The End of the JAL ...

A beautiful purple play

... and the finished pieces are great. I cannot tell you how pleased I am with these wonderful interpretations of two of my designs from Fleurs et L'eau.


Initially, here's the first completed non-test Le Bateau project (although there are others in process, including another one from yours truly):

Isn't the color just gorgeous?

 

Of course, I'm a sucker for purple, so I love, love, love how this project turned out. The body of the shawl is Rowan Fine Lace and the edging is worked in KnitPick's Shimmer Hand-dyed Lace. As you can see from the initial photo above, the edging variegation speaks well with the purple in the body of the shawl. (And I do note that all photos are used with the respective owners' kind permission.)

 

Additionally, there were several Climbing Vines Cowls completed:

Take 1: In Wollmeise 100% merino superwash in a great tonal rose colorway named "Babe;" and

Take 2: Again, in Wollmeise 100% merino superwash, this time in the "Pfefferminz Prinz" colorway. Gotta love those colorway names.

 

And last, but by no means least, one participant worked the pattern as a stole using two different colors of KnitPick's Aloft, and then gifted it on the occasion of her mom's 93rd birthday:

 

 Didn't that turn out spectacularly?

A hearty thank you to each of my JAL participants. The thread will be there for anyone who might want to look at process photos or see if any questions were asked that might be helpful (and really, only Le Bateau questions were asked; no one seemed to need any explanation for Climbing Vines). Additionally, I'll be working on some of my works-in-progress, as well as a few fall versions of the Fleurs et L'eau cardigans here, so if anyone is interested, do feel free to join in. I seemed to have stalled after I completed the body of my own One if By Hook cardi (and, although Vivian at Bits and Pieces indicated she looked for the much-sought-after cone of yarn, without success, prior to her vacation with Henry, I have no idea if that means she no longer has it, or whether she needs to look again, and/or whether I need to go searching for more yarn), but I've also had other, more pressing projects, on my plate.

 

Don't forget to check in at Wisdom Begins in Wonder to see how everyone is faring post-Tour de Fleece.

A Cowl's Tale ... In Three Parts

There once was a little cowl design (the Climbing Vines Cowl) that was in search of the perfect fiber weight to be made with.







First, the little Climbing Vine Cowl went to see the fingering weight:

 

Oh, what lovely stitch definition you have! said the cowl to the Cascade Ultra Pima cotton. The cowl loved how it draped once made, and thought the color most excellent for summer. However, there were more fiber weights to visit.

Next, the little Climbing Vine Cowl went to see the aran weight:

Oh, what wonderful squoishiness you have! said the cowl to the Reynolds Mandalay 100% pure silk (even as it knew this silk had been discontinued). The cowl also loved this color, and was convinced it will make the giftee to whom its going very happy indeed. Yet, there was still one more fiber weight to visit.

The little Climbing Vine Cowl then went to see the bulky mohair (in two colors):

Oh, what amazing airiness you have! You are super warm, yet weigh less than a feather, said the cowl to the various mohair it met. Climbing Vines was also thrilled with how both colorways looked next to each other - almost a match made in heaven.

Is there a perfect fiber weight for me, thought little Climbing Vine? Hmmmm .... maybe all three!

(Of course, we won't tell our star cowl that there's yet one more fiber weight - laceweight - still to meet. Oh, so many date choices.)

I wonder what other fibery tales the fiberistas are telling over at Wisdom Begins in Wonder. Maybe Climbing Vines will find some handspun to cozy up to.

The Anchor Design This Fee-Fi(ber)-F.O. Friday

Hello, everyone - I'm here to, among other things this jam-packed Friday, introduce you to my final design from Fleurs et L'eau - my Climbing Vines Cowl.

This anchor design of the collection is an easy-to-make, stunning (and versatile!) accessory for summer. Worked up in a cream-colored cotton blend, this was the model favorite of the shoot. I was pleased that it worked so well with both a summer dress as well as jeans.

 Both of my testers also produced lovely finished cowls using sock (fingering weight) yarn with a minimum of effort (and their photos are used  below with kind permission).

See - great with jeans!

 
 
What could be better for a summer project?

As it currently stands, Le Bateau shawl is just edging Climbing Vines in the voting for the next JAL, which voting will remain open until the end of Sunday. Definitely head on over to my Ravelry group and join us in our next hooking adventure.
 
I'm thrilled that Fleurs et L'eau will now go on une petite bloggy tour. During the rest of June, you'll have a chance to win a copy of the e-book if you visit the following blogs:

 

Week of 6/10: Underground Crafter
Week of 6/17: Our very own Wisdom Begins in Wonder
Week of 6/21: Bits and Pieces

My sincere thanks to my fellow bloggers for hosting these e-book giveaways; I expect each will have a unique perspective on the collection, so I hope everyone will check out all three blogs.

Fashionable shades optional.

Finally, Yarnbox (a new monthly yarn subscription service) was kind enough to post an interview with me! I was their May crochet designer (and provided a special deal on Voie de Vie patterns exclusively for their crochet subscribers), so they conducted a related interview. It's a little weird to be on the other side of the interview mic. :)

Now do make certain you get over to Wisdom Begins in Wonder and check out what Andrea has to say - there's always something fibery going on at the farm.