Test Knitters!

Just to say I now have all the test knitters I need for the shawl but I really appreciate all the offers! Hope to have the pattern out by the end of the month!

Aestlight Shawl

We interrupt this silence to bring you some gartery goodness!

Along with all the preparation for transporting ourselves some 3000 miles (which happens in 10 days) I've been fervently knitting.....some secret...and some, like this shawl, not!

I was inspired to come up with my own design for the Eastward facing aspect of Project Spectrum........and as we'll be turning ourselves to head to Massachusetts soon I thought the name "Aestlight" (East Light in Shetland dialect) was appropriate.

This shawl is all based on garter stitch and is therefore incredibly squishy and bouncy!

It is constructed using one of the traditional Shetland Shawl making methods. In this case that means starting with the garter stitch triangle and making increases at the end of every row with a yarn over. These yarn overs are then easily picked up and the borders are worked out from here. The edging is then knit sideways and attached to the live sts of the border at the end of every right side row.

Sounds complicated?.....I assure you it's not at all ....in fact it's rather a lot of fun watching this evolve!

The pattern is mostly written up but I'm in need of some test knitters (ETA: actually I'm all set now)!! So if this tickles your knitting fancy please let me know! It requires approx 550 yards of fingering weight yarn and is worked on US #6 needles.
Finished dimensions are approx 56" wide and 24" long.

These are some of the very first shots taken with my new Canon Digital Rebel XTi......which I'm mostly enjoying so far....with a few minor annoyances (like no live view and only a 10 sec delay timer)!

A few more photos on flickr

...and now back to packing!

Hip To Be Square

Yikes it's been two weeks since I posted....! I've had to do some marathon secret knitting which won't be public for a few more months....(so hard not to share)....despite the stress of the short amount of time to get it completed (there was a big delay on my yarn getting to me) I was very happy with how it turned out.

However during the past few days I did manage to squeeze out a few squares for Larrisa Brown's Barn Raising Quilt charity benefit to raise money for Doctors Without Borders. Info can be found here. There is still plenty of time for you to participate.....you know you've got some left over sock yarn in that stash of yours....and these don't take long to make.

Despite working hard on writing up the pattern of said secret knitting I've found myself casting on for a new Shetlandtrader design in the Malabrigo Sock yarn I recently acquired......as you can see lots of gartery goodness so far......it will be a shawl made using one of the traditional Shetland construction methods.

Here's a sneaky wee peek of the secret knitting....hard to work in wool when we're having such ridiculous temps already....the kids and I spent the entire weekend in the pool!
And my last bit of randomness.....camera question.....I'm think of upgrading to the above...anyone have anything to share on it's pros and cons?

North to East

(Mosaic of greeny and stoney things-all my own pics)!

The arrival of May heralded the end of the first quarter of Project Spectrum. My ambitious plans of knitting the Astrid Shawl were thwarted early on when I realized that the web-like motifs were too demanding for my addled designing brain. I needed something simpler and soothing that I could come to in calmer moments.
Therefore I decided to knit Laura Chau's Simple Yet Effective Shawl.
Just the ticket and even though it's on the small side it's going to be a cozy neck warmer for the cooler months back East.......

...and speaking of East, that is the new spectrum for the next couple of months.....feels very apt considering we'll be spending about 5 days driving in that direction in June! Other elements to think of will be yellow, air, wood and Spring (think spring has already passed me by here in California)!

I'll be fondling this lovely buttery malabrigo sock yarn and trying to decide what I want it to be (it has a mate too).....before that though I have some serious secret knitting to get on with!!

One For The Boy!

It has been far too long since this boy had a handknit garment from his mum....sure he's had his share of hats and knitted animals but other than that he's only got a scratchy poncho to show for it (which he graciously loves and won't let me recycle even if he can't wear it)!

So I gathered together some of his favourite colours in Cascade 220 and went the stripey route!

The pattern is the Staccato Hoodie from the lovely and talented Kirsten Kapur of throughtheloops. I sort of went with the smallest size and also had a different gauge. I could have made it a little longer and wider in the body but I ended up with using all my yarn with very little left over.
This was also my first hooded and zipped garment!! The sewing in of the zipper had me a little scared (and it didn't help that I started off with a closed zipper-duh) but I'm happy enough with how that part turned out.

