Choosing Yarn for Your Dragonfruit Shawl

When I invited the Dragonfruit Shawl testers to share their yarn choices, I was amazed by the variety of yarns and color combinations that poured in. Some posted pictures of gorgeous gradients, others chimed in with solid and slow-color-change and self-striping yarns, and still others showed off combinations of yarns from all categories.

Altogether, my 26 inventive testers used over 30 different yarns to create their shawls. I hope the gallery of possibilities below inspires you when choosing yarn for your own Dragonfruit Shawl. With so many possibilities, you can make this shawl over and over again with a different look each time.

The Backstory Behind the Original Yarn: Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber

Photo credit: nikkifox81 on Ravelry

Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber in Bird of Paradise III

The Original Dragonfruit Shawl

Photo credit: MrsMcD918 on Ravelry

Two of my testers, MrsMcD918 and nikkifox81, also used Jazz Handz for their Dragonfruit Shawls. Coincidentally, they both used the same colorway, Rainbow Sherbet.

Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber, created by the wonderfully sweet Susan Herkness, inspired and motivated me when working on the Dragonfruit design. When I received my very first cake of Jazz Handz, which I had ordered in the Bird of Paradise III colorway as a birthday present to myself, I had a vision of it worked up as a richly textured crescent shawl.

On fire with inspiration, I set to work to create my dream shawl. Hesitant to use such a gorgeous yarn for mere prototypes and possible failures, I used other yarns to experiment with textures and shaping techniques. These efforts, however, were largely unfruitful. Months of swatching and dreaming failed to produce anything close to the shawl I had imagined.

Disheartened, I unwrapped the gorgeous cake of Jazz Handz once more from its carefully wrapped swaddle of tissue paper. I suddenly felt an urge to work with it, to feel it running through my hands and over my hook, to watch with delight and suspense as the colors changed. After an argument with my perfectionist side, which advocated for perfecting the design in a different yarn first, I picked up my hook and began to crochet with it.

My first attempt was far from perfect, and my perfectionist side had cause to gloat as I regretfully unraveled several rows and rewound the yarn around the outside of the center-pull cake. The yarn was resilient, however. It looked none the worse from being frogged, and I realized that I, too, was none the worse for having tried.

In fact, I was better off. I had become acquainted with the feel of the yarn, and seen it worked up, and thus I had a better intuition for which textures would suit it best. Not only this, but in returning to the yarn, my original source of inspiration, I had rekindled my passion and excitement for my quest. Hook in hand, I picked up the yarn with renewed energy and confidence.

At the end of a few more days, which passed not without some frogging and frustration, my dream shawl was complete, and I felt the exhilaration that only comes after surmounting a difficult challenge. I couldn’t wait to share the newly born Dragonfruit Shawl.

To learn more about Susan Herkness and her wonderful yarn Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber, check out my interview with her here.

Inspired to make your own Dragonfruit Shawl in Jazz Handz yarn? Click here to visit the Jazz Handz Etsy shop.

Other Yarn Choices

Gradient

Gradient yarns were a popular choice among testers because the pattern is easily modified to use an entire skein or gradient set. With Dragonfruit, you don’t have to worry about any colors going to waste.

Photo credit: Mamalaw on Ravelry

Photo credit: tropigal08 on Ravelry

Photo credit: gulickkr on Ravelry

Photo credit: KMDCrochet on Ravelry

Photo credit: Disou on Ravelry

Photo credit: ppremdas on Ravelry

Photo credit: Sanoe on Ravelry

Solids

Dragonfruit also looks well in solid-colored yarns. Whether you make it monochrome or use a different color for each panel, solid colors show off the contrast between each panel of texture and the intricate edging.

Photo credit: Chamelaucium on Ravelry

Photo credit: tintocktap on Ravelry

Photo credit: charq on Ravelry

Photo credit: Boudelene on Ravelry

Photo credit: DiamremNovelties on Ravelry

Photo credit: keokifam2oz on Ravelry

Dragonfruit in Grey

Slow-Color-Change and Self-Striping

The stitch patterns of each panel help blend the transitions of both self-striping yarns and slow-color-change yarns such as Knit Picks Chroma and Red Heart Boutique Unforgettable.

Photo credit: CrochetOff on Ravelry

Photo credit: tekkie on Ravelry

Photo credit: Nancy-P on Ravelry

Photo credit: colorsfromspace on Ravelry

Photo credit: rksmom on Ravelry

Variegated, Semisolid, and Combination

Dragonfruit is a great stashbuster shawl! Those beautiful but often tricky-to-use skeins of variegated yarn can be used by themselves or paired with coordinating solids and tonals.

Photo credit: 987sherri on Ravelry

Photo credit: PoohBear83 on Ravelry

Photo credit: knitgrl on Ravelry

Photo credit: stricker on Ravelry

Ready to make your own Dragonfruit Shawl? Click here to buy it on Ravelry.

Nymphadora Tonks Shawl

I could probably fill a laundry basket with all of my current crochet works in progress, but this week my Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber was just begging to be made into a crescent shawl.

