A new shawl, handspun, and free patterns

I've cast on a new leaf lace shawl with some yarn I solar dyed earlier this month. It's a 440 yard skein of Knit Picks Gloss (wool/silk) dyed with Easter Egg colors. I will definitely order more of this yarn for dyeing experiments. The yardage is a little less than I'd like but the yarn is thicker than what I used for the original shawl. I'm hoping it will block into a large enough shawl for me. Though my SIL Dana has been dropping hints that it's her favorite sunrise colors. :-)

I finished spinning the royal blue/lime green wool last week. I plyed it the day my MIL died. I bought the fiber several months ago from someone who was destashing. That 5 ounces of superwash merino roving spun up into about 750 yards of fingering weight yarn. Yummy! The fiber is from the Dyepot. She has some wonderful colors! Sign up for her mailing list to find out when there is a sale.

My new spinning project is Rambouillet combed top from Etsy seller, Sarah Wood. The colorway is a lovely blend of shaded greens and rust. It was pretty felted from the dyeing process, not unusual for such a soft wool. Hubby took one end of it and I the other and attempted to pull it into two pieces. It wouldn't budge! I split it lengthwise into pieces, split it again, and then drafted it out so it's workable. I have a basket full of little balls all ready to grab as I finish spinning a length. It's spinning up very fine.

I have a few ideas for new knitting projects rolling around in my head. I need to write them down before I forget what they are. As I searched the web for some information today, I ran into a number of free patterns. So many temptations to knit!

1. A Little Felted Bag that I know I'll have to knit.
   
2. Stefanie Japel's Spencer Jacket (aka The Better Sweater) on the DIY Network site is from a Knitty Gritty episode. It was on yesterday. The cropped jacket is much nicer than the picture shows. The sleeves have a little lace detail toward the cuff and they flare out a bit. Nice! It's knit in bulky weight and is a fast knit.
   
3. Mohair Lace Stole in the latest Ram Wools newsletter. The picture doesn't do it justice. I have some mohair laceweight in my stash just waiting for a project like this.
4. A Square Baby Blanket knit from the center out in Old Shale (wavy) pattern. This would also make a nice square shawl.
5. Or how about making your own Stitch Holders from old coat hangers? LOL!
   

Friends and a shawl

It's finally over. A marathon five days of dealing with endless details, overflowing emotions, and saying goodbye. I am shattered, heartsore, and tired in both body and spirit. Now it's time to rest, recoup, and try to find our way back to some form of normalcy. Whatever that may be.

I never truly understood how important friends could be in such situations until the past few days. Friends have held me up when I thought I could no longer stand. They made me smile when all I wanted to do was weep. They helped make an unbearable time bearable. Thank you to each and every one of you.

I also appreciate every email or comment left on my blog about my MIL's passing. Others too have been in my shoes. They know how much a kind word or an email hug can mean. Thank you for your kindness.

The green Cascading Leaves shawl I knit is mine no more. Unbeknownst to me as I knit it one careful stitch at a time, it had a destiny to fulfill. It's woolly softness now unseen, wraps my MIL in an eternal hug. I do not miss the shawl; I do miss the woman it covers.

Goodbye, Mary Alice. Rest in peace.

Sadness

My MIL has finally lost her battle with cancer. She passed away peacefully about 10:30 this morning. Per her wishes, she died in her own home with her husband by her side. It's been a rough go for everyone. We're all glad she's not in pain anymore. Now we have to figure out how to put the pieces back together and go on without her. :-(

I may not be online much in the next few days. If anyone orders a pattern, please know I will get back to you as soon as I am able. Peace...

Michigan Fiber Fest

Michigan Fiber Fest was a blast on Saturday! A vanload of 8 from my fiber arts group rode up together. It's a 1-1/2 hour drive from northern Indiana where we live. The weather was perfect--cool and a little sunny--a great relief after the 90+ degree days we've had for most of the summer.

Since it was cool, Elizabeth was wearing her Cascading Leaves shawl and I wore mine too. We both had lots of people stop us to admire our shawls and ask about the pattern. Between us, we gave out almost every card I had with my blog and email address. I always carry a supply of cards to give out to knitters I meet.

