Inspiration... Where Do You Go Melissa?

Yeah, I get asked that a lot. If the answer were simple, well... you can figure out the rest...

Anyway -- here's an example of where my brain sometimes goes when I have the sketchbook and needles out...
 
The cape I designed for SWTC, who make the coolest yarns and fibres for us to enjoy...

 a French art deco gate that caught my eye in an architecture book

And the edging that I worked into the border of the shawl... it's a traditional edging from a Barbara Walker book that I messed with...  Getting the curves into the lace stitch is not for the faint of heart, as knitting tends to like edges when it comes to eyelets and motifs. Yeah, I like to push my luck regarding lace designs, as those of you have seen my recent design in Yarn Magazine #25, the Rivuletto shawl...

I really need to re-photograph the Oz Wrap border huh? If you aren't interested in knitting the entire cape (which is worked from the top down) you can make a pretty scarf just by working the border and some additional selvedge stitches.

Sincere thanks to Jonelle Beck who permits (indulges) me to send her some of my more off-centre suggestions. I love the way the finished shawl feels. Note: for those of us who are not that patient, the shawl can be worn straight off the needles.... If you are more discerning, it looks totally different blocked. Stay tuned for more photos of that!

Oh, and wouldn't that imaged scarf look pretty if some of the String Me Along were worked in as a carry-along? Just saying is all...

SWTC String Me Along available from Stranded In Oz

A Christmas Gift from SWTC and SIOz

A big thank you to Jonelle Beck and the entire SWTC family and a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year (for those of you who don't celebrate Christmas) from them (and us) to you!

Here's the latest SWTC enticement for your needles, with a little help from Stranded In Oz.

2010 Knitter's Club members will recognize this scarf as the Dark Rainbow Scarf -- here it's been knitted in the divinely soft Infatuation by Treisur. Am I infatuated? Yuh, it's fabulously soft and has a nice stitch definition for a bamboo-blend sock yarn. Mmmmmmmm. Did I mention this is also my favourite scarf?

Customers who order 2 balls of Infatuation from Stranded In Oz 'til the end of January will automatically receive this pattern with their order, starting today. The stocks are a bit low (xmas shoppers, thank you!) but MORE is on the way.

 Infatuation by Treisur

Silver Snowflake Wrap

Silver Snowflake Shawl in XIE from Knit 'N Style

It's hit the newstands: The latest Knit 'N Style, the big 11th anniversary issue, contains a brand new SIOz design via SWTC, the Silver Snowflake Shawl. This is a beginner project designed for the holiday season and uses 1 cone of the lovely SWTC Xie bamboo laceweight yarn.
The directions are written for laceweight, single thread, but the yarn can be doubled for quicker knitting.

Stitch info: the photographed stitch detail looks like a cat's paw, but it's not -- it's a lovely snowflake eyelet. The bamboo yarn has an incredible sheen and looks like silvery tinsel in the Gun Metal colourway. Be sure to use bamboo needles -- this stuff is slickery!

The first customer to order the Silver Snowflake Shawl kit gets free postage!

Happy knitting, crocheting, felting, spinning....
melissa, still in the US of A