This beautiful handknit shawl is Pat’s latest creation.  She made this regal version of the ‘Chevron Shenanigans‘ shawl, designed by Stephen West, using a mixture of yarns: Lichen and Lace 80/20 sock, Artfil Belle, and Manos del Uruguay Alegria.  She used three skeins in total, one of each, plus a little scrap yarn, in black, for a contrasting bind-off.

It’s a fun pattern.  Asymmetrical enough to be visually interesting and fun to knit, but also easy to work and easy to wear.

We love the way Pat has used different yarns to best advantage here.  The tonal variations of the different purples complement each other beautifully, and the result is rich and interesting.

Great job, Pat!

Wow, this Shetland blanket is gorgeous!  Destined to be an heirloom, for sure.  Silvia knit this with 11 different colours of Queensland Collection Walkabout, using the ‘Rams and Yowes‘ pattern by Kate Davies.

Walkabout is a great yarn choice for this project.  It’s made from organic Shetland wool, really appropriate for a Shetland-themed pattern, and it has that lovely, ‘sticky’ hand that is ideal for stranded colourwork.  It is also going to be terrific for warmth.  This is because lofty, woolen-spun yarns like this trap a lot of air, and make great insulators.

And, look how beautifully knitted it is!  You can see in the closeup shot that Silvia did a great job at keeping her floats relaxed, so that there are no tension problems at all.

Terrific project, Silvia!  Thanks for sharing.

Here’s another great knitting project from Nina.  The pattern for this comfy cardigan is ‘Reluctant Homeschooler‘ from Caitlin Hunter.  Nina knit her version in Estelle Chunky, a low-cost, easy-knitting, easy-care, wool/acrylic blend.

The comfy, easy-wear style of this cardigan makes it super practical for everyday use.  The pattern is also very easy to work, with minimal finishing.  You work the body all in one piece, knitting the sleeves in the round and joined them with the body to work raglan shaping all in one go.  Once you have finished the body, just pick up stitches to work the button band, attach a couple of pockets, sew on some buttons, and you’re done!

Mairi was inspired by Mary’s ‘Stole Dunes’ wrap posted to the gallery last year, and used the same base pattern to create her own hand-knit cowl .  This is why sharing projects is so much fun!  Seeing what others have created inspires our own project directions, in delightful new ways.

In this project, Mairi wondered how easy it would be to convert the pattern for circular knitting.  A little bit fiddly, as it involves working multiple rows together in a ‘barber pole’ spiral, but really not too hard.  And the result is this lovely cowl/wimple.  She used exactly one skein of Lichen and Lace 1-ply Superwash Merino Fingering, in the ‘Huckleberry’ colourway, together with a partial skein of plain black fingering yarn left over from a previous project.

The wavy ripples in this pattern make a great cowl, because they bunch up nicely for extra warmth around the neck, or easily stretch over the head for a cozy wimple.  Just the thing for a winter walk!

Stephen West‘s Seaswell shawl is a perfect canvas to play with fades and gradients. 

Pat worked her version using two skeins of Lichen and Lace sock yarn, and two skeins of Artfil Belle, all different.   We love the soft fade from ivory, through brown, to turquoise  and blue!

This is a lovely pattern; not too challenging, and great fun to work, but the finished shawl is suitable for everything from casual to dressy.

Great choice, Pat – thanks for sharing!

Dashia designed this colour block sweater herself, and plans to make the pattern available soon.

It’s an over-sized design, with a comfortable, stylish drape and a flattering neckline.

Dashia used three colours of Drops Sky, which is a super-soft alpaca/merino chainette yarn.  Like all of the Drops yarns, it’s high quality, and great value for money.  The whole sweater needs just 6 skeins in total – 1 skein of gold, 2 skeins of light gray, and 3 skeins of dark gray.

Lovely design, Dashia!  We’re sure you’ll get lots of use out of this lovely piece.

This free pattern from Espace Tricot is called ‘The Classic‘ for good reason.  It’s the quintessential classic raglan sweater that goes with everything, and you end up wearing again and again.

Nina modified her version by working fewer rows of neck ribbing for a simple crew neck, instead of the mock turtle neck in the original.

The lovely mottled wheat colour  comes from using one strand of Drops Brushed Alpaca, in colour 19 ‘curry’, held together with one strand of Manos del Uruguay Marina, in colour ‘filigree’.  The whole sweater used just 6 skeins (150g) of Brushed Alpaca and one skein (100g) of Marina.  So, it feels as light as air and as soft as a cloud.

Combining different yarns like this can make the simplest of projects come alive with depth of colour.  Ask Nina for her advice about yarn and colour combinations for any project you have in mind!

Mary made this version of Svetlana Gordon‘s dramatic ‘Stole Dunes‘ wrap pattern, using complementary shades of Log House Cottage Squishy Sock yarn.

You could use just about any yarn for this project, because gauge isn’t too important for a wrap.  Depending on yarn weight and needle size, it could end up bigger or smaller, but it will make a super wrap at most sizes.  You could also vary the number of pattern repeats for whatever size you want.  A longer, thinner version could make a lovely scarf.

However, Squishy Sock is a particularly good yarn choice.  It’s as soft and squishy as the name implies, and it comes in a superb range of complementary tonal shades and fades.  We definitely love Mary’s colour choices!

This is a great pattern, too.  Not super-hard to execute, but great fun.  And the way the stitches run both horizontally and vertically creates a dramatic effect that looks terrific and makes other knitters wonder how you did it.  Anyone who sees it will think that you are very, very clever to have made something this interesting!