The vendor booths and buildings were packed with people. Usually, by mid-afternoon it eases off. This year it didn't. If you didn't buy something the first time you saw it, it was gone when you came back. The food booths were bombed and ran out of things. I didn't even get my yearly elephant ear! :-( It was starting to sprinkle a little rain when we left the fairgrounds about 4 pm. Sunday was a very rainy day and would not have been a good one to attend the fiber fest. I heard that some of the vendor tents on the lawn collapsed and all their merchandise was ruined. Not good.

Here's my loot from Allegan. Top left is some rainbow dyed merino top from Orchard Hill Fleece Farm. I'm kicking myself for only buying one 2.5 ounce package. I'll spin it fine as a single to preserve the colorway and ply it with something else.

Top right is a package of merino/tencel and lower left is soy silk top, both are from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farm. Directly under the rainbow top is 8 oz of Ashland Bay merino top in a gorgeous variegated rust colorway called Cassis. In the middle are 2 colorways of handpainted rayon from Babe's Fiber Garden. On the lower right is an $8 drop spindle that spins quite well, a high speed whorl for my Little Gem wheel, and a Bosworth featherweight (.5 oz) spindle. It took me a while to decide to spend the $$ for the Bosworth spindle. I'm glad I did. I'm spindling silk on it and it spins like a dream!

If you'd like to see a picture of me, my friends, and a couple of new friends, go to Joanne's blog. I'm the one on the far left in the turquoise shirt. It was great meeting Joanne. She's working on a book about fiber festivals. Can't wait to see it! I also got to meet Bonne Marie of Chic Knits.

I took my camera and totally forgot about taking any pictures until we were in the van on the way home. I am not a picture taker! I am so caught up in the moment and what's going on that I don't think about doing it. Pictures would have been nice for the blog but memories will have to suffice.

I picked up a flyer asking for volunteers to help continue Michigan Fiber Fest. Several people are stepping down from key positions, which could mean the end to this 10 year old festival. If anyone lives near the Allegan, Michigan area, please consider volunteering your time. As well as general volunteers, they need new ideas, a new office manager, bookkeeper, and someone to do advertising and publicity. I don't know if any of these jobs are paid or not.

They really could use a web page designer too. This year, their website didn't even offer directions, times, or much of anything else. I heard comments from festival goers that they were not even aware that it existed and that it was hard to find information about it. That's a shame as it's been going on for 10 years. This is my third visit to the event.

Their annual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16, 2007 at 7 pm at Sam's Joint in Yankee Springs, 2412 S. Briggs Road, Middleville, Michigan. You can contact their office at 269.945.2497.

Good things come in small packages

What's in this small box? It's the very first fleece I ever bought, fresh back from the processor. This creamy Shetland lamb fleece was bought from Sheltering Pines at the Greencastle Fiber Event in April. I dropped it off at the Wooly Knob booth that April 13th day for processing. Finally, here it is after 4 long months of waiting.

I opened the small box and released the fiber from confinement. It grew and grew and grew. Here's what it looked like out of the box and all fluffed up. It's an amazing mass of baby soft spinning fiber.

The 2 lb 9 oz raw fleece is now 1 lb 7 oz of clean, fluffy, and very soft roving. I pulled out a drop spindle and started spinning. Oh, does this spin into a fine single! I may decide to spindle it instead of wheel spinning it.

I split the fleece with my friend, Jessica. We each have almost 12 ounces of lusciousness to work with. As fine as this will spin up, we should get a lot of yardage. I can foresee some handspun lace shawls in our future. LOL!

272 Triangle Shawl Patterns - Updated 12/09

All the deadlinks have been fixed or deleted from the list. I may add more links when I get the time. 12/09

This is the master list of triangle shawl patterns. It contains 272 patterns sorted by yardage. They are coded by free or purchased. Click on a pattern name to find a free pattern or go to an online shop where you may purchase it. Shawl patterns from books or magazines have that information listed after the pattern name. Google Images to find pictures of these shawls.

The shawl patterns vary widely in style from easy garter and stockinette stitch, to those with simple lacy holes, or challenging ones with charted lace stitches. Some may be blunted triangles or even half circles. Close enough to a triangle...IMHO. LOL!

