Thursday, August 18, 2011

The Rustic Autumn Shawl

I know most people around the United States are thinking about Autumn, cooler nights, lovely fall colors and and of course football.  Here in Florida it is 93 degrees every day and it never cools off in the evenings.  So to get myself prepared for Autumn, and the potential for less excruciating heat sometime in the future, I have decided to make the Rustic Autumn Shawl from Knit Purl Gurl.  You can find the link to this very fun, very fast shawl on her side bar.  It will lead you to her ravelry site and you can download her pattern for free.
 I am a pathetic picture taker, I know, but I don't have the time or energy to fix them so here they are.  The shawl is not shown in all its glory in the picture above but just take a peek below.
 I love it,  I needed a pretty simple project after the circle vest disaster.  I need to only think a little bit on a project, so this is perfect.  Karrie from Knit Purl Gurl is an amazing mother,who devotes so much of her time to introducing us to may new books, knitting related items, yarn and just great information that is really fun to read about.  I have just started the diagonal rib portion of the shawl so I am excited to see how that looks.  Karrie is having a knit along with this shawl pattern if you so choose to join.  I am knitting along, but have not joined as I am up to my eyeballs with issues with my Mom and Dad.  I just wanted to knit this at a pace that was perfect for me.  The only change I made in the pattern was in the very beginning.  I cast on three stitches, knit two rows and then on the third row I knit one, yarn over, knit one, yarn over and knit one.  That gave me five stitches and I followed the pattern after that. 

The pattern calls for Noro Silk Garden Sock Yarn.  I am a Noro lover through and through, but I am using Universal Yarns Classic shades.  It has a long color repeat like Noro but is a lot more cost effective.  I have used this yarn a lot lately and I think it knits up great.  I am making my shawl on a size 10 1/2 needle so I just have 229 stitches before I started the diagonal rib chart as opposed to 239.  A shawl is fun this way, you can adapt as you go along.
 Things are pretty rough with my parents.  They are competent enough to make decisions, just not the right ones.  When I am stressed, as I am right now I usually buy yarn.  But when things go really bad I go right for knitting or crochet books.  So this past week I bought three new ones.  Knit Noro is fabulous.  And if you have a JoAnn Fabrics and crafts by you, use a 50% off coupon and get it for half price like I did.
 This is what hooked me, well this (above) and of course this (below).
 Knit Your Own Royal Wedding just made me laugh.  I have seen so many blogs mention this that when I saw it I just had to have my own copy.  Do I think I will ever knit my own Royal Wedding?  Absolutely not, but I will smile every time I look at this book.
 I do however intend on knitting Spud the sheep in the Spud and Chloe series.  She is adorable and Spud looks like a ton of fun to make.
 One thing I love about Florida is the sky.  The clouds are amazing.  I took this picture this afternoon as the afternoon storms were coming in off the Gulf.  My life feels a bit stormy right now so I think this is a very appropriate picture.  Hope you are having a calm and peaceful day.

18 comments:

Knit Purl Gurl said...

Hey - Thanks for mentioning the pattern and the KAL!!! Yours looks amazing!!! So sorry to hear about your parents. I hope things get a little better for you. :) {{HUGS}}

Annaboo's House said...

I love the colours in that shawl- sooo gorgeous.
I recently picked up a load of Noro in a charity shop for just 50p a ball!!! I haven't made much with it yet, but just love looking at it. (sad, but true).
Also, my mum has the Royal Wedding knit book and is making the characters- they are brilliant!
Xx

Grateful4Crochet said...

That shawl looks beautiful and is going to be stunning!!!
Love your new books, and hope your Mum continues to recover, and good luck with the decisions
xx

Petunia Pill said...

Oh, Meredith...((( ))) hugs. Your reference to making decisions but not the right ones...sometimes I think they are their own worst enemies! My Mom pulled some real "lu-lus" in that state of mind (like losing all the family heirloom jewelry in a nursing home...never to be seen again). I do NOT miss those days!!! I don't remember what I did for stress relief...probably ate. If I'd been a crochet addict back then, I would have bought yarn. The shawl is beautiful. I love Autumn. Being a native Californian, the seasons were negligible, but here in Virginia we get the full four. I don't think I could do warmth all the time. OK, I'm loving...no, L-O-V-I-N-G that sheep! I want him! More ((( )))!!! Annette

wildflowerwool said...

I am going to check out the KAL and the pattern. Thanks for sharing!

Leah said...

Oh hon - I'm so glad you have an outlet for your stress! The books look fabulous. I'm sorry you have the stress in the first place - it must be really hard for you at the moment. Take care. Oh meant to say - I love your shawl - fabulous colours! Have a lovely weekend.

Rose Red said...

Simple knits are sometimes just the thing for stress relief and taking your mind off worries - you can almost meditate while doing it.

I love the Knit Noro book, I almost bought it myself recently!

Rizzi said...

OH HOW LOVELY, YOU KNIT SO BEAUTIFULLY.
I JUST LOVE YOUR SHAWL, THE COLORS ARE GREAT.
IT'S HOT IN NEW JERSEY, HUMID TOO, JUST LIKE FLORIDA. I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO THE FALL TOO. WELL, RIGHT NOW IT IS THUNDERING AND LIGHTENING, AND THE LIGHTS ARE FLICKERING. WE HAVE BEEN GETTING THIS ALL WEEK. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND. RIZZI

Teresa Kasner said...

Meredith.. I can so relate about the parents issue. You need a ((B((E((A((R(( Meredith ))H))U))G))

If you need diversion, come see my camping pix.

((hugs)), Teresa :-)

Jane said...

Hi Meredith, your shawl looks gorgeous, I love the colours. Hope you can knit your way to peacefulness
Jane x

Susanne said...

Knitting/crocheting should be relaxing....I think you have found the right project for now, your shawl. You must be one zippy knitter. I am a slow-poke. Again you have brightened my day by stopping by for a visit and leaving such kind words behind. We all have our burdens and I hope things work out with your parents. I keep telling myself everything will work out just fine, believing it sometimes isn't all that easy. Trying to keep the faith on a daily basis is hard. Guess that is what makes us human :)

Marjo said...

Thank you for always giving such a lovely comments ....

Marjo

Marjo's Cosy Corner

honeycat said...

I love the shawl and the colours are so gorgeous.

God bless you.

Melanie x

Teresa said...

Knitting does help, my friend. Although it does not help things get better in fact it helps us calm down and maybe see things differently.
Your shawl looks beautiful! It has begun to cool down a bit here (very odd summer, temperatures were below 80 most of the time... it feels like a long late spring or early fall!) so I may begin my "cowling" soon and I will probably ask you for some patterns! :)
xxx

Sara said...

Awww... I love Spud and Chloe! Isabel will be joining a knitting group at school this fall. She would love these too! Wishing you a happy weekend!

Susan H. said...

Very lovely. Oh I wish it felt like autumn around here so we could feel a little bit of a break. Before we know it, we will.
xo Susan

tina said...

Ack. The disappearing comment on the fly, I'll try again!! In the midst of your stress and strain (for which I'm so sorry dear!!!)- can I ask you to measure one of your cowls in progress? Side to side measurement? I'm crocheting a cowl using your rx, but worsted weight single strand, double not triple. At "headband width" I'm worried it will not make a cowl but a tube!!! Kind of frustrating. I can always either bind this off to BE a winter headband, or frog it and begin again. Thanks!!!

tina said...

Meredith--- my email back to you is bouncing--------------