Summer knitting in review

Crikey, I need to be quick. I want to tell you about my recent knitting achievements before the memory of summer is too distant. Thoughts of lingering balmy evenings have been blown away with the autumn leaves; it’s cold and high time for sock knitting already.

Only a few weeks ago sitting in the warm sunshine on our seaside balcony, I cast off the final stitches of my first ever all-over lace shawl, Bien Aimee designed by one of my Paris knitting friends Hiro. I knew I would need peace and quiet to concentrate and knit carefully on the pattern with its gathered stitches and intricate manoeuvrings of knits, purls, yarn-overs and decreases. Leucate seaside turned out to be the right spot. To the background of gentle beach sounds I worked my way through the chart repeats and onto the lace border without any great difficulty. Even the seashore seemed in tune with my project as everywhere I looked there were tiny shells with mauve tones perfectly matched to my shawl. As soon as we were home I blocked Bien Aimee and with the temperatures tumbling from their summer highs I’ve worn it many times already. I love it.

Before the holiday I started another pretty shawl, Southern, by New Zealand designer Libby Jonson. Several people knit this design as part of Libby’s Trulymyrtle knit-a-long and after seeing one gorgeous example finished with beads I decided to add beads to mine too. I couldn’t get the right beads until I got back from holiday so my Southern has only just been finished. While knitting the lacey section, inserting the clear glass beads as I went, I had my doubts if they were a good idea after all. But after blocking the shawl and seeing them sparkle like icy droplets in the sunshine, I’m delighted.

That’s two of my knitting goals for the year accomplished; all over lace and beads. I’m happy, these are both wonderful designs and I’ve got gorgeous accessories to dress up for a stroll around Paris on a crisp Autumn day.

Now I’ve picked up where I left off on an interesting shaped jacket, Lost and Found by Stephen West (just finished) and I have socks on the needles which will be another goal-achieving project as this is my first pair with after-thought heels.

There’s nothing like a bit of a challenge to add interest, even if it’s a small challenge. I’m all for that and I’ve got a few projects lined up that are definitely exciting.