tassels

Kristine, Betsy, and Joyce have all made very different versions of a shawl called Downtown line.  Gayle has now started it as well.  I hope to make it.  I had thought that I might make it with my beautiful Panda Pearl yarn.  The colors are wonderful for it.  But the yarn is too heavy to use the pattern as it is written and I worry that I will have trouble figuring the short rows if I try to change the gauge.  But I wanted to put a few ideas in place for when the time comes that I do make this shawl.
The first is Joyce's wonderful tassels.  They are such a pretty finishing touch.  Done in the fingering weight yarn and made long, they really finish the shawl and make it hang prettier.


  



The shawl Joyce is wearing is not Downtown line.  I was thinking it was Cosmo Girl, but I can't find that pattern anywhere.  So I'll put the name at a later date.  Joyce said she made it with fingering weight yarn and size 5 needles.  The day that Joyce wore it, I was thinking I might use some of my linen yarn to make this shawl.  But then I liked the colors of my Panda Pearl yarn so much for the shawl, that I might change my mind.

Weighing yarn

Another one of those times when our knitting group has inspired me!  Dar had talked about the fact that she uses her kitchen scale to check to see when she has used half the yarn...and for other things as well.  So I found myself buying a kitchen scale at Walmart last year just before the Christmas Party at the Wild Ramp.  I was making a small knitted bowl and wasn't sure that I would get it finished in time.  So I figured if I didn't get it finished, I would wrap the scale....and if I did get it finished I would keep the scale for myself.  It is quite sleek and works great.



I was getting to the end of the ball of yarn for the Fallen Cloud Shaw that I made out of Araucana Lujosa.  I could not find another ball of the yarn, but I wasn't sure that there wasn't one hiding somewhere.  I looked and looked....and then thought of the scale.  I looked on my slide show and found that I had bought four skeins.  Then I found the label and saw that each skein was 3.52 oz.  And thought of my scale.  When I weighed the pile, it was 14.5 oz.  Too much for just 3 skeins.  I have used all of the yarn that I have on hand.  Thank you, Dar!