I am a pattern tester!

I came upon an interesting group in Ravelry whose purpose it to put designers and knitters together to test designs. I have browsed the site often in the last few weeks and followed some of the pattern tests. Some I would have really liked to join in, but they fill up quite quickly it seems. Saturday a new pattern was released for testing, and it was just what I have been looking for. I needed to check my yarn stash first before committing to it however (I did manage to build up quite a stockpile in the Mary Maxim sale and really should deplete it somewhat before heading off to a yarn store again). Luckily, I found 3 skeins of Vanna's Choice in a variegated colour, which is what the pattern was designed for. I checked the thread again, and was lucky to see that she still needed another test knitter for the larger shawl, which is what I wanted to make. I was accepted as a tester!

This morning I dutifully made the test swatch, but discovered that I must be a tight knitter, or perhaps my yarn is a lighter weight than she had in mind (although it is classed as the weight she described). I will tear out the first swatch and redo it in 6.5 mm needles to see if that is closer to the correct gauge for me. Might have to go and buy longer circular needles for this, but want to make sure of the needle size first. I am excited to be part of this test!

 

Swatch trials

New shawl in progress October 10

I have finished to row 43 and have found a few things that need to be clarified. Although it is going well, I am not impressed with the way this colour knits up. It has a camouflage look to it. The yarn itself is nice to work with. I am going to tear it out and start again in Caron Simply Soft Shadows in colour Opal Twist. It is primarily black with a white or brown contrast thread wound through it. It would also make the pattern stand Oct 25 so I have some time to play with still.

October 16 The shawl is done! It is a really nice mix of lace and knitting .... feminine but not overly frilly. It took about 2 1/2 balls of the Simply Soft yarn. If it was not part of the pattern test, I would have made it longer to use the yarn, but it is fine as it is. I will block it tomorrow and see what the finished dimensions are. Right now it is 18.5 inches X 40 inches. I think it will be a warm, cuddly addition! Final pictures to come in a few days.