Need Tester for My New Shawl Knitting Pattern

ETA: I have enough testers. Thank you!

I need some testers to test my new pattern. It's called Metropolitan Shawl. I know the name is funny. I am not very good in choosing name. The reason I name it Metropolitan is because in certain angle, this pattern looks like 3D blocks to me. It reminds me of the buildings in the big cities.

This scarf begins with stitches cast on for the lace edge along the two lower sides, then stitches are decreased to produce a triangle shape.

You need to have about 355 sock yarn to make this. I am using Dream in Color Smooshy 100% Merino Wool.

Finished Size: 102 cm (40" across top edge, 51 cm (20") long from centre top to point. Anybody interested, email me at lprajogo@hotmail.com.

Oh, one more thing, you need to post your FO in Ravelry as well.

Thanks in advance.

Gathering Leaves Crocheted Shawl Pattern for Sale

After successfully designing “Garden Path” shawl, I am inspired to design another crocheted shawl. Gathering Leaves shawl is crocheted from the top down and starts with an easy leave motifs that repeats every 10 rows. Then from small leaves the pattern morph seamlessly into bigger leaves and ended with a beautiful tulip motifs. You may use greater or lesser yardage to produce a smaller or larger shawl by simply reduce or increase the repeat of the smaller leaves pattern. This shawl can be worked in many different weights of yarn by changing hook size. As usual, this pattern comes with row-by-row written direction in US crochet term and charts.

Yarn: I used Malabrigo Lace for the red shawl (1500 yards) and Plucky Knitter Sock Yarn for the green one (1200 yards). See here for the red shawl photo.

Hook: 3.5 mm (E) for lace weight yarn, 4.5 mm (G) for fingering weight yarn.

Gauge:
Lace weight: First 10 rows = 11” across top edge, 5.5” long from centre top to point (after blocking)
Fingering weight: First 10 rows = 15” across top edge, 7.5” long from centre top to point (after blocking)

Finished Size:
Lace weight: 58” across top edge, 28” long from centre top to point (work from row 1 to the last row).
Fingering weight: 72” across top edge, 37” long from centre top to point (work row 1 - 19, skip row 20 - 39, directly to row 40 to last row).
You can easily make the shawl bigger by adding the repeat.

Pattern is 14 pages in PDF. Complete with symbols and diagram (like the one you always find in Japanese pattern book) beside the written instruction.

All posts about this projects: click here.

To buy the kit: click here

USD 6.00,-

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Or you can buy the e-book: Shawl Collection to Crochet. Consist of 4 patterns: Garden Path, Gathering Leaves, Cassandra, and Remember Me.


USD 18.00,-

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FO: Gathering Leaves Shawl in Sock Yarn

Remember this post? Well, I didn’t have to wait 3 weeks. In about 1 week after I bought the yarn from somebody detash in ravelry, the yarn arrived. Yay!! And it matched with my previous yarns. So, I could happily continue my project. I really was enjoying working with this yarn enormously, and felt sad when it’s over.

After blocking, this shawl is big enough but not as big as my black Garden Path. Too bad I don’t have more skeins. Next time I want to buy 5 skeins of sock yarn to make very big shawl. I love big shawl.

I really like the finish result, and actually it is nicer in real person than in the photo.

Pattern: Gathering Leaves Shawl
Source: Here
Materials: Plucky Knitter. Color: Father Goose
Qty: 3 x 100 gram (860 m/940 yards total)
Needles: Clover Hook size 4.5 (G)
Cost: USD 78 (most expensive project to date)
Start Date: 12 July 2010
Finish Date: 1 August 2010
72" across top edge, 37" long from centre top to point.

FO: Gathering Leaves Shawl in Malabrigo Lace

Garden path is my first experience to crochet with lace weight yarn. I found that JaggerSpun Zephyr was to thin to crochet, so I used double instead.
For my second crocheted lace shawl, I used Malabrigo lace. This time, I used single strand as I found that my swatch look OK with single strand. What I don’t like about this yarn is the thick and thin nature, and I found the yarn could not glide easily against my hook. Thus, I had to crochet slower.

But, the result…. Oh, the result is so soft, velvety and the color is very pretty. It is really worth all the trouble. Too bad I did have enough yarn. I did too many repeat, and in the end I didn’t have enough yarn to complete the edging properly. If the yarn not so difficult to frog, I would frog and do less repeat, but the yarn was a nightmare to frog. So, here it is….. ta ….da……

Pattern: Gathering Leaves Shawl
Source: Here
Materials: Malabrigo Lace. Color: Amoroso 157 (red) dye lot 22061
Qty: 2 x 50 gram (860 m/940 yards total)
Needles: Clover Hook size 3.5 (E)
Cost: USD 24
Start Date: 8 May 2010
Finish Date: 1 June 2010
Finishe size: 58" across top edge, 28" long from centre top to point

Sage Cardigan (New Version) Knitting Pattern for Sale

As you are aware that I always writing my patterns using 2 weight yarns, fingering/4 ply/sport and DK weight. The reason is because I always enjoy knitting with lightweight yarn, but I understand that most people don’t. One exception is my Sage Cardigan Pattern. Sage Cardigan was my first pattern and the only pattern that was not written in 2 different weight yarn and not a top down pattern. Thus, I decided to redesign something similar like Sage Cardigan, but knitting using the top down method and this time I used worsted weight instead of fingering weight.