Sage is super pleased with it and even though it's mostly too hot to wear in Fresno he'll get to air it at the coast this weekend! Fingers crossed he doesn't get too big for it before the winter season in Massachusetts!

Drumroll...........

(imagine the drum roll continuing as you read on)
.... before I announce the winners, I just have to say that I've spent the past week being totally gobsmacked that so many of you left comments. It was so nice to see some of you poke your heads out of the woodwork, albeit with a little enticement! I hope you'll feel more inclined to leave comments in the future as that's the part of blogging I enjoy the most, the feedback! When I can, I respond to each comment I receive (not in the case of the last post obviously)!

I promise that the picking of the winners was done in a fair manner! Maya and Sage were my unbiased name drawers and they had a LOT of fun being VERY dramatic about the whole thing!

I wish I had prizes for you all.....but without further ado.....here are the winners:

Hap Shawl Book, Yarn and Bag-Melissa!

Moch Cardi Pattern- Katya, C and Yulian

Acacia-Autumnafternoon
Pride of Carthage-Anonymous Mary
Walk Through Darkness-Lynne S of OZ
Gabriel's Story- Gaea

Please email me your physical addresses (or emails in the case of the Moch Cardi Pattern) so I can send out your prizes.

Congratulations and thanks for taking part everyone!

Happy Blog Day To Me!

My very first post on this blog is dated April 18th 2007 so technically this is my 2nd anniversary with The Shetland Trader! I was quite wet behind the ears when I began my relationship with the blogging world. I had also just had my first design accepted by knitty.com. Looking back I feel like I've accomplished quite a lot since then! I've also connected with some fantastic people many of whom have shared their wisdom and knowledge with me as I struck out on the designing path. I'm so glad to have "met" you all. Keeping this blog helped me through a time when I've been far from some of my nearest and dearest friends and family. So to show my thanks to all who stop by and for the pure fun of it I'm doing an anniversary give away thingy!

First prize - some Shetland goodies:
A copy of the book Shetland Hap Shawls Then and Now by Sharon Miller and enough Jamieson's Yarn (direct from the mill) for you to complete your very own Hap Shawl. I have picked the same colours that I used in the shawl I made for little Daisy last summer (photos of that one below) and a cute tote bag made by phatsheeptextiles in Shetland featuring cute and colourful croft houses.


Next up - Books for all tastes!
For those that don't know, my husband is a novelist with 4 books under his belt so far and another, The Other Lands (Acacia, Book 2), coming in September. He has kindly donated a copy of each (in English) for this giveaway. Each of the books will be given away individually. More info on the titles (with links) below the photo:

About Gabriel's Story (a New York Times Notable Book) Publishers Weekly wrote: "The old West, both beautiful and brutal, is the setting of Durham's magnificently realized debut novel, a classic coming-of-age story of an African-American boy."

Walk Through Darkness (also a New York Times Notable Book), combines aspects of his family's African-American history with my Scottish ancestry. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "David Anthony Durham's evocative and finely wrought second novel, Walk Through Darkness resonates with the great American historical irony: Founded in reaction to tyranny, America's habit was slavery and the acceptance of institutionalized racism its denial."

Pride of Carthage tells the story of Hannibal's war with ancient Rome. It's been published in the UK and in eight foreign languages. The Christian Science Monitor called it, "a brilliant exploration of the tension between private destiny and historical force, as full of the sweep of geopolitics as the quiet intimacies of a marriage. He so clearly creates the hopes and fears of these people removed from us by time and culture that we can recognize our tragic, common heritage."

Acacia: The War with the Mein is an epic fantasy set in an alternative world, featuring a multi-racial cast, it's been published in the UK and eight foreign languages, and it got David nominated for the John W Campbell Award. The Washington Post wrote: "From the first pages of Acacia, Durham, a respected historical novelist, demonstrates that he is a master of the fantasy epic. "

Last-but not least, a Shetlandtrader original pattern:
I thought it appropriate to include some of my creativity in this celebration so I will be giving away 3 free copies of my latest self-published pattern Moch Cardi. Please note that this is just the pattern...not a finished cardigan!
To enter please leave a comment on this post with a way for me to easily contact you (no addresses, I'll get them when I pick the winners). This is open to anyone, anywhere. If you want to state a preference for a prize please do so.........No promises but I will try to accommodate where possible. You have until next Friday, the 24th of April to enter!