I didn’t resist. After all, I was feeling somewhat burnt out after the busy holiday season and I knew that making a shawl for myself would revive my crochet mojo.

I decided to use Michele DuNaier’s Mine Once More pattern, which I had used before to make Le Châle Gris.  I set to work on Thursday and within the afternoon, I had already finished the first section.

This project was addicting. Once I started a section, I didn’t want to stop until I’d finished the section. By the time I finished the section, I’d be right in the middle of a color change, and of course I had to keep going until I reached the next color. By Friday night, I had already reached the start of the transition to black.

On Saturday, I finished it! I named it after Nymphadora Tonks from the Harry Potter books because the colors remind me of her.

Love the yarn? Check out my previous post here to learn all about its maker and find out where to buy your own!

Interview and Giveaway with Susan of Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber

Meet Susan

Susan is the sweet and talented fiberista behind Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber. She creates affordable cotton gradient yarns with brilliantly unexpected color combinations. Jazz Handz yarn is unique in that the plies are tied together at intervals rather than plied or twisted. This makes for an airy fabric with excellent stitch definition, perfect for both lacy and textured projects.

You can find all of Susan’s beautiful yarns at her Etsy shop here. Be sure to also check out her Facebook page!

The Interview

1. Do you knit? Crochet? How long had you been in the fiber arts before you started creating yarn?

My love of fiber started when I was 8 and my Great-Great-Aunt Alice taught me needlepoint. She was a wonderful lady and did amazing petit point pictures right up until her death at 102! In high school I was given a crewel kit to make a piece for a school auction. Not knowing how to do any crewel stitches, there was a learning curve. But the piece, and the art, inspired me! I found the love for the feel of yarn in my hands, no matter what the medium!

Then I took a LYS knitting class with my mum. Two things came out of that class, something resembling a sweater, and finding my true fiber art love. I knit whenever I could find time, and money for yarn. Many years later I discovered felting and designed, knit and felted a closet full of purses and bags. But since I didn’t know what to do with them, I drifted slowly away from knitting for awhile.

Then for 5 years I joined with my mum and we created a successful business hand sewing “Pincushion Posies”. But, five years later, it was time for something new. I learned to crochet and then came back to knitting. It felt like I had come home.

2. What inspired you to create your own yarn, and how did you get started?

I love yarn! Wools, cotton, alpaca, you name it. Color is another thing I love. It must be from my pincushion days and years as an art teacher, but color is just as important as the feel of the yarn. After finding gradients, I soon discovered that I couldn’t get a good cotton gradient. There were a few on the market, but I wouldn’t really call them available. I either couldn’t get the colors I wanted, or didn’t want the colors available, but figured that I couldn’t be the only one feeling frustrated about this. So, I set out to create my own yarn in fun colors, that I liked, and make it available to others at a reasonable price.

3. Tell me about your process. What is the hardest part? The most enjoyable?

I start with 4 strands of cobweb weight, cotton. As I spin the yarn into a cake, I cut one strand (at predetermined points) and use a very strong knot and tie on the next color. By staggering these changes in color, a gradient effect is created. Add in lots of time untangling thread-like yarn that misbehaves, and random knots and breaks thrown in by evil yarn mills, and you end with a beautiful cake of colorful yarn.

The knot I use is the magic knot. Videos on how to make the knot can be found on the internet. I would say it’s magic for several reasons. First, it is very, very strong. I test each knot as it’s made and sometimes get a bit too zealous. While the knot has never broken, it is stronger than the yarn, which sometimes breaks as I tug away at it. Second, the knot magically disappears as you knit or crochet right over it. I actually cut the ends very close to the knot itself with sharp embroidery scissors, but most people weave in the ends. Really, it is nearly impossible to find that tiny little knot later on in the finished project. Magic!

The hardest part is actually finding the yarn I use. So I spend far too much time scrounging it up here and there. The actual process involves playing with color, frustration with knots, disappointment with knots and breaks in the yarn on the cone, and a contraption my husband built for me with plans I drew on a napkin!

Playing with color is by far the most fun! Depending on the day, and inspiration, my stash goes from neatly organized to having every color scattered about “playing” with other colors. Sometimes, the best combinations occur when I randomly set yarns down next to one another. It’s always hard to actually make the ones I set about doing in the first place, because others will appear that look much more exciting to me. I think some call that attention deficit, but I call it inspiration!

4. What is your favorite part of owning Jazz Handz Fusion Fiber?

The Jazz Handz Etsy shop, not so much fun. I’m not a fan of, nor completely literate of computers. But it’s also the best part too. I’ve been given the opportunity to meet the nicest people through the shop. I get to make someone happy with what I’ve made, then they take that and create the most beautiful things! It’s very flattering to me when someone chooses my yarn to spend so much time with. They crochet or knit, every day for weeks sometimes, and in the end there’s this brand new beautiful thing in the world! And I think, I had a little bit to do with that!

