I’m so glad I started over. It was a tough decision to rip out an almost finished shawl, but I’m glad I did it.
The softer contrast of the gray Soft Kitty instead of the green Serenity really speaks my language. (Others are using the green, and it works for them. Color is so personal!)
I love these iridescent Black Copper-Lined Diamond AB beads against the brown end of this gradient yarn.
As the brown shades into gray, I transitioned to the green beads…
until it was green beads on green.
And then switched to Terra Dove Gray Pearl beads as the green becomes more intense. I think the gray beads tone down the green nicely.
I’m working on repeat 9, and could do 10 or even more before getting to the edging. We’ll see how those greens turn out. If they’re too intense for my preferred muted palette, I’ll stop early.
Our Nymphaea Fall Shawl Retreat was this past weekend, and it was a blast. We had knitters and crocheters playing with beads and yarn up at Quinn Mountain in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge. I wish I had more pictures, but it was a pretty busy weekend. The weather was perfect, too.
I wish I had taken a picture of our beautiful room that we used for the knitters’ break out sessions, but I forgot. This tree was right outside the door, though.
Quinn Mountain is a beautiful spot.
This was on the back of the pickup. Doesn’t it make you dream of circular pi shawls?
Afternoon tea time included a tasting of Plum Deluxe Teas, which are a favorite of mine.
We chose our contrast color yarns to go with these beautiful gradients by Stacey at Fierce Fibers, and then mixed and matched beads to our liking.
My students all learned a lot, and made a good start on their Nymphaea shawls. And I learned a lot from them, too.
The Nymphaea Shawl pattern is back to me after being an exclusive with Bead Biz, so I’ll be re-releasing that to Ravelry tomorrow. I’ve added lots of tips and tricks to the pattern, including a stitch and bead count chart, so if you purchased it at a festival, let me know and I’ll get you the updated pattern. (You should have a download code for it.)
I love this little statue in downtown Camas. She looked chilly on this autumn day, so she’s modeling my not yet complete Nymphaea shawl. Someday it won’t have a strand of yarn trailing from it!
Oh, that little voice that says, “Are you sure that’s what you want?”
Green beads, green yarn
And you say, “Maybe?”
On our way with green beads, green yarn, and contrasting green yarn
Commitment is just so hard sometimes. I decided this might need contrasting beads instead. The green silver lined beads don’t show on the very vibrant teal at this end of the gradient cake.
Brown beads on green yarn
On our way again, with more contrast
But as I got further, I decided that wasn’t the look I wanted, either. So I started over. Again.
At the other end of the gradient this time. And I changed the yarn contrast color too, because I wanted it to feel less “tree” and more “sand.” Both the green and gray yarns work with the main cake; it’s just personal preference at this point.
I love it! And I like these beads on it; they’re subtle but they reflect a lot of color.
I know that I won’t use every inch of the yarn cake (600 yards), so I won’t have my bead dilemma on that most vibrant end.
I’m generally pretty conservative in my yarn color choices. I usually choose my beads to be not too contrasty, too. You may like more pop in your knitting. There’s no one right way; do what makes you happy!
Edited to add this picture of Laurinda’s take on color and beads.
I’m looking forward to this weekend’s Nymphaea Shawl Retreat with Laurinda Reddig. We’ll be talking about color choice as we begin knitting or crocheting our Nymphaea shawls. And my Nymphaea pattern will be available through Ravelry next week when I get back; I’ll have a re-launch now that it’s mine again.
Color choices are so interesting, and so personal. I loved knitting my rainbow Lucky Stars shawl, but it’s more color than I normally wear.
I’m wearing my Carbon/Pollen Lucky Stars all the time: One neutral main color (gray gradient) and the golden pop.
My clothes are mostly black. It’s a great background to show off my knitting! Occasionally my skirt will tie in with the theme.
Do you knit year round? I do. My needles have been very busy! I designed two cowls in May, which I can’t share just yet, but I love them both. They’re simple, and the yarn makes them sing, or vice versa. No peeking!
I also knit a cute top from the Mason Dixon Field Guide, Transparency. This is the Shakerag Top, designed by Amy Christoffers using Jade Sapphire Sylph, a delicious blend of cashmere and linen. Despite my deep love for both of those fibers, I decided to knit mine out of stash…because I could!
I used Sincere Sheep’s Agleam, a 50/50 merino/tencel blend in Bare, and Sincere Sheep’s Shimma, which is laceweight mohair and silk, in St. Barts. You can see my notes on my Ravelry page here. I loved knitting this; it’s mostly very mindless stockinette in the round, which is great for multi-tasking and traveling!
I’m currently knitting my Nymphaea shawl with this lovely gradient from Fierce Fibers; the color is Surf and Sand, with Serenity as the contrast band. The brown beads have less pop against the teal than I was anticipating, but I think I like them. I could also start over and use the green beads on this part of the gradient, which would be even less pop, but more my style. What do you think? I may have to swatch that…
I have three sets of beads for this project and I’m not sure where the color transitions will happen yet, so I don’t think this is going to be my on-the-go knitting. I can handle beading on the go, but not if I don’t know which ones I’ll need when. That makes it less portable. I’m working on designing something a little simpler for anytime knitting.
