Purple elegance

Some time ago I bought a skein of gorgeous Drops Lace yarn, a blend of mulberry silk and baby alpaca, in a lovely purple color. I thought of making something for myself, but every time I took that skein into my hands I remembered purple is not really my color. Which is a pity, because this is some really gorgeous yarn. Oh, well, I can still have fun working with it, I don't have to wear it. So I made this, an elegant evening stole knitted in an Estonian lace pattern. And I'm loving the result.

And funny thing is it doesn't look bad on me:)

Stormy sky

Well, it's actually denim blue, but stormy sky sounds so much better, right?:) Anyway here's something new: silk and alpaca lace wrap. Supersoft, warm and cozy, perfect for chilly evening, or really cold winter day.

I'm blue

Today just a quick one, and entirely blue. First an elegant triangular lace shawl in silk and alpaca. Lovely, elegant, delicate and in awesome navy blue (my second favorite color). My own design.

Next two are made from the same yarn, a combo of mohair and acrylic with a shiny metallic thread.

The triangular one has a small ruffle for fun. Both are great for Christmas season, they will make you look glamorous in winter lights. Check them out!

Luxurious Simplicity

Old and popular pattern, new type of yarn. Result: supersoft and delicate shawl, easy to drape and with a subtle silky shine. The yarn - a blend of 70% baby alpaca and 30% mulberry silk, made in Peru - will keep you warm when it's cold and cool you down when it's hot.

Stary i popularny wzór, nowy rodzaj włóczki. Co z tego wyszło? Supermiękka, lejąca i delikatna chusta z lekkim jedwabnym połyskiem. Włóczka - mieszanka 70% alpaki i 30% jedwabiu, wyprodukowana w Peru - grzeje kiedy jest zimno i chłodzi w upał.

70% baby alpaca, 30% mulberry silk
 162x76 cm
https://www.etsy.com/listing/115544775/luxury-alpaca-silk-shawl-triangle-grey

For sale here: https://www.etsy.com/listing/115544775/luxury-alpaca-silk-shawl-triangle-grey
Other color available as made to order.

Do kupienia tutaj: https://www.etsy.com/listing/115544775/luxury-alpaca-silk-shawl-triangle-grey
Inne kolory dostępne na zamówienie.

Update part 4: a bit of luxury

Odrobina luksusu, czyli chusta z moheru i jedwabiu, zrobiona wzorem estońskim, w kolorze burgundowym.

A bit of luxury: kid mohair and silk, Estonian lace stitch, burgundy red.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/111792185/luxurious-kidsilk-lace-shawl-in-cherry

Jutro: falbanki i inne formy

Tomorrow: ruffles and different shapes.

Behold, I'm going bilingual:)

Ladies and gentlemen, od dzisiaj będzie też po polsku:)

And I'm going to show you what came out of my experiments with new yarns and beads.

Pokażę Wam dzisiaj co wyszło z eksperymentowania z nową włóczką i koralikami.

Experiment 1 - cobweb yarn / pajęczyna

A long time ago I found a beautiful yarn in one of my favorite stores. It was a gorgeous blend of cashmere, silk and merino wool. But it was incredibly thin, 2600 meters (that's over 2000 yards) per 100 g - that probably means the yarn is thinner than the one you use to sew on your buttons. And definitely more delicate. I kept looking at it for a while, after all a yarn that thin is a bit scary. But in the end I gave in and bought one skein for a bridal shawl.

Dawno temu wypatrzyłam w jednym z moich ulubionych sklepów przepiękną włóczkę - delikatną mieszankę kaszmiru, jedwabiu i wełny merino. Piękną, ale niesamowicie cienką - 2600 m/100g. Mam grubsze nici do szycia. Najpierw nie mogłam się zdecydować, bo taka cienizna jednak trochę przeraża. Ale w końcu uległam i kupiłam motek z myślą o jakimś delikatnym szalu dla przyszłej panny młodej.

And here it is:

I absolutely love this yarn. Yes, it's thin, and delicate, and knitting takes a long time, but the result is amazing. This is a true cobweb shawl. It weighs less than one ounce (I used less than 1/3 of the skein), you almost don't feel it on the skin. And it's soft, delicate and so easy to drape.

Zakochałam się w tej włóczce. Owszem, jest cieniutka i delikatna, a sama robótka pochłonęła sporo czasu, ale efekt jest fantastyczny. To jest prawdziwa pajęczynka. Całość ma 220x107 cm i waży zaledwie 28 g! Tej chusty prawie nie czuć na skórze. A do tego jest miękka, delikatna i bardzo łatwo ją ładnie ułożyć.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103881164/romantic-wedding-lace-shawl-in-silk

20% cashmere, 20% silk, 60% merino

Eksperyment 2 - koraliki / beads

Na koraliki miałam ochotę od dawna, ale trochę brakowało mi konkretnego pomysłu. A potem przypomniał mi się ten szal. Zrobiłam go wzorem estońskim z bąbelkami. A teraz wymyśliłam sobie, że wykorzystam ten wzór, ale zamiast bąbelków wplotę koraliki.

