Scarborough Fair Crochet Shawl Pattern

Finally ready and available in My Original Designs, on my Ravelry page and on Etsy.






Materials needed for a rectangular shawl that measures cm45 x cm170 -

approximately 150gr (1100 - 1200 yds) 2ply laceweight yarn,
1.6mm ( US 6 ) crochet hook.

Pattern includes written instructions and chart.

Scarborough Fair Shawl sneak peak

And here it is finally blocked!

Just over 120gr. of my favourite Lana Gatto laceweight wool in a lovely shade of sage green and less than one week of work at night time in front of tv.
The pattern is being tested by some lovely ladies from the Ravelry Testing Pool and will be available early next week.

On the knitting front, my favourite pastime has been designing and knitting scarves and neckwarmers, some of which can be found on ETSY such as Capuccino Scarf with pompoms-


Persimmon Neckwarmer-


A very versatile Mohair Scarflette - Neckwarmer - Shoulderette - that can be worn in different ways-

just to mention a few, and lastly another knit shawl in soft and warm lilac mohair.

Two new shawls on Etsy

Deep Raspberry crocheted triangular shawl


100% pure new italian fingering weight wool in deep raspberry. What a lovely shade! And the crocheted floral pin with bead gives it that extra touch... :)
(From my original pattern available on Etsy or here )

And.. Venezia Lace knitted wedding shawl




in 2ply cream- white wool blend and 5.5mm needles. It blocked out rather large- 200cm x 95cm. It's amazing how "stretchy" this stitch is. (My original pattern for the Venezia Shawl is available on Etsy or here)
I have always wanted to knit a wedding shawl. Probably because wedding shawls are not in the italian tradition, which is a pity.
Both listed in my Etsy shop - check them out!

Finally the warm season seems to have come to an end and the rain these days is such a welcome change, finally. Which means inspiration for new winter designs and items. My hobbies room is such a mess at the moment, with yarn balls all over the place not to mention needles and hooks. No, no pictures!!!

Sweet Tango Lace Shawl

Finally ready. The testing took longer than I expected but here it is, pattern ready and available. Why did I change its name? Simply because the original wasn't so original after all and someone had already used it.
I love the lacy transparencies of this shawl!



Two of my testers have already sent me pictures: Wendy's Sweet Tango Shawl, beautiful in white...so light and lacy, makes me think of a wedding shawl!

And Debi's in lovely pink!


Pattern can be found on Etsy and on Ravelry. It includes written instructions and full charts.

Crochet Sarubobo dolls

I'm sure that most of you know what Sarubobo means, but in case you don't know here's the definition from wikipedia:

" A sarubobo is a Japanese amulet, particularly associated with the town of Takayiama. Sarubobos are red human shaped dolls, with no facial features, made in a variety of sizes. Traditionally, sarubobos are made by grandmothers for their grandchildren as dolls, and for their daughters as a charm for good marriage, good children and to ensure a well-rounded couple."
And...
"Sarubobo literally translated from the Japanese as "a baby monkey".
There are several reasons why the amulet has this name. The sarubobo is associated with three wishes- protection from bad things, a happy home, a good match, having an easy delivery on birth."

Well, I don't really believe in lucky charms, but I fell in love with Sarubobo dolls because they are so cute, and I have decided to create a crochet pattern.
They are small enough to be considered amigurumi, size varies from 4.5cm to 6.5cm.
The pattern includes a step-by-step tutorial for making a sarubobo keychain,


a sarubobo pincushion,


a sarubobo fridgie,



a flying sarubobo with ballons,


sarubobo mama and baby


I used left over yarn from shawls and I think it is a nice pattern for recycling wool and thread!
Pattern is available on my Ravelry
and on ETSY

Update on Tango Shawl

This has never happened to me before, two posts in the same day... but I have just finished pinning my Tango shawl and I really needed to tell somebody :).
I will begin working on the pattern tomorrow. Ok, here's a sneak peek.

Lei wedding ring afghan pattern

Project details:

size: 17"x 51"- cm90 x cm130
yarn: approx. 450gr fingering weight wool
2mm crochet hook

Pattern is available on my Etsy store or as pdf download on Ravelry (I'm missrita).

Pavone Shawlette pattern ready!

This shawl is worked from the neck down in five panels, ending with a simple crochet edging.
Experience level: advanced beginner.
Size: Approx. 130cm wide at widest point, 65cm long at longest point (after blocking).
Materials needed:
Approx. 300gr DK weight yarn
4mm (US 6) circular knitting needle
3.5mm (US 5) crochet hook
Markers.

