Capelet from Wrap Style

I've finally received my Kookaburra woolwash and started washing and blocking my finished projects. It is biodegradable (good for the environment), has lanolin (good for wool) and tea tree oil (according to the manufactruer good for killing dust mites, bacteria, fungi, etc and good for the skin), and you don't have to rinse (good for the lazy among us), but it's pricy (not good for my wallet). As you do not need that much it's probably ok. And they have a good customer service, so overall I think it's recommendable.

If you want more information about it, here's a review including a comparison with Eucalan in a washing test on Knitter's Review. In the review the author mentions the strong smell of the tea tree oil, but that might be a bit during the washing of the garment, but afterwards I didn't smell anything, nada, niente.














I'm going to cheat a bit and call this capelet a finished project although it is only sort of finished. I think I could wear it now (well, it needs a bit more blocking to keep the bottom edges from curling), but I'd still like to add one or two more pattern repeats (someday :D)

Pattern: Spiral Shell by Deborah Newton, from Wrap Style
Yarn: Karabella Aurora 8, 100% extrafine merino wool, 90 m/50 g, 98 yds/1.75 oz
Color: #32 Light Pink
Price: $4.99 (I was lucky and it was on sale at www.sandrasingh.com)
Amount: 4 balls (I had to frog one swatch, because I did not want to start a new ball for the last row of the ribbing part)
Needles: 5 mm
Gauge: two pattern repeats = 12 cm, 24 rows = 10 cm
Dimensions: 49 cm wide at the bottom, 40 cm wide at the top, 30 cm long

I would not really call the color "light pink", more like "peach" or "salmon". As you can see this yarn is fabulous for cables and for patterns with a lot of structure. It's a thick yarn that after washing becomes very soft and velvety, but still keeps its plastic structure.











And I have to repeat it once more, I really like this book. Usually I just don't like ponchos, but there are some in the book that look really cute. The capelets and wraps are also very nice. Buy it. :D

Finished: Shetland Triangle

Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark, from Wrap Style
Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr, 50% wool 50% Tussah silk, 630 yd/2 oz or 576 m/57 g
Color: Garnet
Price: $5.50, bought at www.sarahsyarns.com
Amount: 30 g
Needles: 3.5 mm
Gauge: Don't know, I made two more repeats than the original, then blocked like crazy (I think I blocked it way way too much. I'm surprised the yarn didn't snap at some point, this shawl was so tense and tight like it was receiving a facelift)
Dimensions: 120 cm wide and 56 (? sorry, am not quite sure anymore) cm from the tip to the long edge
Modifications: Two more repeats. I also thought I'm going to skip the last row, because I also didn't want such pointy edges, but didn't realize until now that he said "the last patterned row". I skipped the row that was written out, but oh well, it looks ok. I think next time I would add more repeats. The shawl looks nice, but the blocking was hard work.

The book: It's wonderful, such nice patterns. I'm not a poncho fan, but all these little capelets and ponchos look cute. I think I nearly like it even more than the Scarf Style book. I'd definitely recommend it.

The pattern: Very easy to memorize. A fast and quick knit.

Here are some of the pictures in the book.




Honestly, I don't really know how to wear a shawl without looking like a granny. I like them, they look lovely, I like knitting them, but somehow I'm not really convinced that I'm wearing them the right way. The pic is blurry, because I turned of the flash; if I leave it on, my half closed eyes make me look like a junkie (also, you would see all the spots on the mirror :D)


Unblocked. Shall I complain again that the flash distorts the colors? Or was the light in my room so bad?

Blocking was a torture.


Looks like it has been blocked really tightly, doesn't it? But at least it drapes nicely.


So, what am I going to knit next? I started another Shetland Triangle with a beautiful blue silk that I got from www.colourmart.com (I didn't take this picture by the way, it's from their website, because my batteries are nearly empty and the color is well represented in this foto, the yarn is a bit more shiny in reality though. The color is azure.)


I have to say though, I'm not really a fan of needles smaller than 2.5 mm (which already seems somewhat painful). This shawl I'm knitting with 2 mm *eek*. I also am not really thrilled with the inelasticity of the yarn, especially since it's so thin (2500 yd/150 g). I think next time I will use it doubled.

Here are the other colors that I bought.



Melissa and Bonbon. Both are also cute colors.