I wanted to knit something with beads for a long time, but I couldn't quite figure out what and how. And then I remembered this shawl. I'd knitted it in an Estonian lace stitch pattern with nupps. And now I decided to use it again, only this time replacing the nupps with beads.

I wyszło tak:

Podoba mi się co koraliki robią z szalem: nieco go obciążają, przez co fajniej przylega do sylwetki, a do tego błyszczą w słońcu, dzięki czemu szal migocze. Całość jakby w sam raz na romantyczne spacery przy zachodzie słońca:)

I like what the beads do to the shawl: they make it a little bit heavier, so it drapes closer to the body, and they shine in the sun, making the shawl shimmer a bit. The whole thing is perfect for romantic walks at sunset:)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/103881402/knit-red-lace-stole-with-beads

100% merino wool

So how do you like this bilingual post? Is color coding comfy enough for you to read? Let me know what you think.

I jak się Wam podoba ten dwujęzyczny wpis? Wygodnie się go czyta w takiej podkolorowanej wersji? Dajcie mi znać, co o tym myślicie.

Dear Spring, could you please hurry up?

Greetings from the city of rain, fog and melting snow!

The weather in Łódź has been really nasty recently. Last week we had snow, which is now melting, and everything is wet and dirty. Today I'm having problems seeing the building on the other side of the street, as we are floating in fog. BTW, Łódź is Polish for "boat":) Anyway, fog I actually don't mind, I like fog, but not when it's mixed with cold, unpleasant drizzle that feels like tiny pricks of ice on the face. I prefer 25 degrees below zero, as it was a month ago (I mean Celsius, just to be clear:)). Snow in the city is no fun.

Luckily, I have my yarns:) So I knit, and I read, and I try to reduce my outside trips to a minimum. So far it works well for me.

I have finished a sample model of Queen of the Forest in a blend of silk and alpaca. And I fell in love with the color - who would have thought it could look good on me? It's grape, dusty plum, some kind of purple/violet, but it's not a "flat" color - it's a mix, with tiny little specks of different shades, some more pinkish and vibrant than the others.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92995943/spring-green-lace-scarf-hand-knitted

The color is not the only great thing about this yarn - the quality is also wonderful. It's incredibly soft and light, very delicate and gentle on the skin. Plus, it's very easy to drape. I am so happy with this shawl that I will be knitting one for myself. I just have to decide on the color (right now it's down to royal blue, burgundy, and the one in the photos:))

And since the weather is so bad, I figured it would be good to do something for the spring. So I came up with a spring scarf with lace pattern. It's green, small, designed especially to work as a lighter outdoors scarf for warmer days.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92995943/spring-green-lace-scarf-hand-knitted

I like it when the weather is nice enough to leave big scarves at home, yet not warm enough to leave the house without anything to protect your neck. And from a knitter's point of view it's lots of fun to knit the small scarves - they are usually one-skein-projects, quit knits you can wrap up in a couple of evenings. Be it the green one above, or the red/pink one from my previous entry, something tells me I will be knitting a few of those in the next weeks:)


And to finish, I think I have some good news - there is a bird giving a wonderful concert right outside my window. Perhaps spring is much closer than I think...:)

Busier than a beaver in a coffee lake

I have no idea who said the above words, but they describe my reality perfectly:) I've been working like crazy recently - but I'm happy with that. When you do what you love there is no other way:)

Before I show you my latest project, here's a quick update from the shop:
First of all I'm celebrating the Valentine's Day with a special sale

15% off with coupon code: VALENTINE

If you have never used coupon codes, have a look at this article: http://www.etsy.com/help/article/350 - it tells you how coupons work and how to use them.

Wait, there's more!

February 14 - March 14 

is the month of 

free worldwide shipping at KnitsDeLuxe!

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!



OK, now on to the new knits:)

First of all, let me show you a shawl I knitted with one of my favorite type of yarns: kidsilk. It's a gorgeous and luxurious blend of kid mohair (75%) and silk (25%). It looks very elegant and sophisticated; the finished product has a delicate silky shine and shows a subtle halo effect. I love this yarn, it's like a cloud, or whipped cream, - soft, delicate and light as a feather.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92616168/kidsilk-lace-shawl-triangle-ecru

My next project is a scarf knitted with another gorgeous blend: alpaca, cashmere and silk. The yarn is hand painted, there are lots of colors available. The scarf is a modified version of the zig-zag shawl and is available as a made-to-order item in my shop.

http://www.etsy.com/listing/92355831/luxurious-lace-scarf-silk-cashmere

Last, but not least: back to my two favorites: kidsilk and Queen of the Forest.

I've decided to offer a luxury version of the shawl, again, as a made-to-order item. So if you want a luxurious shawl with leaf pattern, and in the color of your choice, have a look at this listing: http://www.etsy.com/listing/92974189/kidsilk-lace-shawl-triangular-hand

Plus, I'm currently finishing the same shawl but from an even more luxurious yarn (alpaca and silk), and that version will also be available on demand very soon.

That's it for now:) Back to work, back to celebrating:)

XO