My Favorite Month..

I just love February. It is my last month of cold weather, with spring close enough to feel real. I always have at least one long weekend. I always get chocolate for Valentine's Day. My birthday is the same weekend as Valentine's Day, so I get to have a party. What more could I ask for? To celebrate the month of February, I present my 2009 Valentine's Day Shawl. I thought I would give you a materials list and some general information in case you want to knit with me I am knitting from my stash, which many of you know is both voluminous and sexy (thank-you Mary Rose.) I jumped in and came out with some Colourmart 2/28 angora-merino in the perfect shade (they call it Crimson but I call it Rose.) That would be perfect for me, of course. I am suggesting reds, pink or any color that reminds you of roses. The design is all about roses, so think about that when you choose a color.
You will need one cone of any 2/28 (or close to that) yarn from Colourmart. Current options in rose colors are plentiful, including merino and cashmere. Other good yarn choices? Zephyr, Helen's Lace and many more. Feel free to add suggestions for yarns in similar weights to the comments. I don't have a final yardage for you, so be sure you have close to 1000 yards on hand. I suspect I will use about 900 yards. The design will have options to increase the size, so if you like your shawls big have more yarn on hand.

You will need a set of double pointed needles (4) and a circular needle (32 inch) in the size you choose. I am a relaxed knitter and I am using a US 1 needle. Gauge is not going to be critical to this project, so swatch with your yarn and choose a needle size that gives you the look you like. You will need a US 12 crochet hook (or size to fit through your beads) if you want to add beads. I am adding beads. You will need some smooth waste yarn slightly heavier than your project yarn. You will need at least 2 stitch markers, but maybe you will want a few more, so have them on hand. I only use 2. You will need beads if you want to use them. I have 35 grams of 0-8 silver lined gold abalone Japanese beads. I also have some special heart beads . I have 20 of these hearts on hand, but I might use less.

Are you trying to decide if you want to knit along? Here are a few pieces of information that might help.
1) This is not a traditional knit along. This is me knitting a project, which I just happen to be sharing with you! I will be posting all the information here on my blog. You don't need to sign up for anything or join anything to knit with me, but you can join my Yahoogroup (link on the left side of the blog) if you want to. We will be discussing the project there. All my designs are charted, and all the charts for this project will be posted here. You will actually need to read my blog posts for the rest of the instructions and important details. The charts will remain here on my blog, along with the posts, for as long as my blog stays here (so the foreseeable future.)

2) After the project is done, I will put it together into a full pattern, which will be available at my Ravelry pattern store. This will be in the same format as all my patterns, and stand alone (without the blog posts.)

3) This project is for the intermediate lace knitter. Anyone who knit with me on The Summer Sampler and Autumn in New York has all the skills needed to knit this piece. The cast-on will be a bit different and probably the most technical aspect of the project. I think you will enjoy it. After you get the piece established, there is a long stretch of fairly simple knitting before the next fun part. The final shape is a modified triangle. I am using a good amount of beads, so if you have been wanting to get more comfortable adding beads to your lace, this will be a good opportunity.

4) The cast-on post will be on Valentine's Day.

I will be back to show you my birthday goodies before we actually cast-on...Until then, Knit on!