This is actually 2009 project and I posted the FO long time ago. However, I decided to publish the pattern now as this cardigan is perfect for fall.





Sizes: 32, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, 44, 46, 48, 50, 52, 54, 56, 58, 60" Bust

Needle: 3.5 mm (size 4) and 4.00 mm (size 6) 80 cm long circular needle
Crochet Hook: 3.5 mm (E). This is to crochet the lace edging of the sleeves. You can ommit this if you can not crochet.

Note: The entire pattern is working flat, only the sleeves are working in a round

Yarn: Worsted Weight (I used Ella Rae Shibu)

Yarn requirement:
32": 950 m/1055 yards,
34": 1030 m/1145 yards,
36": 1110 m/1235 yards,
38": 1190 m/1325 yards,
40": 1270 m/1410 yards,
42": 1350 m/1500 yards,
44": 1430 m/1590 yards,
46": 1510 m/1680 yards,
48": 1590 m/1770 yards,
50": 1670 m/1855 yards,
52": 1750 m/1945 yards,
54": 1830 m/2035 yards,
56": 1910 m/2125 yards,
58": 1990 m/2210 yards,
60": 2070 m/2300 yards.

Notion: Tapestry needle, 2 cm/ 1.5 inch buttons (4 pcs), marker, scrap yarn.

Gauge:
Worsted Weight: 20 sts and 28 rows = 4” (10 cm) in Stockinette Stitch (St st) using 4.00 mm needle or adjust the needle size to get gauge.

Difficulty: Intermediate

Other Posts and photos about this project: Here

How To Buy:
Pattern has 11 pages in PDF. Consist of written instruction, crochet chart for the lace edging on the sleeves and photo tutorial to do short row on the collar.
Payment by Paypal and delivery by Ravelry, no accounts required. Credit cards accepted.

USD 5.00,-

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Run Out of Yarn....Again!!!!

I am in the middle of designing another crocheted shawl. I name this new design "Gathering Leaves". I used my lace Malabrigo (amoroso color), however, I run out of yarn and could not finish the edging properly. It is still nice but not like the pattern. So, I decided to buy another yarn, this time I bought 2 skeins of "Plucky Knitter" sock yarn in green color from detash in Ravelry (suitable with the name of the pattern: leaves = green) to give an idea how the pattern looks like if crocheted with sock yarn plus I will be able to test my own pattern. I follow the written pattern this time instead of looking at the chart.

However, I almost pulled my hair, when I found out that, again, I run out of yarn. I missed calculated, thinking that the yardage of each skein is 500 yards (it's 400 yards). Luckily I found another skein in the same color (not sure whether it will match) from somebody that detashing in Ravelry. Sooooo, I contacted her and bought her skein. I only will receive the yarn next 3 weeks. I only need to crochet another 4 rows, and now I have to wait for 3 weeks before I will be able to finish it and release the pattern. Sighhh.....

Bella Cape

Whenever I started a shawl project, Lauri would ask me whether it was for her. So I decided to make one for her using my Bella Shawl pattern. I modified the pattern and made it into square to become a cape. Basically I just double up the shawl, left out the several rows on top, and added buttons.

I used Pierrot yarn that I ordered online. I wanted to try this yarn since I saw a very pretty granny square blanket using this yarn. I thought that I also wanted to make blanket using it, and before I bought 50+ balls of this yarn, I thought I wanted to try it first. So I ordered 5 balls first to make cape for Lauri.

However, the tragedy happened. I forgot that I am not supposed to wash-machine non superwash 100% wool. Just imagine my surprised when I picked up this felted thing from my washing machine. I could not recognize it at first, until I realized what had happened. Well, unfortunately, this is become my first “felted” project.

The sad thing was that I made this cape quite big and I even could wear it. When it came out from washing machine, it shrank! It looked like a collar. It’s even too small for Lauri. Not to be desperate, I tried to block out the cape (now collar). I tried to tretch it using all my strength. I pinned the “collar” on my blocking board and stretched it until it could not stretch anymore.

