First ever pattern - Petunia

I've been in love with knitting guru Elizabeth Zimmermann's witty words since I found her books a few years ago. I quickly bought all her books available at the time and have read them over and over again - both for knitting tips and for fun, enjoying her way with words.

I have yet to knit any of her designs. I like them and I like her favourite stitch, the garter stitch. Time and time again I've contemplated knitting her famous Pi Shawl (Ravelry link). However, I’ve knit Brooklyn Tweed’s Girasole (my first lace project, idiot as I am) and much as I love it, wearing it feels like wearing a really warm, woolly doily.

Then I saw this skein of yarn at Merja's shop Kissanviiksi. It's Evilla Artyarn 8/2.

And, I wanted to knit it. As it is not my colour, beautiful though it is, I thought I'd knit some kind of sample for her shop just for the fun of it.

Then I thought, why not design a pattern for it?

Never done that before. As the yarn is striking in itself, the pattern had to be simple. It did not take long for my brain to marry the yarn with my love of EZ and this pattern was born in homage to her.

I think it would look quite lovely in a single colour too. And maybe knit with a yarn with more drape to it?

However, self-striping yarn with a long colour sequence makes for a showy shawl. And, at least in Finland, both Evilla's and Aade Long Artistic's yarn are really affordable.

I've been involved with Ulla for a few years, now, so it was natural to offer the pattern to be published on Ulla's pages. And it was! in issue 2/2011, which is filled with lovely designs & brilliant articels (one of which is mine...). Here's the link to my Petunia. The original lives as a shop sample at Kissanviiksi, as planned back in February 2011. Thank you Merja for giving me the yarn to knit!

And the name, Petunia? Well, the shawl is easy, colorful knit from Evilla and as knitting projects go, a bit dull – just like Petunias.

Here's the Ravelry link to the pattern, by the way. I'll translate the pattern to English in June 2011 and publish it in Ravelry, plus here in my blog.

To KIP or not to KIP

Yes, I'll definitely be KIPing, Knitting in Public, tomorrow at noon in Ruttopuisto (the "Plague" Park) in Helsinki. It’s called thus because the victims of the Plague epidemic of 1710 were all buried there in mass graves. The real name is the Old Church’s Park.
Here's the map, the dot is at the Northernmost corner of the park.


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I might even finish the long-overdue socks for Mother. Other important news: the weather is the best, about +26C or more all over the country - except Lapland, of course.