They are ranked by the amount of yarn needed to make the smallest size. Check the pattern to see what weight of yarn it recommends. You can vary the size by: 1) using more yarn to make it bigger or less to make it smaller, 2) use a different weight of yarn to change the size. Thicker yarns take less yardage and a lighter weight yarn require more yardage for the same size shawl. Suit the needle size to your yarn weight for best results.

Some of the foreign language patterns have English translations. Others don't, but do have charts. Knitting symbols are pretty universal. Google for translations of knitting terms or use Babelfish or other translation sites for help.

If anyone knows how much yardage is needed for the shawls marked with a ?, post a comment with the information. Ditto if you find any patterns that aren't on the list. Enjoy and have fun knitting!

100-199 Yards
100+ Musings on a Poncho
131 Short & Sassy Shawl (One Skein Wonders by Judith Durant, p. 35)
150+ Drop Dead Gorgeous Shawl (link fixed)
175 Caryl’s Kerchief
180 Fabulous Filigree Scarf (One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant, p. 186)
180 Triangular Scarf (Vogue Knitting Scarves, p. 37)
190+ Versatile Scarves

200-299 Yards
200+ Casino Shawl
200 Elegantly Simple Triangle Shawl
200+ Landscape Shawl
200+ Manipura Shawl (in Spanish, use Babelfish to translate)
218 Aunt Phebe's Comfort Shawl (scroll down a little)
220 Babushkas (The Best of Knitter's Shawls and Scarves, p. 98)
220 Fernanda Shawl
225 Butterfly Scarf
229 Seafoam Shawl (One Skein Wonders by Judith Durant, p. 59)
250 Triangular Lace Scarf (scroll down to find pattern link)
250 Victorian Shoulderette
259 Luna Moth Shawl
260 Diamond and Purls Shawl (The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes, p. 202)
260 Little Arrowhead Shawl
260 One Skein Shawl
265 Wide Triangle Shawl (Victorian Lace Today, p. 8)
270+ Bird’s Eye Shawl
273-383 Eye of Partridge Shawl
275+ Flower Basket Scarf (also published in Interweave Knits, Fall 2005, p. ?)
276 Kite Kerchief

300-399 Yards
300 Birchette Shawl
300 City Shawl
300+ Easy Garter Stitch Shawl
300 Easy Elegant Scarf
300+ Feather and Fan Comfort Shawl
300+ Kate Winkler Thrift Shop Shawl
300+ Rob Roy Shawl
300 Rose Hearts Shoulder Shawl
300+ Shapely Shawlette - Eyelet & Garter
309 Vienna Shawl #69-07
310 Summer Lace Shawlette
315 Easy Does It Drop Stitch Shawl
325+ Alix's Lace Prayer Shawl
325-400 Lighter Than a Spiderweb Shawl
328 Maggie’s Shawl
330 Daisy Meadow Scarf (Two Lace Scarves pattern)
330 Shoulder Warmer Shawl (Knitted Shawls, Stoles and Scarves, p. 58)
330 Triangle Lace Shawl (scroll down)
350 Celtic Hearts Shawl
350 As You Like It Shoulder Wrap
350 Chevron Shawl
350 Diamond Fantasy Scarf/Shawlette
350 Easy Knit Shawl (with additions at this blog)
350 Forest Canopy Shoulder Shawl
350 Shapely Shawlette - Simple Garter
350 Weavers Wool Mini Shawl
350+ Triangles Within Triangles Shawlette
360 English Garden Shawl
370 Easy Triangle Shawl #1 (aka Butterfly Shawl)
370 Easy Triangle Shawl #2
370 Tea & Sympathy Shawl
375 Lacy Winged Shawl (2007 Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar - March 28, 2007)
385 Bloom Shawl (half circle)
390 Hug Me Boucle Shawl
393 Salina Shawl

