Iowa State Fair time

Ten Items or Less -- oh wait, that was the name of a children's book that we used to read to the children. This is the pile of knitting that I sent off to the fair. There are actually 10 items in the pile ready to go. Sweaters, afghan, hat, shawls etc.  Wednesday night there is a preview for the entrants.  Last year Ames was flooded on the day of the preview, let's hope that doesn't happen again! 

If you get to the fair don't forget to check out the Fabric and Threads display on the second floor of the Varied Industries Building.

Lace Shawls

I love lace shawls.  They are so delicate and pretty! I have been reluctant to make them for myself though because I wasn't sure if I would wear them. This past winter, some of the women of my knitting group have been making and wearing some beautiful lace shawls though so I decided to try my hand at them too.

I made the Multnomah shawl in a small size last fall. It was easy garter stitch and Feather & Fan lace. Only one ball of yarn required. I wore it with the point in the front and wrapped snuggly around my neck under my coat all winter. 

There is more information about it on my Ravelry listing here: Multnomah Shawl
The pattern is available free from this web site:  http://helloknitty.net/  
It is made in a sock yarn with a slow color change. I found the yarn at the Double Ewe yarn shop in Circle Pines, Minnesota. A fun little shop.

I really enjoyed using this shawl, so when the group started talking about the shawls they were making I decided it was time to make another one. Summer is a great time to work on a shawl because it is much lighter in your lap than a heavy sweater or blanket! 

The Adamas Shawl came up in the discussion.  After taking a look at the pattern, I decided I had the perfect yarn to make it.  A few years ago, I dyed some lace weight yarn with the left-over Easter egg dyes. Fun, bright colors!

I am enjoying the pattern. It is really knitting up fast.  The changes in color keep it interesting.  I am actually farther along than this picture shows.  I have about 2 inches of green after the yellow.

More info on my Ravelry listing: Easter Adamas Shawl
The Adamas pattern is available free from MimKnits:  Adamas Shawl  She has other beautiful shawl patterns for sale. I may have to try some of those later.
The yarn is KnitPicks Bare, an un-dyed, 100% Merino wool yarn which comes in lots of different weights.  

This shawl will be great fun to wear.  It is such bright, happy colors.  I seem to wear a lot of basic dark colors in the winter, especially black.  It will be fun to throw this on over things.