This is Malabrigo Mechita in Cielo y Tierra (sky and earth), and Tosh Merino Light in Antique Lace. They’re both fingering weight singles. I’ve mapped out my anticipated progression with an Excel spreadsheet; I hope it’s as pretty as it is in my head! There’s a part of me that is really happy when the repeating elements all fit into an elegant framework. Nerdy geeky fun!
I also started a Brioche Pastiche hat while I was teaching this class down at Stash at the beginning of the month. I’m not in a hurry to finish it; I’m using it as a demo in subsequent classes (August 4 at Twisted, September 22 at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival). But Peggy from class finished hers in less than a week; she’s a superstar!
What are you knitting this summer? Or winter, if you’re down under! Simple, or complicated?
To inspire your summer knitting, I’m having a pattern sale through June 20: 15% off with coupon code SUMMER. For newsletter subscribers, the discount will be 25% off; coupon code will be in your newsletter which comes out tomorrow, I hope! (Click here to subscribe if you haven’t already). All patterns and ebooks which are available from me through my Ravelry shop are eligible; there is no limit but the code is good for a single time use only.
I always say that blocking is magic. Especially with lace. But even then, I’m always astonished at the transformation.
Here’s my Nymphaea shawl, right off the needles, no blocking, no weaving in the ends. It’s pretty small, 48 inches across the top eyelet edge, 20 inches at the wide end, not including the lace edging in either measurement.
I wet blocked it; it pinned out to be 60 inches across the top eyelet edge, and 30 inches across the wide end, just above the lace edging. Where it was once thick and chunky, it’s now ethereally and diaphanously lovely. It’s almost as big as the sample I knit last fall with the mini skein gradient kit, just nine repeats instead of ten.
Zigzags 4 evah
Lacy border, this time with beads
I knit this in Bumblebirch Heartwood, 75/25 superwash merino/nylon. The colors are Atlantic and Hellebore, the same colors in my Tumbling Leaves, but reversed. I love it, and I love the beads, too. Depending on how you look at them, they’re blue, or green. Perfect.
I’m going to knit one more of these, a sample with a Fierce Fibers 650 yard continuous gradient, and a semisolid contrast color. This is in preparation for our Fall Shawl Retreat in November. Registration opens August 1, and the price will include yarn and beads for a knit or crochet version of Nymphaea.
While knitting this shawl, I started thinking about my personal rules for SSK. When I first learned SSK, I did them conventionally, slipping both stitches as if to knit. The result is a left leaning decrease, exactly the same as SKP: Slip one (knitwise), knit one, pass slip stitch over. The passed stitch could sometimes be stretched out and unsightly; Barbara Walker invented the SSK as an improvement on the SKP.
Eventually, Elizabeth Zimmermann figured out that slipping the second stitch purlwise instead of knitwise made this decrease lie flatter, and mirror the right leaning K2tog better. It’s less zigzaggy. I learned this from her daughter Meg Swansen in a class oh so long ago, and adopted it as my go-to SSK. For me, it’s quicker to execute (don’t have to pull left needle out of the second slipped stitch before ktbl).
But! When I was designing my Meander Cowl, I noticed that this SSK looked wide and bumpy when it met up with a YO on its left side. It’s because the right leg of the stitch shows a bit more prominently behind the left leaning stitch on top. Subtle, yes, but there.
So, my personal SSK rule: Slip the second stitch as if to purl when working stockinette. But if there’s a YO to the left of the SSK, slip the second stitch as if to knit. Try them both, if you like. You’re the boss of your knitting; as long as you get the result you want, you’re doing it right! Here’s a video on the whole thing.
I’m going to Rhinebeck this weekend! But not in person.
This is my Nymphaea shawl. Nymphaea is the genus name for water lilies, and the lacy shell pattern reminds me of flowers floating in a pond on a breezy day. The zigzag ripples are laden with beads. I designed this shawl as a collaboration with Bead Biz and June Pryce Fiber Arts. I’m a little jealous that my sample is going to Rhinebeck without me!
Bead Biz will carry this pattern as part of a kit, available in their booth at festivals like Rhinebeck (Dutchess County Sheep and Wool Festival, officially) SAFF (Southeastern Animal Fiber Fair in Fletcher NC), Fiber Festival of New England in West Springfield MA, and Madrona Fiber Arts Festival (see you there!). The kits will also be available on their website. It is available exclusively from Bead Biz through September 2018.
The kit comes with a gradient pack of seven 100 yard skeins of June Pryce Fiber Arts Saunderstown Sock, a fingering weight superwash merino/cashmere/nylon blend. Five packs of coordinating beads are also in the kit.
My sample is knit in Purple Mountains, and there are four more colorways to choose from.
Find my patterns on Ravelry: Michele Bernstein Designs
Here are some of my favorites, and the newest. Many of my designs are also available through my Payhip store.
PDXKnitterati 