WAYWO stands for What Are You Working On? It is for all things hand-made, home-made, and creative in a variety of mediums.
Two years ago at STITCHES, a yarn/handwork conference, I encountered some very lovely yarn at a very reasonable price. The yarn is Fibra Natura, Whisper Lace that is 70% wool and 30% silk. I got a skein of solid cream and one called Cloudy Morning (variegated greys/blue/peach). It came with a pattern I have since lost, but it had wider bands of stockinette stitch knitting alternating with smaller bands of lace. It expanded just from the edges and was quite lovely. The colors in the model were fairly strong and I wanted something I could wear with most anything so I chose these colors.
I started the shawlette following the pattern and cast on 200 stitches with Cloudy Morning. Knit four rows, then continued in stockinette, but with a yarn over three stitches from the end and the last 3 stitches are always knit (garter stitch).
Following the now lost pattern, I knit about four inches in stockinette, increasing at each end with a yarn over followed by 3 knit stitches.
The pattern then called for 2 rows of knit (plus the usual YO and 3 edge stitches). These two rows of garter were to set off the lace. I did that and then did the lace pattern that was called for (I don’t have it any more.) in cream. I decided it was a boring lace pattern anyway.
After the lace insert, the pattern called for another 2 rows of knit. I decided to do those rows in a purple lace yarn I had. It didn’t work out quite the way I wanted because a strong bar of the cloudy morning came through. Oh well, artistic variation. Time to go back to straight stockinette with cloudy morning with the increases continuing at each end.
I knit for 3 inches this time and now the cream colored lace insert is a heart pattern I liked better. I did the two rows of knit before in cloudy morning, did the lace insert and then instead of purple two rows below this time I did peach colored yarn underneath the lace insert.
I knit for another 3 inches and changed to cream again. I wanted a very dagged edge. I first did about 1.5 inches in the pattern called Old Shale and then switched to a more deeply dagged edged from Universal Yarn Ebook Spring 2014 Pescardilo. For copyright reasons, I won’t reproduce it here, but there are many deep dagged edging a person can do. Many of the Estonian Edging patterns would work here, or you could just continue in Old Shale which will give a decent dagged border. I bound off very loosely, blocked and it was done.
The finished shawlette is a bit over six feet and it does go with most everything.
This is just a concept of taking a pattern and making it your own. A grand niece really loves it and I’m making one for her. One of the early changes is after the 4 rows of knitting, I’m doing knit 2 together, Yarn Over, all the way across to give a little lace-ish edge to the top.
So What Are You Working On?