Pattern Surprise

In 2020, I used patterns from higher end yarn company (Shibui and Lana Grossa) for the first time and made an interesting discovery. Much to my surprise, I liked these patterns better than ones I had used from companies like Lion, Red Heart, Berroco, etc. A whole lot more. I’m just not sure exactly why. Full disclosure, I received all the patterns free with my various yarn purchases (all on sale). The first pattern was for the Shibui Medley Stole. Honestly, this one is so simple, I could have probably figured out how to make it without a pattern. However, I appreciated the designer’s explanation as to why she didn’t slip the first stitches of each row. It was printed on nice, thick paper that didn’t require a clip board which I also liked. This pattern really lets beautiful yarns shine and I would make it again. On the Shibui website, this pattern is $10.00. The other patterns were two PDF booklets from Lana Grossa that I got with the purchases of closeout Cashmerino yarn. The first is called Luxury Shades and has 7 scarf/shawl/stole patterns, 4 crochet, 2 knit and one that is a combo of knit and crochet (something that I wish was seen more often). All of the patterns used charts which is OK with me. I have made two of the crochet projects in this one and found that I didn’t need the charts anymore after the first few rows. The other is called Shades and has only one patterns for a crochet shawl. I love this pattern so much I’ve already made two – one for Mom and one for me. Again, this pattern uses charts. I don’t care for PDF patterns so I need to print these out. I like paper patterns because I can add notes, highlight, etc. One thing I love about these patterns is that they have interesting edging details that really make the items shine. My successes with these patterns has me much more interested in other pattens by higher end yarn manufacturers. Recommendations?

Shibui Knits Medley Stole - My Big 2020 Project

 

One of my big projects in 2020 was a stole using the ShibuiKnits Medley pattern from a kit I purchased from Modern Daily Knitting.  Honestly, I don't think the pictures on the Shibui site do this pattern justice.

Modern Daily Knitting Picture 

 I did make a few changes to the pattern.  I added one more color to my project, Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud in Twilight purchased from WEBS site.  I put it between the dark grey and the cream stripes.  I also added a slipped stitch edge despite the pattern saying not to.  I prefer very straight, neat edges and I like the bit of structure added by the slipped edge.  I also saved the small bits of yarn left and added a circular crochet medallion to the bottom edge of the dark grey band.  I couldn’t bear to not use every bit of such a luscious (and expensive) yarn.  This project was my first using luxury yarn.  It made a simple stockinette stich very beautiful.

 

My Finished Project

The stole took me about 10 months to complete.  I am a slow knitter and Tweed Silk Cloud is a lace weight yarn.  I had to almost completely redo 3 sections because of dropped stitches.  I tried to fix them using a crochet hook but no matter what I did, I could always spot the repaired area.  If I had left them, I would have never been happy with the finished product.  I still have not blocked it (as you can tell from the picture) but I have been wearing it anyway.  It is light and warm with a beautiful drape. 

The colors were not ones I would usually combine but I love the result.  I need to rethink my color strategy on future projects.

I've had a lot of questions about the medallion.  It has a magic loop center and is a mixture of double crochet and single crochet rounds.  For pops of color, I added some surface chains to the top so I could use up a much yarn as possible.  When it is feasible, I like to add small, unique touches to my projects.  

I was happy with the end result.  I want to design a crochet square based on the basic principles used here.  I see the potential for eye-catching accessories and afghans.