Gauge: 22sts and 30 rows = 10cm (4ins)

Pattern and details on My Original Designs

This is for Katrin, Sara, and Carla, my volunteer test knitters: thank you ladies for your precious help!! :)

Carla's Pavone

Pavone Shawlette test update

My tester Sara is using Rowan RYC Silk Wool DK in purple! Isn't it fantastic? She's doing a great job. :)

Cupid Shawl: FO and new pattern.

And so I'm finally out of hibernation and what better way to come back than a new design? I finished this shawl in just over a week. (For the record, watching the Alien saga on dvd as well as Back to the future 1, 2,and 3!) It was fun to make but what I like about this project is that pattern is easily memorized and once you get the hang of it there's no need to keep referring to the instructions. Pattern is already available and you can find it as well as more details in My Original Designs or on Ravelry
So what is the next project? Well, first of all I will need for my hands to heal, then I'm going to start working on a knitting pattern that has been on my mind for quite a while. But...all in good time!

Et voila', Venezia lace shawl is a FO!

Details and pattern here

Knitting the last 5 rows of the shawl was a real nightmare, but I'll tell you all about it in my next post because today we are having connection problems :(
See you all (hopefully) tomorrow!

About Edelweiss shawl pattern..

Several ladies have contacted me asking how "hard" the Edelweiss shawl is to make.
I wouldn't recomend it to beginners, but there are no real difficulties in it.
The stitches used are basic ones: chain, single crochet, double treble crochet. I would say that if you can make a doily following a written pattern then you can crochet this shawl fairly easily.
The mesh (arches) triangle can be finished in no time and the lace border is repetitive. You only have to read the pattern one time at the beginning of each row, it is very easily memorized. And, of course, I am always here for help and info if needed. Just contact me (contact details here) and I will answer asap. That obviously goes for all my patterns.
Now for my wips:
finally finished the fronts of the striped cotton top


I still haven't made up my mind about the type of border for finishing it off.

Then there's another shawl, this time it's knitted. A couple of years ago I made the Venezia shawl:




my very first creation, designed and knitted proudly by me. What I didn't consider at the time was how much lace can "grow" when blocked, and it turned out way too large for a petite lady like me: over 2 meters wide. So it set in the wardrobe for almost two years before I made the hard decision of ripping it. Now that lovely wool has joined the stash in 4 neat balls and here is the new Venezia, smaller this time and in blue fingering weight 100% BBB wool:


one more row then I'll be casting off. I am keeping my fingers crossed. It's so hot and humid I might not have the energy to pick it up for days...Oh, and I even wrote the pattern while knitting it, which is unusual for me! ;)

Axel agrees. Don't you find him adorable?

Edelweiss, a mountain flower.

Remember the famous movie of the '60 "The sound of music"?
Remember Julie Andrews singing and dancing on the Austrian alps, the breathtaking view of those high mountains.....what memories!
I simply adore those places.
These are the lyrics of the song:
"Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me.

Small and white,
Clean and bright,
You look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow
May you bloom and grow,
Bloom and grow forever.
Edelweiss, edelweiss, bless my homeland forever

Small and white,

Clean and bright,
You look happy to meet me.
Blossom of snow
May you bloom and grow,
Bloom and grow forever.
Edelweiss, edelweiss, bless my homeland forever"

Touching!

"Edelweiss" is the name of a flower that grows on the Alps. It is protected because it's becoming more and more rare. In the german language "edel" means "noble" and "weiss" means "white". Its stunning beauty has inspired me in designing a shawl.




Modesty apart, I find it is my best creation so far.

As for knitting progress on my top, having reconsidered the length I had to rip about 35 rows (ouch!!) because I started the decreases for the waist after 15cm, way too high. Thanks to my little sis' advice (she's a lot smarter than me!!) it's looking much better. Details on progress on my next post.

A couple more glimpses of our garden for those of you who appreciate nature.

Crochet tour-de-force

Finished!



And blocking nicely on the dining room table.
A real tour the force. A few more corrections to the pattern and that will be ready too. Details on Ravelry soon. (btw, my username is missrita).

The other night I started this cotton top. Leftover thread, the blue is new and the rest recycled but in excellent condition. I don't usually go much for stripes but this combination isn't too bad and it couldn't be helped since I only have a 50gr ball of blue.


After months without knitting, can you believe I had to do the provisional cast on twice because I couldn't remember how?
Goodness! I'm keeping it simple, just 1/1 ribs and it's probably going to be open at the front although I still have to decide about sleeves...or straps.

Today I would like to leave you with some photos of our garden which is beginning to come to life again. Thank you mother nature for your generosity!

Have a great weekend everyone!