Traveling Woman

Traveling Woman Hanging, originally uploaded by Kitschy Stitch.

Even though I've declared 2010 as the year of "Finish Or Frog It", there's still lots of casting on occuring. I am an addict afterall. Last month, after finishing Owen's hat, a baby blanket, and the stuffed dinosaur, I figured I was entitled to make something brand new for myself. I found this beautiful shawl pattern called Traveling Woman by Liz Abinante and had just received some gorgeous hand-dyed yarn in a swap. Clearly, I had no choice but to cast-on. It's my first shawl I ever made, and I loved every minute of it. The casting on, the watching it grow, the lace border, and especially the blocking.

I've decided that the Traveling Woman would be a great KAL for us all. Liz, the designer, has graciously given permission for me to host the KAL both here on the blog, and in the shop. If you come in to the shop on Thursday evenings for Knit Night, you may KAL with us there, or if you'd rather just follow along online, I'll be posting updates here so that you don't have to be physically nearby to participate. If you're on ravelry, you can find the pattern info here: http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/traveling-woman If you're not yet on ravelry, the pattern can also be found on Liz's blog, Feministy, here:http://feministy.com/traveling-woman/ That will get you to her story of the shawl, pics, etc. Below the photos you'll see a little link which says "Download the free pattern". Click away and enjoy!

The shawl starts at the top/neck edge and works its way out. My shawl is made according to the pattern directions so that I can easily wear it as a scarf/bandanna of sorts instead of a large over the shoulder shawl. If you'd like yours to be larger, consider adding an extra repeat or two of lace chart A. There are also other tips for resizing located on feministy.com I know that the photo I posted here doesn't give the greatest idea of size, but I liked how it showed the lace off. I'll soon post another to give a better idea of size.

I used Mirasol Nuna which turned out beautifully, the bamboo is drapey, but the other fibers keep it light and airy. For my second Traveling Woman, I'm going to use Alpaca Sox by Classic Elite so that it will keep me warm and cozy next winter. There are so many yarn options out there that would work nicely. The yarn recommends a fingering weight yarn, and I used a sport with great results. Because it's lace, you're using a needle which is larger than the usual recommended size for the yarn, so it's not as scary as it sounds when you hear "Fingering". :)

So, this week's KAL update is to coax you all into participating. Do you have some fingering or sport yarn in your stash that's dying to be made into something beautiful? Is there a hank you've been wanting to purchase, but you weren't quite sure what to make with it? Here's your chance! Keep in mind that because this pattern uses beautiful lace as an edging, that yarns which are not striping or varigated would show off the pattern nicely. If you use a yarn which isn't tonal or solid, the lace will get lost, and will play crazy games on your eyes. Other than that, anything goes - bamboo, cotton, wool, alpaca. Whatever fiber you like most to have wrapped about you.

I hope everyone is shoveled out, or perhaps still holed up with knitting in their laps!?

Happy Stitching,
Allison (and O)