Shawl, sweater & a topi!

Since I've been MIA is such a bad way, I thought I'd do a big a$S post today.

The red lace shawl was knitted by my friend in Portland who knits lace so fast, her fingers make a buzzing sound. I believe she used the Rock Island pattern. She used a silk wool lace blend that I had hand dyed. In case you're wondering, yes, this yarn went to the US & then came back to the UK as a shawl. Some yarns have all the luck.

The brown sweater was knitted by me with left over hand dyed sock yarn held double. I used the Cosy V neck pattern but modified it. This pattern is amazingly simple & fun to make. I knitted the sleeves in the round, however.

The little beret was knitted from a handspun I made by blending a couple of rovings from my Etsy shop. The pattern was a slightly modified yummy-beret pattern.

Finished - The Candy Stripes hat.

I love, love, loved knitting this pattern. The hat turned out fun & versatile & I learnt a ton of new knitting techniques thanks to the beautifully written pattern with links to youtube video help. Thanks Tori!

I spun the yarn out of Arctic Winds for the main body and this roving for the trim.
The yarn was only slightly off in the gauge (18st & 24rows = 4”), so I had to work out the math on an excel sheet.
The mother of pearl buttons are from twpmango on Etsy.

I'll definitely be making this hat again. Possibly in more saturated colors.

 

Ready to become sweaters!

I've been spinning on and off for the past few months & have amassed a ton of yarn in the process. Recently, I got a sweater made from the "Jewels of the Nizam" colorway. It turned out gorgeous! It's a simple raglan with 3/4 sleeves. I love me some tweed in the deep wine/port color!! The yarn was a heavy 2 ply (dk/ bulky) & did not pool. The crop sweater was knitted by a talented knitter called Nihan Altuntas. Check out her awesome Etsy shop.

Taking suggestions for roving colors

I'll be offering spinning fibers in the form of rovings and tops at Yarnahoy, my Etsy store.
Feel free to send me links to pictures of spinning fibers you would like to have! Or send me colors and textures you love so that I can elaborate.

The silk/merino roving below has stunning jewel tones that were inspired by the mist over Nilgiri mountains in the winter & the jewels of South India.

Discounts available: There is a 20% discount for the purchase of 2 lbs or more of roving and 10% discount for the purchase of over 1 lb. This works well for folks who need enough for sweaters or large shawls/throws.

The neck warmer & the magic garden!

Below are images of a neck warmer my friend Gauri made from the yarn I gave her while she was visiting me last summer. I had spun & dyed the yarn earlier.


Gauri knits fast & keeps to small projects. She picked up knitting by herself & follows patterns much better than I do. The neck warmer pictures were taken by Gauri.





I love the slubbiness of the yarn in the neck warmer!




Before Gauri visited me, I had visited her in Philadelphia in 2005. We visited Isaiah Zagar's 'magic garden' on South Street. I was SO blown away by it. He's transformed the neighborhood over the past many years with his mosaic murals. The mural photos were taken by Gauri & me (not sure who took which).

Mission - Hand spun raglan sweater

I'm too lazy & possibly too incompetant to knit myself a sweater like the white one below. However, i've hopefully spun myself a 2 ply yarn from the roving pictured below in the hope that I might find a super sweater knitting do-gooder to knit me a sweater that fits like this sweater - in the United States.
I also found a flexible pattern online at http://www.woolworks.org/patterns/raglan.html
I'd be happy to pay (email me at mayacrafts@gmail.com & we'll talk) or swap yarn from my Etsy shop or do both.
Any takers? :)

Anyone know where I can find a similar pattern for a raglan sweater?

New handspuns in the shop

New thick and thin hand spun yarns in the shop.

THINGS I GOT BACK FROM INDIA