quality of the last 4 pictures.  They were taken at night, indoors, so the color is more yellow than in person, but they show the overall patterning well, which was the point.  The colors of the first two pictures are more accurate.

Details:
Pattern Name: Autumn Garden Stole
Pattern Designer: Brenda McCunn
Pattern Source: Not yet available
Yarn: Knit Picks Shadow (100% Merino Wool) in the Burgundy, Persimmon Heather, and Forest Heather colorways.
Needles: Knit Picks Options, size US 4/3.5 mm

Sideways Folded Scarf

This scarf was another Knit Picks project.  By the way, have I ever mentioned how much fun it is to be able to knit for them?  Getting to try out different books and patterns, not to mention their fabulous yarns, has really added to my wish list...and stash. 

Back to the scarf.  The pattern comes from Luxe Knits: The Accessories by Laura Zukaite.  It's a simple one page pattern that is very well written and easy to understand.  I don't remember there being any errors in the pattern.

It was an easy, fast knit, using Swish Worsted Yarn in Squirrel Heather and Stroll Sock Yarn in Dove Heather on size US 10 (6 mm) circular needles - I used the nickle plated Options interchangeables.  The Swish Worsted is used to work the folds, and the folds are the rows that took the longest to work as you pick up and knit the picked up stitches with the live stitches to create them.

The fabric between the folds is knit with the Stroll Sock yarn, and goes very quickly on the large needles.  The contrast of the lighter and darker yarns makes it lovely, and the wool yarn makes it warm.  It's also easy care because it's superwash.

Details:

Pattern Name:  Sideways Folded Scarf
Designer:  Laura Zukaite
Pattern Source:  Luxe Knits: The Accessories
Yarns:  Knit Picks Swish Worsted Yarn in Squirrel Heather
            Knit Picks Stroll Sock Yarn in Dove Heather
Needle: US 10 (6 mm) circular needles

Trellis and Flowers Stole

Being both lace and intarsia, this project moved a little more slowly than some.

But it did slowly grow and blossom into a thing of beauty,

and as it did, I fell more and more in love with this yarn

and, specifically, these colorways.  The Alpaca Cloud yarn in Midnight Heather, with its blues, blacks, greens, and purples that really only come out in the sun, like a raven's feathers.  The Tidepool heather, with it's greens, blues, and yellows, has a depth that pictures just cannot do justice to.

This project was a challenge for a few reasons, most of which I hope were corrected by the time the book went to press.  Even so, this project would still be challenging, so if you've never knit lace or intarsia before, I wouldn't recommend starting with this.  If, however, you are comfortable doing both, the final project is truly stunning.

Stunning enough that I'm tempted to knit another one for myself.

To really see it in all it's beauty, do checkout the July/August 2010 Knit Picks catalog, or you can see it on the website.  The photographer did a fabulous job.

Oh, and get yourself some of this yarn.  You won't regret it.