Winter needs to be over soon! We have lucked out and have not had much snow this season, but I'm so tired of being cold all the time! Overnight we had lots of ice, causing schools to be delayed today, again, for the second time this week. The forecast is calling for another night and day of snow tomorrow, and if it snows as much as they are saying, I have a feeling it will be a snow day for the school kids again. However, spring is around the corner!
Winter has kept me busy with lots of knitting and reading time. I found an amazing pattern on Ravelry that was only available in book form, so I decided to purchase the book. I haven't purchased a knitting book in years! Curls is the book, by Hunter Hammersen. It was so nice to read through the 14 different patterns. She introduces a technique of knitting a shawl/wrap in a different way, and the end result is a shawl that curls around itself. The patterns are amazing! The one that drove me to purchase the book was the cover pattern, Filemot. I have not cast on for that pattern though, because it seemed a bit complicated for learning a new technique (knitting from charts only.) I have the yarn ready for it though, and will be casting on soon!
The first pattern I knit is called Casesious. It is probably the easiest pattern in the book, but I decided that since I do not normally knit from charts, it was a good way to learn an new technique. I chose a yarn I purchased while on vacation last summer at Carodan Farms yarn shop in Chincoteague, Virginia. If you are in that area, definitely check out the yarn shop. They have their own line of yarns inspired by the colors of the island. I'm a bit obsessed with their yarns...the colors are just amazing! So the yarn I used is called Sunset at Tom's Cove and is from the Chincoteague Colors Starry Skies Collection. It is a blend of merino, silk, nylon and metallic fibers. The metallic fiber is a tiny streak of silver twisted into the yarn that is subtle (and hard to photograph!) Because the pattern I used was fairly simple, I thought using the blinged-up yarn added some dazzle to the shawl/scarf. I love how it turned out and can't wait to knit the next pattern from the book.
I found it very easy to adapt to using a chart for knitting instead of the written out pattern. In the e-version of the pattern book, the author includes links to the patterns written as Stitch Maps, a different way of looking at the pattern. I don't quite get using a stitch map for knitting, but I like being able to look at how the knitting will progress in that format. It's like looking at a street map. Within that link is also a link to the written out pattern, so if I get stuck on figuring out a chart, I can check with the written pattern too! If you enjoy knitting shawls, Curls is the book for you!
