In the Pipeline

here's what's shakin' at Sunflower Designs:

Remember the Sedona vest?


She's up to ten inches now, which may not seem like a lot, but when you're working a woven stitch, which takes two rows to knit every stitch on the needle, AND you are working in the round with no side seams, it takes a while, let me tell you.




I am thrilled with how she is turning out. Gorgeous texture and color from a four stitch repeat and a pattern so easy a rank beginner could handle it.







I wanted to produce something less intimidating than Cherry for my second design, something any knitter would be able to knit and proud to show off. I hope this fits the bill.




The yarn is Briar Rose (of course!) handpainted Legend in two colors:


the original desert-y blend of amber, orange, teal, green, and brown








and this custom-dyed rose, copper, eggplant blend (Thanks, Chris!)






Then there is my Roots skirt.

Not for the faint at heart, but eminently worth the effort. The yarn is Briar Rose Fourth of July (love this yarn - soft-squishy-great depth of color)in blues, greens, and browns, the pattern of my own design (natch!)







The skirt is knit in the round from the bottom up. She has a lace edging at the hem, then divides into eight panels, alternating moss stitch and cabling.






The cables are done in twist stitches at this point as they are single stitches. As the skirt progresses up the body, the cabled panels decrease in size, shaping the skirt into a flattering A-line silhouette, while the firmness of the moss stitch should keep it from losing its shape. The cables twist, twine, cross, and eventually join up with one another so that the effect is of a complex root structure twisting down the panels. 376 rows of charting! Phew!

So, I have one for the (easy) money, and one for the show (boy, does she ever!)

Finished and Almost Finished

Finished: The Rosebud Shawl (ends woven in and blocked)





Almost Finished: Hattie's Rose Garden - it just needs to be blocked and the ends woven in.





All I have left in my stash from Briar Rose is a skein of Grandma's Blessing. I'm going to wait to use that -- give some other yarns a chance for a little while.

Rosebud Shawl -- Off the Needles

I finished my Rosebud Shawl this weekend.





I don't know why the great color of this yarn isn't coming through on my pictures. Hopefully, we'll have a few sunny days so that GOOD pictures can be taken once its blocked.

Rosebud Shawl Update

I meant to post when I was half-way with the shawl, but I was having such a great time knitting, that I forgot. Now, I'm 2/3rds done. How do I know? From the "leaning tower of yarn", there is only one cake left. The other two cakes have been knitted in. :D

Here's a picture of the WIP:


Here's the up-close-and-person, glamour shot:


I don't know why the colors went funky in this shot. But I love the great stitch definition. :D

New Member

Hello! I'm new to this KAL and thought I should post an introduction. I'm errs on Knitty and Kr and on Ravelry. I'm really excited as I'm finally going start the Rosebud Shawl -- once I finish my husband's scarf.

I'm using 4th of July. I'm attaching a picture of the yarn wound into cakes. My wonderful husband managed to wind the entire skein into several cakes without making a single cut! Only two end to weave in. :D

Icarus finished!

Icarus Shawl

Modeled by my Bugg

Yarn: Briar Rose Fourth of July
2 1/2 skeins; asking Chris for an estimate on yardage according to weight

Size 6 needles

Blocked Measurements (HUGE) - approx 88" across top and 58" down middle

This shawl is huge, but I would not knit it on a smaller sized needle. It is made according to the pattern from 2006 Summer Interweave Knits by Miriam Felton. Bugg and I liked the way it draped and how it stays in place when wrapped. I will be taking a couple of the first chart repeats out and re-making this in an attempt to squeeze it out of two skeins of Fourth of July.