Thursday 21 January 2010

FO: Spiced Citron


Pattern: Citron

Yarn: Knitpicks Shimmer in "spice" colourway

Needles: 4 mm

Mods: Cast off using my favourite shawl cast off, from the Twilight Shawl.


Notes: Love, love, love. The pattern is wonderful, and great for on-the-go knitting, since it's lightweight and isn't any more complicated than stockinette and increases and decreases. Yet it produces a wonderfully unfussy, utterly perfect shawl. If you aren't into lace, then people, this is your shawl.


 (I know I didn't do the typical wingspan/full shawl shot, but I'll distract you with a shot of Gatsby and me having a moment instead)

I hadn't used Knitpicks Shimmer before, but I love the result. Especially in the spice colourway- I really wish they had more yarns available in this colour, it's amazing!! That perfect burnt orange, with lovely shades of turmeric and deep red, made me love this shawl even more. I tend to fall back into the same kind of colour palette with my clothes, so I love having shawls in colours I don't usually wear- it's the perfect way to change up an outfit or a look, without a wardrobe overhaul.

(I love how well the little horse pin goes with the shawl- the horsey has the same russet tones. It's really old- it was vintage to begin with, and I've had it since I was a child. I'm shocked I never lost it.)

I need to have an Etsy gush for a moment. Here's a picture of the t-shirt I'm wearing in the photos above, which I love.
 My wonderful husband got me an awesome and different t-shirt from this etsy seller for Christmas. And I loved it, but the size wasn't right. We conversed with the seller, who did up a new one in the size I needed, but because we had to wait a few weeks for the t-shirts she prints on to arrive at her workshop, she threw in the awesome t-shirt pictured above. Just because she felt bad about me having to wait. Now I have two awesome t-shirts! And a lot of love for the seller.

See, if I had ordered from a big on-line store, and they were out of stock, tough bananas for me. But what I love about buying on Etsy is that direct relationship between the craft-person and the buyer, so that if there is a hiccup, even a tiny one,  they go out of their way to make your shopping experience with them memorable and wonderful. You feel life they actually care about you, and that's how you get customers for life. NY Hop, I love you!!

28 comments:

Anonymous said...

the shawl looks great! and i totally have a crush on those t-shirts! plus, you horsie pin? super cute!

Laurynn said...

Awesome shawl! The best part about non-lace shawl knitting is all the straight knitting that goes with it. That is one pattern I'd like to try.

Clumsy Knitter said...

Oooh...I was about to make a Citron, but I may have to rethink my color choice (blue) after seeing yours. Love it!

Teresa said...

Hells yeah, I love etsy so very much! I dig the shirt, glad it all worked out for you. The best people are crafty people.
Also, it's really rather serendipitous that you chose to make Citron in that yarn and colourway, cause I was wanting to knit the pattern too, and was wonderinf what yarn to use, and shazam! I have 2 hanks of that yarn and colourway that've been sitting in me stash for almost a year now. Thanks for the destash motivation!

Susan said...

Gorgeous result on your shawl. I follow Hilary's blog and was excited to see her pattern on Knitty.

Thanks for the t-shirt tip. I ordered the olive version after seeing yours!

Adriana said...

Citron looks amazing! I'm making it for my bridesmaids to wear. I'm almost done the first one so I'm very happy to see how good it looks on.

Anonymous said...

Things I love about this post:
♥ A cat named Gatsby
♥ sweet vintage-y horse pin
♥ etsy-seller love
♥ fluffy and stylish loose-gauge knits

hooray! :)

weezalana said...

What a simple, pretty shawl! And that tee rocks!

Sarah said...

That shawl is gorgeous! Great job.

Anonymous said...

OMG horse pin love! the shawl is so pretty--had no idea KP had this color, i'll have to check it out and I totally agree they should carry more spice-colored yarns.

Anonymous said...

Lovely shawl. I use that bind off *a lot*. :)

Misty said...

It's beautiful! Now I want one too! Did you use just the one skein of yarn?

kokopuff said...

So very lovely!

Ibunnysavetroy said...

love it! I've been eyeing that pattern.

aquaknits said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous shawl! That color is really stunning, and what a cute tee!!

susie Q said...

i would like to second all the compliments on the knitting & the shawl, but also add that i am in LOVE with your giant fluffy cat named gatsby! he's like a (warm, purring) dream xx

Hilary said...

You knit a Citron!! Yours is SO PRETTY, and how cute is that little horse pin?! It's been fun seeing Citrons on Ravelry and the internets, but when a blog-friend has made one, it feels extra special! P.S. I LOVE your t-shirt, and what a great Etsy story!

Anonymous said...

Now I'm going to have to add that shawl to my to-do list. Yours is absolutely beautiful and I LOVE the color. Great job!

Jen (pieKnits) said...

The shawl looks so great! Love that yarn. I think it works so perfectly for the pattern.

Jill said...

I love shawls like this - so basic, yet so pretty! And I agree, the color is beautiful.

Maryse said...

Your shawl is really nice! It adds a very feminine touch to what you are wearing! Nice t-shirt too!

Michele Saunders said...

Your shawl is so pretty. Great color!

I cannot believe how fast you are turning out these beautiful knits! Amazing!

Anonymous said...

Love how the colors of the yarn looks in this pattern. Gorgeous shawl! And a very very cute t-shirt. :D

Anonymous said...

It's a great shawl! I love the color you chose.
Also, you look absolutely adorable in that t-shirt!

yoel said...

Pretty! The color suits you so well.

Monique said...

Very pretty and feminine!

Rima said...

I love the color!!!! Really spicy! Beautiful shawl.

Sandy said...

I love the shawl--it looks great on you! (I have to check my Bloglines RSS feed for you because I have been missing all of your posts!)