Sometimes you fall so deeply in love, with your knitting of course. This spin a shawl series has taken me a while to complete, but I guess that’s just the way I knit. I have enjoyed every second of it. This piece is my most favorite knitted piece to date

Pattern: Revontuli -huivi/Northern Lights    This is a Ravelry link, I have not found the english version outside of rav but here is the pattern link in case you can babelfish it Revontuli  

Yarn: Handspun from rovings dyed by Funky Carolina and Myself  in a worsted weight-8 braids

Needles: Size US 10.5  6.5mm

I did my colour changes at random and just let the shawl progress. Overall I am obviously smitten!!

Now it is your turn! Spin your own shawl and be sure to let me know!!

Quite some time ago I was talking about how I make my handspun shawls, well I finished all of the spinning some time ago

The spinning was a lot of fun as usual.

So it is time to start working on the pattern. I have chosen this pattern (rav) link and have been enjoying watching it unfold.

As for the colour changes…I have been trying to let them happen on their own…I have trouble not planning out every second so letting it happen on it’s own is a bit of a stretch, but so far I am happy with it’s progress.

I have 3 more skeins to go and a few half skeins…I can’t wait to wear this shawl…it is just perfect for fall!

Preparing to spin!

Now that you have your fibers all picked out we can prepare to spin!

This is the point when you have to really decide what weight you would like your shawl to be. Often I will let the fiber “tell” me what it wants to be as I start to spin.

I started my “test spin” with a merino tencel braid as it is my favorite fiber to spin and gives me the most accurate results. Some time ago I came across this Knitty Spin Article which helped me a lot in preparing myself for the sweater spinning.

Keeping in mind that the fibers will bloom after the twist is set, I spun to a thick DK weight and expect a light worsted weight for my final shawl. ETA: Whoops sorry folks, it was supposed to say worsted all along!

For large project spinning like this I usually use my bulky flier so that I can make sure that all of my 4 oz braid fits on one bobbin to minimize ends and small skeins. However, this is not essential…just spin as you are comfortable!

At this point I will be spinning away for a while and trying to keep my “test spin” in mind while I change fibers. In between spinning sessions I will sit down and look at patterns, keeping in mind the texture and colours of the shawl. Something simple so that the handspun is the show piece of the shawl!

Picking your pallet!

As many of you know I was planning on doing a “how to” series on spinning a sweater…I will still be working on that, but was inspired to spin another shawl so here we go! Much of the premise is the same!

This is a little inside look on how I spin for my shawls. I’m sure everyone is different.

First things first…the fiber. Much of my shawl yarns come from my large sized fiber stash. The first shawl I spun for was a bulky weight purple themed feather and fan shawl.

This shawl has given me warmth on so many days and nights…in fact..it is starting to pill. With this in mind I have decided firstly that I want a superwash shawl which will help with the pilling. I also felt that I wanted a lighter airy shawl to go with the spring theme. As many of you know I seem to have a problem with pink/purple tones, I wanted to do something different and push myself outside of my usual colour pallet. I also knew that I wanted a larger shawl than the first so I added more rovings and came up with a total of 9. Nine rovings will give me a good number of colour changes for the shawl.

When you start to organize your ideas for spinning a project keep in mind one thing, it does not always go to plan…stay flexible!

Picking rovings for my second shawl was not as easy as the first because I didn’t not have all of these colours in superwash…so I did a little shopping and came up with this.

The Pallet from left to right:

Strudel-Funky Carolina Merino/tencel-soon to be in the shop, Funky Carolina- Unknown gift, Funky Carolina-Charleston Superwash Merino soon to be in the shop, Funky Carolina-Mulbery Bright SW merino soon to be in the shop, Funky Carolina-Faerie SW merino, Funky Carolina-Floretta Merino Tencel, Funky Carolina SW merino in zizzix and Sweet Sheep SW merino in wildflowers and nearly Neutral.

It is a good idea to pick one roving that really pops out from the rest. If you look at the first photo the turqoise really pops out above the rest of the colours. For this shawl I went with a bit more of a subtle approach as they were more earthy tones and picked the zizzix to be a bit different from the other colours. I am fully aware that this could backfire, I will be able to see this when all of the yarns are spun.

As you many have noticed I have not yet chosen a pattern for the shawl..there is a reason for this…as stated above not everything goes to plan…so I usually wait to see what weight I spin and the yardage before picking a pattern.

Summary:

Picking your pallet

1. Chose a fiber you want to spin and that you want to knit. Also keep price range in mind and quantity!

2. Think about how you want the colours to play together. Think about what season you will likely wear the shawl in.

3. Think about size and desired (approx) yardage.

4. Pick your colours from your stash or buy what you like…if you have a feeling one colour will not fit with the shaw, go with your gut!

5. Look at your wardrobe..what colours fit?

6. Pick on colour that pops a bit, but still fits in to your pallet

HAVE FUN picking your pallet…if anyone is interested in spinning along with me let me know!

Questions and comments are more than welcome!