Thursday, April 26, 2012

Silk Moon Crescent (or fruit slice to me)


Hi Knitters,
All of the links for this post can be found at the end.

A couple of weeks ago I taught a class at the Knit Circus Retreat (psst... save the date for the fall retreat on October 6th, I'm teaching again). Jaala Spiro is the force behind Knit Circus and she happens to be a friend of mine as well. At the retreat Jaala was wearing a cute blue dress with a small eye-catching Noro shawlette wrapped around her shoulders. It was a stunning combination and I just thought she looked great.

Every couple of weeks Jaala comes over to my house and we spend a morning knitting together while chatting, sipping tea and eating yummy baked goods. At the retreat I asked Jaala all about her cute shawl because I wanted to knit one for myself.

It turns out it is one of Jaala's new accessory designs and pattern called the Silk Moon Crescent Shawlette. I asked if she would bring it over to my house the next time we knit together. To my great luck she showed up with three versions of the Silk Moon shawlette.


I am sure you recognize the yarn. It is Noro Silk Garden. Noro and garter stitch just go together so well. The Silk Moon Crescent takes three skeins for the shawlette and four for the larger shawl in the pattern. You can combine different colorways or use the same one. I feel like just about everyone has a ball or two or three or four of Noro sitting around and usually lots of left overs from other projects, too. Here is the perfect project to use it up!


Aren't these gorgeous? I just love it.

The shawl is so simple, only garter stitch and every certain number of rows you do yarn over increases. That's it! This is really a perfect first shawl and it goes incredibly fast with the worsted weight yarn knit on US size 9 needles. You could really use any worsted weight yarn you have sitting around.


I was saying to Jaala that the shawls look like yummy fruit slices, especially when all together. The shawl above was knit by combining different colorways of the Silk Garden. See those little blips? Those are the yarn overs.


The curved shape makes the shawl sit so nicely on your shoulders. I love this shape. And they really do look like candy fruit slices to me, I'm sticking with it.


Jaala is hosting a knitalong for the Silk Moon Crescent Shawlette on the Knit Circus group on Ravelry. It just started today and is running for the month of May through the 25th. Here is some information about the prizes for joining the knitalong straight from Jaala:

We’ll be offering prizes for the Silk Moon knitalong: Noro yarn for a second shawl for a lucky winner, a copy of my Hats and Cowls e-book for Winner #2, and free pattern of your choice from my Ravelry store for everyone who finishes! The KAL will run now through May 25th, so exactly one month.


I am so excited to have started my own Silk Moon. I got my pattern yesterday and starting knitting today..... 


I am making my version in Noro Kureyon instead of Silk Garden because I have it on hand. This happens to be my favorite colorway, #95. I used it to make the Inca Snowflake hat in Itty-Bitty Hats and to make the Baby Bear in Itty-Bitty Toys. Does it look familiar?


Here is the start of my shawl. I was immediately struck by the dreaded Noro knot right off the bat but I just kept going. I kind of like the purple right at the start. Believe me, this is a fast and fun knit!

Here are the links and I hope to see you over on the Silk Moon Crescent Shawl Knitalong.


Here is the knitalong thread on the Knit Circus Ravelry group! I have already joined in and I hope to see you there:

Now back to my shawl!
best, susie