The Sale

If you’d like to try some beautiful Jazz Handz yarn, Susan is offering a discount code for 16% off any purchase! That brings the price of a 100 gram skein of luxury gradient yarn to just $14.24. Here’s how to get the discount:

1. Go to the Jazz Handz Etsy shop here.
2. Add the items you would like to buy to your cart.
3. Click on the Cart symbol to view your cart.
4. Under the section that says “How You’ll Pay”, click on “Apply shop coupon code”.
5. Enter the code 2016KNOTTHEORIST16 and check out.

This offer is open to all countries and will end on January 21, 2016 at midnight PST.

The Giveaway

As an additional bonus, Susan has also generously offered to sponsor a giveaway of one skein of Fusion Fiber! To enter, comment below with your favorite Jazz Handz colorway. Then, click here to submit your entry and see ways to earn additional entries. This giveaway is US only and will end on January 21, 2016 at midnight PST.

 

Secret Santa!

Making gifts is one of my favorite Christmas activities. I love picking yarns and patterns to match the personalities of friends and family. Even though it’s not quite Christmas yet, I’ve already had a chance to give a gift through my robotics team’s secret Santa gift exchange.

When the team pulled recipient names out of a hat, I drew the name of my sister Bam Bam. After a bit of stash diving, I found the perfect yarn to use for her gift: Yarn Bee Diva Sequin in the Istanbul colorway. With its intense jewel tones that segue into murky greens and purples, it reminded me of the fairy tales Bammy loves to read.

Then I found a pattern, the Geminio Neckwarmer, that reminded me of another of Bam Bam’s interests: Victorian literature.

There was one obstacle to my chosen pairing: the pattern was written for fingering weight yarn, but the Diva Sequin was Aran weight.  I decided to go for it anyway. With a few tweaks, I successfully completed my project, which I dubbed the Victorian Fairy Tale Neckwarmer.

Of course, receiving my own present was enjoyable as well. I was blown away by the thoughtfulness of my secret Santa.

The first thing I noticed as I opened my package was the pretty origami bow adorning the box. I chuckled when I pulled it off and found a little face on the underside.

When I opened the box, I found an enormous skein of rainbow yarn. I immediately knew it would be perfect for the blanket shawl I’d been wanting to make myself.

Underneath it was an awesome knitting ornament. There was also a snazzy necklace with my logo on one side and a bar code linking to my blog on the other side.

In the bottom corner of the box was my favorite gift of all: an awesome mug decorated with puns and a knitting dragon. Thank you, secret Santa!

The Great Yarn Haul of 2015

As soon as I saw the announcement of Knit Picks’ annual Cyber Sale, I started planning my order. I even made a spreadsheet with my design ideas, yarn line choices, and preferred color combinations. The sale did not disappoint. Here are some close-ups of the yarns I bought:

Hawthorne Sport in Alameda

Kettle-Dyed Hawthorne Fingering in Conifer

Kettle-Dyed Hawthorne Fingering in Faun (brown) and Delphinium (blue)

Stroll Tweed in Wellies Heather

 

 

Stroll Glimmer in Black and Potion

Palette in Spruce and Ash

Felici Sock in Rainbow

 

30 Day Blogging Challenge Recap

I’ve finished my 30 day challenge!

At the beginning of 2015, I made a goal to blog at least once a week. Since I only blogged 8 times by halfway through the year, I challenged myself to write a blog post every day for 30 days.

I kept my resolution for 16 days, but missed the 17th day because I didn’t plan ahead. To make up for it, I decided to end the challenge one day later. By the end of the month, I had missed 4 days. Nonetheless, this challenge taught me to commit to writing blog posts.

My 30 day challenge also helped me develop some regular post themes! Going forward, these regular posts will include my Tuesday Bam Bam and Karissa feature as well as designer interviews every other Thursday.

If you would like to see the posts from my blogging challenge, I’ve added a gallery below featuring pictures from those posts. Click on a picture to see the corresponding post.

               

Choose a Button for Streak the Bow Tie

Today I made a new bow tie, which I’ve dubbed Streak. All it lacks is a button – but I can’t decide which one to use. Which of the buttons below do you prefer: the white one or the black one?

My Favorite (Yarncraft) Things

Haloed alpaca as soft as small kittens

Bright kettle cozies and colorwork mittens

Brown cardboard packages filled up with string

These are a few of my favorite things.

Cream colored cotton and crisp drapey linen

Jewel tones and gradients and tonals that glisten

Lace shawls that glimmer like dragonfly wings

These are a few of my favorite things.

When the yarn barfs

When a hook’s lost

When I’m feeling sad

I simply remember my favorite things

And then I don’t feel

so bad!

What are your favorite yarncraft things?

Announcement: Upcoming Interviews with Crochet Designers

I am continually inspired by the works and styles of other designers. I love learning new techniques, constructions, and stitch combinations. Therefore, I am excited to reveal that I will be publishing a series of interviews with some of my favorite crochet designers, starting next week. I will ask about design processes, backstories, and tips for getting the best results in your own projects. I hope you will be as inspired by them as I am!