I began this in October of 2007, with the idea of giving it to my sister-in-law-once-removed (I think that is what Frankie is!) for Christmas 2007. Little did I know what a DOG on the needles this would become! Not to say that I am not pleased beyond belief with the finished project, but this was such a difficult knit for me. I never got comfortable with the actual rhythm of the pattern, I had to have my eyes glued to the pattern at all times. And winter did not have NEAR enough light for knitting black lace. I think the choice of "Superior" as the yarn was the first hazard. It is 70% cashmere/30% silk and honestly feels like one is knitting a spiderweb. Ever so slippery on the needles, I ended up using size 6 Addi Lace Circulars (24"). The pattern is Muir from Fall 2007 Knitty. The shawl ended up 29" x 86" after a pretty messy blocking:
I found that I had permanently bent my blocking wires blocking the Spitzenstricken. I will have to go back to the welding supply place and get the next larger diameter. But I did block with thread, which I ran thru the picots along the sides and the loops along both ends. This SORTA worked, but many of the side picots became inverted, necessitating quite alot of pin placement. Totally worth it, they all poke out now.
Gonna wrap it and mail it today. Meanwhile - I am planning a rectangular shawl for my Aunt Dorothy who requested something in purple. Her first shawl was also my first shawl, it is the one at the head of the blog. I found some wonderful Alchemy Haiku at Knit Purl in Portland. Lovely customer service, I have never been to the store, but any internet retailer that wraps my yarn in tissue, includes a personal note and gets it here fast gets my repeat business.
I bought the Pablo's Solace colorway, and knit up a gauge sample, testing some designs I have found both on the internet and in recent book purchases (I need an intervention for book purchasing). Lovely yarn, can't wait to begin the shawl after I figure out the exact design.
Oh - and I finished the "Summer Sampler" by BadCatDesigns. I did end up adding my own edging lace, one that I found in an old Burda Lace magazine. It ended up a bit tight, I did not measure the stitch/row gauge correctly of the edging and "do the math" for attaching it to the sampler. But it is also, quite nice and blocking did a lot for it. The cotton yarn I used "Habu Non-Twist Cotton Boucle XS-43B" is very very soft, the color is quite deep. And - as an added benefit, the shawl FITS thru a ring!
And then there is always my usual mindless knitting, a couple of pairs of hats, two felted slippers, three pairs of socks. And while rooting around in the black hole of crafts, found this bit of fair isle I designed and knit a sample for:
I gotta get knitting!
