Little Wavelet Shawl Pattern

The Little Wavelet Shawl is a smaller version of my full-size Wavelet Shawl and is specially designed for mini-skeins! The pattern is now available from the Irish Artisan Yarn website and from my Ravelry and Payhip stores.

Inspired by the long curve of a sandy beach, the shawl is constructed top-down, from across the back of the neck to the outer edge. After casting on a long centre section, the top border is worked in an eyelet pattern. This is followed by the crescent shape, which is created using short row shaping. The outer shawl section is inspired by multiple waves that ripple along the shoreline. The wave pattern is emphasised with reverse stocking stitch ridges and a stripe pattern.

The shawl is knitted in Irish Artisan Yarn (IAY) Hand-Dyed 4Ply Yarn (100% Superwash Merino, 80m/87 1⁄2yd per 20g mini-skein) and you will need 5 × 20g mini-skeins in 5 different shades.

This pattern requires a total of 100g/ 400m of yarn (5 x 20g mini skeins of 80m each or 1 x 100g skein of 400m). However, it is very adaptable to the available yarn!

If you have a little bit less yarn (eg approximately 90g in total), work fewer repeats of the border rows, making a slightly smaller shawl size.

If you have more yarn available (eg more than a total of 110g), you can make a larger shawl size by working additional repeats of the border rows.

Before casting on, decide your preferred colour order of mini-skeins and label as Shades A-E. Examples include dark to light; light to dark; random order. The shawl shown was knitted from darkest to lightest shade using five shades from the Irish Artisan Yarn Advent 2021.

Bracken Vest in The Knitter Issue 177

I'm really delighted that my Bracken Vest is part of the Wildwood Collection in The Knitter Magazine Issue 177! 

The stitch pattern is knitted with twisted stitches, cables and long lines of rib, with the zigzag cables emphasising the little diamond shapes. The fabulous yarn is Eden Cottage Yarns Milburn DK in the stunning shade of Crocosmia. The combination of Bluefaced Leicester wool and silk creates beautiful drape and a lovely silky sheen!

The Bath Knitting & Crochet Guild Regional Day

Saturday 11th June 2022 was World Wide Knit In Public Day and this year it just happened to co-incide with The Bath Knitting & Crochet Guild Regional Day. A perfect combination of knitting events!

The day was a lovely mix of workshops, discussions and talks. Super-talented designer Mary Henderson hosted a knitting clinic to answer knitting questions throughout the day and I so enjoyed our design discussions about colour and texture! Alice-Marie Archer's talk in the morning was extremely thought-provoking and I'm looking forward to hearing more about her fascinating research into knitting soilless cultivation forms using wool. There was a fantastic outdoor sculptural installation by Lou Baker, where everyone was welcome of spend some time knitting in public!

I was very honoured to be asked along as a speaker and, inspired by a chapter in my book A Knitter's Guide to Shawl Design, I decided to talk about shawl borders and edgings. Here are a few images of me in action, taken by my lovely friend Denise.

I took along several recent shawl designs to illustrate my talk. Here I am with my Ammonoid Shawl, knitted in Ullcentrum 2ply yarn from Midwinter Yarns. The shawl border shows off the amazing natural gradient shade! I'm also holding the two mini shawl samples that I knitted to test out the proportions of the design.

Another featured shawl was my Cholla Shawl, knitted in Walcot Yarns Opus in the stunning shade of Goldenrod. This shawl has a very subtle border. The top border stitch pattern is worked with a stocking stitch background, contrasting with the textured reverse stocking stitch background of the main pattern. I was holding the shawl opened out to show the whole pattern and when someone asked me how I would wear it, I was more than happy to wrap myself up in this gorgeously soft Opus yarn!

Many thanks to the Bath KCG Branch for inviting me! It was a fantastic day!