What a Difference a Little Weight Makes

Anyone for a Forged Joy motif?

Happy Friday everyone - boy, the weeks certainly do fly by.


As regular readers of this blog may remember, I'm captaining a wee Ravellenics Game team in my group on Ravelry. Since the games don't officially start for a week, I've combined those events with my current Romantique join-a-long (JAL). As part of the JAL, I've been working on two versions of the Forged Joy Shawl, and I thought it would be instructive to see how the motifs look using differing yarn weights:

On the left is my laceweight version, using Centolavaggi and a 3.00 mm hook; on the right is the fanastatic Neighborhood Fiber Co.'s Capital Luxury Lace in the Belair colorway. It's the same base that I used for my sample, so I'm also using the same size G/4.00 mm hook. Both of these have been lightly blocked (don't mind my less than perfect staging on the left!), and there's about a 2" (5 cm) square difference in size. While the one on the right is delicate, the Capital Luxury Lace works up more like sock yarn/light fingering weight; the Centolavaggi is a true laceweight and extremely delicate. Both will eventually get a final blocking once all of the motifs are done, put together and the edging is completed, but it's intriguing to see the difference yarn weight and hook size can make on a project at this stage.

The smaller one on the left is one of my model thank-yous, so even losing approximately 8" of wingspan on each side, I know the final shawl will still be plenty big. Hopefully I'll be able to take photos of each once they are complete so that you will be able to see that both sizes are quite sufficient for a shawl. I suspect that this pattern would also work well with a heavy fingering/light sportweight yarn, but I wouldn't go much heavier than that.

I do hope you'll head on over to Andrea's blog - Wisdom Begins in Wonder - and see what other fibers people are working with this week.

Only one week before the start of the Sochi games -
will I get this done before then?

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.