And you can see it yourself below, how it looks like now:

Source: Here
Materials: Pierrot Soft Merino Fingering
Color: 313-6 Pale Red Brown
Qty: 4.1 x 40 gram (750 m / 685 yards)
Needles: Addi Metal Circular Needle 4.50 mm
Cost: USD 14.71 (including shipping)
Start Date: 2 June 2010
Finish Date: 26 June 2010

You Love Me..... You Love Me Not..... You Love Me.....

Bella Knitting Shawl for Sale

A lot of triangular shawls have you cast on a few stitches at the center of the neck, then work outward, each row getting progressively longer, ending with the cast off being the two non-top edges. I find myself very excited at the beginning, but getting progressively less patient with the longer and longer rows as the initial infatuation fades.



This scarf begins with stitches cast on for the lace edge along the two lower sides, then stitches are decreased to produce a triangle shape.

Pattern includes charts and written directions, and stitch count totals for every row.

I also include the tips how to make larger or smaller shawl and the yardage needed.



Suggested yarn: Any sock yarn (I am using Indigo Moon 100% Merino Wool) 370 yards. Color: Majestic Purple.

Needle: 7.00 mm or 9.00 mm only to cast on and 4.5 mm for the rest.
Crochet Hook: 3.5 mm to cast on (optional)

Finished Size: 45" across top edge, 30" long from centre top to point

Level: Intermediate

Other Posts and photos about this project: Here

How To Buy:
Pattern is a full colour, 9 pages in PDF. Complete with symbols and diagram beside the written instruction.
Payment by Paypal and delivery by Ravelry, no accounts required. Credit cards accepted.

USD 5.00,-

add to cart

Or you can buy the e-book. Consist of 4 patterns: Bella, Metropolitan, Poison Ivy and Narnia Shawls.

USD 15.00,-

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My First Knitting Shawl Design

Actually I did this post a bit too late. The truth was, I started designing this knit shawl on 12 April, since this was only my second knit shawl I made (but my first design), the process was a bit rocky. I had to frog so many times, and the worst was when I almost finish the shawl only to realize that I miss calculated the yardage. That means I have to start all over again since this shawl is working bottom up. I was amazed that the yarn was still looking OK despite all the abused. Once everything was recalculated, knitting it was a breeze. Re-started on 29 April and finished on 2 May.



Since I was not at home when I finished the shawl, I could not block it properly. So, the lace didn’t really open up in the picture above. I love it regardless.

Source: Here
Materials: Indigo Moon (100% merino wool superwash)
Color: Majestic Purple Lot # 1278
Qty: 1 x 100 gram (342 m / 370 yards)
Needles: Addi Metal Circular Needle 4.50 mm
Cost: Free (Yay!!)
Start Date: 29 April 2010
Finish Date: 2 May 2010

I have done writing the pattern and Kitman nice enough to test for me.
So, I will release the pattern soon!

Oh, I think I will name this shawl “Bella”, since I was reading Twilight when I was knitting it.

The Beginning of Another Crocheted Shawl Design

I am happy to report that the response of my “Garden Path Shawl” is quite good. I got quite good sales from this pattern that motivate me to design another crochet pattern.

Started another Garden Path Shawl using Malabrigo Lace, but in the end I frogged it

To tell you the truth, Garden Path was my first crocheted shawl I ever made. So, I am very happy that a lot of people seem to like it. There is a Garden Path Shawl crochet-along starting June 1st in Ravelry. Since I love this pattern so much, I was planning to make another Garden Path using my Malabrigo lace. However, in the end I frogged it since when I was is row 22, another design idea came to my mind and this Malabrigo lace is the only lace yarn that I have.

Instead using the yarn to make a new design

Trying My Hand at Designing Knitting Shawl

This yarn is Indigo Moon. Sorry that I forgot to take picture when it’s still in a skein. This yarn is given to me by the owner of Indigo Moon, Trish. This is the first sock yarn that I have. She gave me Majestic Purple colorway, and it’s very pretty. When the yarn arrived, I was still busy designing “Garden Path Shawl”, so I have to put aside this yarn for a while.

Since I am successfully managed to design a nice crocheted shawl, I was thinking to design a knitting shawl. I know that there are tons of gorgeous knitting shawl designs out there from experienced and famous designers. But, I have this pretty sock yarn in my possession that is simply a sin if I don’t use it. I don’t like knitting socks since I don’t wear socks. I can’t make cardigan or sweater using only 1 skein sock yarn. So what other choice to I have except use it to knit a shawl or scarf.

I grab my knitting stitch dictionary, and immediately I like this “Cathedral” pattern.





But, will it become a nice shawl?

Playing Computer Together: Then and Now

Below picture was taken 1.5 years ago when they were playing together using toy laptop:

Now, 1.5 years later they are still playing together, but......

Wait! Whose laptop they are playing with?



MINE!!!!