400-499 Yards
400+ Lily’s Leaf Shawl
400 Alpaca Shawl
400 Clearwater Rapids Shawl (half circle)
400 Driftwood Victorian Shoulder Shawl
400 Diamonds & Flower Shawl
400 Hydrangea Scarf
400+ Double Delight Shawl
400+ Triangle Scarf
400+ Ash Leaf Shawl
405 Jacana Shawl
410 Shoulder Cozy (Wrap Style by Pam Allen & Ann Budd, p. 78.)
420 Kiri Shawl
430 Arrowhead Lace Shawl
433 Aerang Shawl
436 Alabaster Shawl
436 Jenny Shawl
437 Swallowtail Shawl
437 Triangle Trio (Knitter’s Magazine, Summer 2001, pg. 34.)
438 South Slocan Scarf (Knitting Pattern a Day Calendar 2006, February 17-19, 2006)
440 Blue Jeans Lace Leaf Shawl
440 Gioiello Shawl
440 Lace Fichu
440+ Foulard Scarf (Morehouse Merino, pg. 45)
444 Gossamer Triangle Shawl
446 Drops Loosely Knitted Shawl
450 Leaf Lace Shawl
450 Ridged Eyelet
462 Bev’s Dishcloth Shawl
470 Amor Pitsihuivi
471 Shetland Floss Shawl
480 Sweet Alyssum Shawl
482 Heartland Lace Shawl
490 Sweetheart Shawl
495 Kellokukka Huivi
495 Onnenlehti Huivi

500-599 Yards
500 Cascading Leaves Shawl
500 Crystal Cove Shawl
500 Dice Blue Shawl (Knitter’s Magazine, Spring 2004, p. ?.)
500 Dishcloth Shawl
500 Easy Oddball Shawl
500 Feather & Fan Triangular Shawl
500 Making Tracks Shawl
500 Meadow Flowers Shawl (Knitter’s Stash by Barbara Albright, pg. 24-25.)
500 Minttumaari Huivi
500 Moonlight Sonata Shawl
500 Sagittaria Shawl
500 Self-fringing Shawl
500 Show Your Colors Shawl
500 Sophia Evening Wrap
500 Twin Peaks Shawl
500 Autumn Blaze Shawl
500+ Easy Elegance Shawl
515 Falling Leaves Shawl (Lavish Lace by Carol Noble & Cheryl Potter, p. 40.)
520 Triangle Net Scarf
540 Spring Things Shawl
548 Shetland Triangle Shawl (Wrap Style by Pam Allen & Ann Budd, p. 45.)
550 Angel Lace Shawl
550 Comfort Shawl
550 Drunken Daisy Stitch Lace Shawl
550 Easy Triangle Shawl
550 Onerva Huivi
550 Super Simple Shawl
555 Diamond Knit Shawl
560 Aurora Shawl
560 Katy Shawl (half circle, scroll down for pattern)
560 Simple Yet Effective Shawl
560 Violets by the River Shawl
590 Eyelet Lace Shawl
594 Kevat Huivi
594 Liisan Lilja Huivi
594 Mohair Tiger Shawl

600-699 Yards
600 Barbara’s Shawl (picture only) For lace chart email: jeantownsend AT earthlink DOT net
600 Ethereal Fichu Triangular Shawl
600 Fancy Wind Shawl
600 Garter Lace Triangle Shawl (Traditional Knitted Lace Shawls, p. 109)
600 Mountain Peaks Shawl
600 Simple Triangle Shawl
600 Spinner’s Lace Shawl
600+ Stash Shawl
600 Triangular Drops Shawl
600 Tuch Vision
600 Wings of Fantasy Shawl
633 Pavonis Huivi
636 Red Hat Lady Shawl
650 Die Artischocke Shawl
650 Lachende Tropfen - Smiling Drops Shawl
650 Lavender Linen Lace Shawl (Knitted Shawls, Stoles and Scarves, p. 62)
650 Shetsoie Shawl
650 Spring Garden Shawl (Knitter’s Magazine, Spring 2007, pg. 44.)
650 Tuch Lindenhof
652 Sheer One Piece Shawl (or Modular Knits by Iris Schreier, pg. 104.)
654 Agatha Shawl
654 Sun Ray Shawl
660 Capri Shawl
660 Fifi III Shawl
684 Koigu Kersti Shawl
687 Birch Shawl
687 Daisies Shawl
687 Jade Shawl
687 Roosa Huivi
690 Spring Garden Shawl

