Maple Leaf Forever

(c) Natalia @ Elfmoda Maple Leaf Shawl

Last December Natalia @ Elfmoda released a stunning maple leaf shawl design. As a Canadian, I was entranced with the pattern, seeing as the maple leaf features prominently on our national flag.

I didn't really place the shawl high on my 'to knit' list until a chance remark by a friend at Rhinebeck. Rhinebeck is a cornucopia of beautiful shawls, yet my friend noted that no one seemed to have knit the Maple Leaf shawl as their Rhinebeck signature piece. "Maybe next year", she said.

That's when I got the idea to knit one for Rhinebeck next year. Later in the day, I happened to find a braid of Polwarth fiber in the perfect Fall colors. I snapped it up, with the idea to spin the fiber and knit the Maple Leaf shawl with it. I pictured a shawl that mimicked how real leaves turn from green to yellow to red. I had no idea about yardage, but I figured one 4 oz braid should be enough, even if I had to use singles or at most, 2 ply yarn.

After browsing the Ravelry project notes of finished shawls, I decided to take a chance and spin the fiber with a view to navajo plying it to preserve the color transitions. I'd recently spun a skein of 440ish yards of 3 ply out of a braid. And many of the project notes stated that they'd only used between 400 and 450 yards on smaller needles than the pattern called for.

So, I spun. And spun. And spun. It took about 2 weeks to spin and then ply the yarn. I was so eager to get it done so I could start knitting the shawl and see if it would turn out the way I envisioned it. (And frankly, if I'd have enough yarn!)





Once I got started on the shawl, it sped along quickly. The pattern is a clever collection of simple knit stitches, yarn overs and decreases. The color transitions are nicely preserved as you knit the main body of the leaf and then separately knit each point of the leaf. I started getting anxious about how much yarn I had left by the time I started working on the final (and center) three points of the leaf. And when I got down to the second last leaf I was down right nervous.

My ball of yarn was getting smaller and smaller. There are several small points, each of which require you to break the yarn and then join again to the main body. All that breaking of yarn and rejoining meant several inches of yarn getting 'lost' each time.

Finally, this morning I finished the shawl, with about 4 grams of yarn to spare! Whew! The shawl is blocking now. It's smaller than the pattern calls for, since I used smaller needles to ensure I didn't run out of yarn. But it's lovely! Just what I'd envisioned.

I'm hoping to find a way to display it as a piece of wall art. The trick will be keeping all those points in place!

Oh Happy Day!

I've had an exciting morning already and it's just lunch time now. There's even more of the day to come!

First off, as I was having my morning coffee, trying to wake up enough to start work, I checked the Ravelry "Hot Right Now" list on the Pattern page. This is a constantly changing list that ranks the Top 20 most viewed/active patterns on Ravelry.

To my utter amazement, my brand, spankin' new Joanna Lymstock shawl is at #7!  See -->

It's always exciting to have a pattern appear on the Hot Right Now list. For practical reasons, it's great exposure. In personal terms, it's just a thrill to know that people are looking at something I created.

My Styles Court socks and Mirkwood Shawl have also made appearances on the Hot Right Now list.




My other exciting moment this morning came when I received the July Patternfish newsletter. Back in June my Mirkwood shawl had the honor of being chosen as Patternfish's official 14,000th pattern published. As a followup, the Patternfish folks have been kind enough to feature me as one of their 6 newest designers! Go check out the newsletter and see some of the other wonderful designers who have patterns available on Patternfish.

New shawl pattern released (sale!)

I've just released a new shawl pattern, the Joanna Lymstock shawl. This is a crescent shaped shawl which can be knit in either fingering or lace weight yarn. The lace portion is simple yet engaging, and the stocking stitch section makes this a very portable project. This is a perfect lightweight shawlette for a summer’s picnic or that special evening out. It would look fantastic held closed with a shawl pin.

The pattern accommodates both lace and fingering weight yarns, providing instructions for both. There are charts and written instructions. Also, I provide modification guidelines for customizing the size of the shawl. Approximate size of the shawl (based on the pattern) is 59" x 16".

The pattern was originally called the Dayflower shawl, since that's what the lace motif is called. But I've taken to listening to Agatha Christie audiobooks whilst knitting. While designing and knitting this shawl, I was listening to The Moving Finger, set in the town of Lymstock, in which Joanna Burton is one of the characters. Joanna is a pretty, carefree girl who is used to city life (ie, London) who relocates to the tiny town of Lymstock to help her brother recuperate from his war wounds. This shawl reminds me of Joanna Burton: delicate yet strong, interesting yet straight-forward and (by the end of the novel) equally at home in the city or the country.

This pattern will be **50% off ($2.50)** on Ravelry between July 16th and July 23rd, 2013. After that it will be $5.00.