Quaker Ridge Shawlette Coming Soon!

Hi Knitters,
Well, I never expected the reaction to the teaser for the Quaker Ridge Shawlette. The pattern preview shot to the number one spot on the Hot Right Now Top 20 Patterns on Ravelry! That's so much fun and it has spurred me on to get that pattern written and released quickly and to pick a date for the upcoming knitalong. Thank you for the interest in the pattern.

Today, I am sharing the needed materials for the shawl and the knitalong starting and ending dates. The pattern will be released within the next week or so. It will be available for purchase on my Ravelry Pattern Shop at a reduced price up to the starting date of the knitalong. At that time the pattern will still be available for purchase but the price will go up slightly.

I will announce the start and finish dates and have updates for the knitalong on this blog and I will also start a thread on my Itty-Bitty Knits Ravelry group as soon as the pattern is up for purchase. Please hop over to Ravelry and join the group if you haven't already done so, we'd love to welcome you over there. It is a really fun, helpful and talented group of knitters. I will gather prizes for giveaways for the knitters who complete their shawls in the allotted time for the knitalong.

Click here for the Itty-Bitty Knits group on Ravelry and please join if interested!

I will start the thread on the forum group for the shawlette knitalong as soon as the pattern is released for purchase. You can officially sign up for the knitalong as soon as the thread is open in Itty-Bitty Knits which will be in the next week or so. I will announce all of this information here on the blog.

Click here for the Ravelry project page for the Quaker Ridge Shawlette and please favorite or queue up if interested!

Starting date for the Quaker Ridge Shawlette Knitalong: Sunday, Sept. 9th, 2012
Ending date for the knitalong: Sunday, Oct. 21st, 2012

Of course, if you'd like to knit the shawl and not join the knitalong, that's just fine, too. You can work in your own time frame. My blog will go on as usual covering all sorts of knitting fun during the knitalong which will mostly be held on the forum thread.

If you would like to join in the knitalong, now is the time to start gathering your materials.

(The photo above shows my favorite way to wear this shawl - so chic and warm!)

Pattern information for the Quaker Ridge Shawlette:

Shape: Semi-circle with a straight-edge at the top, worked from the top-edge down

Finished measurements after blocking: 70-inch wingspan, 22-inches deep (including the 1.5-inch optional ruffle)

Difficulty: Easy! Beginners welcome! Both experienced shawl knitters and first-timers will enjoy this straightforward design.

Skills needed: I'll help with all of this along the way once we get started.

Cast on

Knit

Purl

make 1 right (m1R)

make 1 left (m1L)

knit 2 stitches together through the back loops (k2togtbl)

Bind off

Placing beads

Yarn: 2 skeins (360 yards per hank) of Madelinetosh Pashmina, 720 yards,  (I used approximately 570 yards total, with about 150 yards leftover in the second skein of Pashmina.)

Yarn Note: Any sport weight yarn will work great for this shawl. The shawl is easily modified to make smaller or larger because you aren't tied to a certain number of stitches at any time during the knitting of the shawl. It could easily be any size you'd like.
If you use a different sport weight yarn or a different weight yarn the yardage requirements will vary.

Gauge: 5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch (unblocked)

Please note: Gauge for this shawl does not have to be exact, however, if your gauge differs from 5 stitches per inch you will have different yardage requirements. 

Needles: US size 7, 32-inch circular needles or size to obtain gauge

4 stitch markers needed

Optional beads: 2 tubes of size 6 glass beads.

Please note: This size bead worked fine but some - not all - of the beads were too tight to get onto the yarn with the flosser. If you'd prefer a slightly larger size bead that would work fine, too. I am happy with the size 6 beads, but definitely try the beads out beforehand if at all possible. You want to make sure you can get the beads over the flosser and onto the stitch/yarn fairly easily. You could also use a crochet hook method for applying the beads but I found the flosser method worked better for me. 

Click here for Laura Nelkin's excellent tutorial on the Superfloss and crochet hook bead placement technique. 

Click here for The Knit Girlls' fantastic tutorial on bead placement with Superfloss.

Note: I bought the 2 tubes of beads at JoAnn's. The color I used is called Emerald Mix. 

If you are not interested in the beads you'll just do a regular old bind off and be done! It will every bit as pretty without the beads.

Ruffle option: The pattern includes an optional ruffle. If you are short on yardage you could leave the ruffle off or make it a few rows shorter.

If you choose to do the beads and the full ruffle, you will end up with 492 stitches and will need that same number of beads. If you choose not to do the ruffle but would like the beaded edge, you will end up with 246 stitches and will need that same number of beads.  It's up to you!

Here are some more photos of TC wearing the Quaker Ridge Shawlette. She is as tall as me now if not a little taller!

Here's to hoping that you are having a beautiful August Sunday. Lots more to come on the Quaker Ridge Shawlette and again, thank you for the overwhelming support.

You are all the best!
best, susie