700-799 Yards
700 Leaves & Flowers Shawl
700 Mystery Diamond Shawl
700 Revontuili-huivi (Northern Lights)
700 Syrian Shoulder Shawl (Victorian Lace Today, p. 130)
700+ Ene's Scarf (Scarf Style, p. ?)
720 Drops Shawl with Leaf Pattern
727 Wildflower Shawl (scroll down)
730 Ocean Waves Shawl
740 Rainstorm & Desert Dusk Shawl (Lavish Lace by Carol Noble & Cheryl Potter, p. 56.)
748 Zetor Huivi
750 Garter and Lace Shawl (The Best of Knitter's Shawls and Scarves, p. 62)
765 Frost Shawl
766 Queen of the Waves Shawl

800-899 Yards
800 Cameo Shell Stitch Shawl
800 Carmen Shawl
800 Fractal Diamonds Shawl
800 Lotus Blossom
800 Truly Tasha’s Shawl
800+ Bell Pattern Shawl
800+ Mitered Squares Shawl
810 Dragon Scales Shawl
819 Tuscany Shawl (No Sheep For You by Amy Singer, p. 51.)
820 Progressive Shawl
825 North Roe Shawl
826 Wool Peddlers Shawl (Folk Shawls, p. 71)
832 Cuspid Wrap
875 Icarus Shawl (Interweave Knits, Summer 2006, p. 75 & Best of Interweave Knits)
875 Lehmus Huivi
875 Papillion (butterfly) Shawl
880 Adamas Shawl
880 Lehtimetsa Huivi

900-999 Yards
900 Arvika Shawl
900 Beauty and the Bias Shawl
900 Bee Fields Shawl
900 Carnival Glass Shawl
900 Cherry Leaf Shoulder Shawl (Victorian Lace Today, p. 134)
900 Grape Arbor Shawl (Wendy Knits, p. 157)
900 Seraphim Shawl
900 Garden Party Shawl
900+ Wings of the Moth Shawl
910 Forget-Me-Not Shawl
935 Wigwam Shawl (Knitted Shawls, Stoles and Scarves, p. 56)
942 Sakura-Cherry Blossom Shawl
945 Pacific Waves Shawl (3 different versions of this shawl at Elann)
950 Chevron Shawl
950 Handsome Triangle Shawl (Victorian Lace Today, p. 32)
990 Annhelen's Shawl
990 Basic Triangle Shawl

1000-1099 Yards
1000 Adara Rainbow Shawl
1000 Jeanie's Rainbow Shawl (July 15 for email, picture at Oct. 30)
1000 Queen of Hearts Shawl
1000 Sangria Shawl (Lavish Lace, p. 31)
1000 Trinity Stitch Shawl
1050 Bobble Lace Flowers Shawl
1050 Endpapers Shawl (The Knitter's Book of Yarn by Clara Parkes, p. 114)
1050 Highland Triangle Shawl (Folk Shawls, p. 89)
1050 Lacy Prairie Shawl (Folk Shawls, p. 57)
1050 Pinwheel Shawl
1050 Weeping Willow Shawl (triangle version)
1060 Tiger Swallowtail Shawl
1093 Floral Mesh Shawl (One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant, p. 196)

1100-1199 Yards
1100 Crystal Garden Shawl
1100 Dragon Wings Shawl
1100 Flowing River Shawl
1100 Lotus Blossom Lace Shawl (The Best of Knitter's Shawls and Scarves, p. 68)
1100 Ostrich Plume Triangle
1100 Pacific Northwest Shawl
1100 Simple Lace Shawl
1100 Matilda Shawl
1120 Butterfly Wings Shawl
1120 Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend Shawl
1125 Gypsy Shawl
1182 Dimple Stitch Shawl (Easy Knitted Accessories, p. 123)
1188 Berry & Leaf Shawl

