Arabella Shawl

Hi there !

Today's post is mostly knitting related but a hint of weaving at the end !

I am very fond of this pattern Arabella on Ravelry in fact, I find it difficult to know if this is my new favourite or is Swallowtail by Evelyn Clark still in top position !

I did Arabella a few weeks back with some sock yarn I wasn't very keen on so decided to give it a go with lace weight yarn. Helen at Ripples Crafts tempted me with some hand dyed yarn with just a hint of sparkle in it. It was called 'plummy' and it had 800metres in 100gms. I actually only used half the skein for this shawl. The colours in my photos are a bit variable ! 

The first photo is a bit bright but it does show the beading nicely. I started beading around the edging and I think used about 500 beads. It has the effect of weighting the shawl quite nicely though.

You can also see that I used my blocking wires to get the points to stand out quite well. Much quicker than pins and makes a nice finish.

The pattern is all over lace and when it is on the pins it looks an awful mess but once it is blocked the pattern is revealed and you keep your fingers crossed you haven't missed a mistake ! This colour is perhaps more realistic ! The sparkle is very very subtle and hardly shows, just if the light catches it.

The shawl is not huge but sits nicely on the shoulders to keep you warm. It could be worn the other way round with the point at the front.

This is certainly a pattern I will return to and it looks great in lace weight yarn. The instructions are well written and I had no problems with the knitting.

So, what am I weaving ? I brought back from my trip to Sweden several scarf kits from the Venne company of Holland. A very fine cotton 2/40 is used to create the scarves. I decided to make a start on one of them. The warp is a variegated cotton and the draft is a summer and winter. The tabby is a wool cotton mixture in navy and the pattern weft is cotton in turquoise. 312 ends threaded 3 per dent in a 12 dent reed. I have just got started and getting a rhythm with the two shuttles but so far so good the fine cotton is weaving up very well. The patterning emerging from the variegated warp is very interesting and not something I have worked with before.

This is the first picture of the scarf so stand by for more coming soon I hope !

Well, that's what I've been up to this last week or so, hope you have enjoyed it. Thanks for visiting and for all your comments, I really look forward to hearing from you !