1200-1299 Yards
1200 Evergreen Shawl (Handknit Holidays, p. 142)
1200 Peace Shawl
1200 Snowdrop Shawl
1200 Spirit of the Southwest Shawl
1200 Sheep Shawl
1200 Spanish Dancer Shawl
1200 Which Way Do We Go Shawl
1241 Winter Wonderland Shawl
1250 Trinity Stitch Half-Square Shawl (Victorian Lace Today, p. 126)
1260 Creatures of the Reef Shawl
1260 Emerald Isle Shawl
1260 Peacock Feathers Shawl
1260 Icelandic Lace Shawl

1300+ Yards
1300 Hidcote Garden Shawl
1300 Drops Knitted Shawl
1300 Three-Cornered Shawl (Victorian Lace Today, p. 138)
1400 Terttu Shawl
1450 Super Simple Triangle Shawl (One-Skein Wonders by Judith Durant, p. 156)
1500 Drops Lace Shawl 105-3
1575 Geyl Shawl (Jan. 2 entry)
1575 Prairie Shawl (Folk Shawls, p. 55)
1750 Heere Be Dragone Shawl
1750 Misty Morning Shawl
2200 Lake & Summer Sky Shawl
2570 Nature Scene Shawl (The Best of Knitter's Shawls and Scarves, p. 65)

Unknown Yardage
? Chale Aux Paquettes (French pattern, chart is here)
? Fir Cone Triangular Shawl
? Half Circle Knit Shawl
? Jennifer's Knit-'til-You-Quit" Lace Shawl (pattern being revised)
? Kite-o-Mania Shawl
? Nature Shawl
? Rainbow Shawl (scroll down to August 12 entry)
? Triangle Flower Power Shawl (Knit ‘N Style, Fall 2002, p. ?)
? Stormy Morning Shawl
? Odd Ball Shawl

Errors, handspun, and what's up this week

There were a few errors in the Cascading Leaves shawl pattern. They have been corrected and information has been sent out to everyone who ordered the pattern. Several people are hard at working knitting the shawl. Can't wait to see pictures of the completed shawls.

I was not feeling well over the weekend. Hubby apparently brought some bug home from work. He had it last week and it caught up with me early Saturday morning. I was miserable all weekend. I'm feeling a little better today but still achy and tired.

I'm trying to decide on my next knitting or design project. Percolating in my head are some ideas for shawls and lace knitting, as well as baby socks. Last week, I was too busy with some unexpected work to work on them. Over the weekend, my concentration was shot from not feeling well. Hopefully, that will improve soon.

Meanwhile, I'm spinning. The top skein is the Blue Face Leicester (BFL) from Lisa Souza. It spun up into a very consistent fingering weight yarn. It should make a nice sock yarn. 4.0 ounces/327 yards. Hubby saw it last night all skeined up with a label. He told me it looked like something you'd buy at a yarn shop. I'll take that as a compliment. LOL! The bottom skein was spun from 1 ounce of superwash wool and tencel that I bought at Greencastle in April. This was a very quick spin! I spun and plied in in one evening on the wheel. Woo-hoo! If I had spindle spun it, I probably would have gotten a lot more yardage. Wish I had more of this fiber. It was fun to spin. 1.0 ounce/87 yards. Click on the picture for a closer look.

Several people have urged me to open an Etsy shop to sell my handspun. I'm considering the possibility. It looks to be a better venue for this type of item than Ebay. It's on my to-do list when I get some free time. My calendar is bursting at the seams this week:

1) a Frog Pond meeting on Tuesday night,
2) helping a friend wash some raw fleece on Wednesday,
3) taking an all-day silk spinning class in Allegan, Michigan on Thursday (A friend can't go. She asked me to take her place.), and
4) going to Michigan Fiber Fest with a vanload of friends to shop on Saturday.

Of course, this list doesn't include all the fun things like cleaning house, grocery shopping, making meals, laundry, picking and processing vegetables, etc., that needs to get done. Sigh...I might have time to sleep for 15 minutes.

Overshadowing everything on my schedule is another factor---my MIL is terminally ill with cancer. She's in the final stage and it's a day-to-day thing. It's a fact that follows me around all my waking hours and makes me cringe each time the phone rings. :-( When she passes, my calendar will be forgotten as my priorities change. Much as I would miss participating in any of the events on my calendar, family comes first.