21 March 2007

bewitched.

Remember when I scored a giant cone of fingering weight wool last summer?

I knew it had to be a shawl or a stole or something, but seriously, a shawl? I've never been that kind of girl, so the thought of spending tons of time on something that for sure would be incredibly gratifying to knit & finish, wouldn't be put to much use once it was done wasn't all that appealing to me.

But last week I found myself in a very new to me place. A place with no projects on the go. Donald's socks have been axed - he'd like slippers instead (the socks were taking me *for.e.v.e.r.* something about using cotton to knit stuff for other people slows me down) Gord's anniversox were done & the next big project was supposed to be a sweater for him. We've finally narrowed down the pattern (Elizabeth Zimmerman's Seamless Hybrid - wooot!) but now there's the matter of picking out the yarn. I had a sock on the go - but it was mainly an 'at work' project.

I needed something....something a little challenging, using something from my stash. A buffer project that would last until Gord had made a colour/content decision for his sweater.

Yo guy, my bad - this was cast on last wednesday at about 9pm. I finished it on Monday night.



It's the Swallowtail Shawl from Interweave Knits Fall 2006. I used size 4 circular Addi Turbos. This is a really easy to follow pattern. The hardest part is the nubbs - the stumpy ends of my needles could not get in there for the p5tog - I did some online searching & discovered that sl2, p3tog, psso would work just the same. This saved me lots of time & cut my swear words to almost nil.

I'd read it a million times - how blocking lace turns the work into a whole different thing - turns the caterpillar into a butterfly....but it took seeing it with my own eyes to fully understand. Before blocking, the top edge measured 42". Now it's 56". Lovely. I have the awesome tips on lace blocking from the Yarn Harlot to thank for how nicely this turned out.


It has one or two mistakes, but nothing I can't live with.

This used barely any of the wool from the cone - I could probably knit about 4 more of these things with what I have left over!

I really, really love it, and dare I say...I think it's converted me into being that kind of girl.

8 comments:

Joanna said...

It looks great. Very beautiful. I have never felt like a shawl-girl either, but I am starting to feel like trying on some lace shawl knitting anyway. (If I'm not happy with it, it would hopefully make a great gift.) Seeing your Swallowtail Shawl have pushed me even closer to shawl knitting.

Angela said...

Amazing.

I've never been much for shawls myself. It tends to clash with my uber-casual (yet still feminine and dead sexy) dress sense.

The Swallowtail though? Especially in the picture that has it wrapped more like a scarf? Lurvly.

~A

vanessa said...

i've been trying to decide for years (literally!) what my first lace project would be, and i think i've finally decided what to do with the knitpicks alpaca cloud that has been languishing in my stash for all this time. plus i just got some knitpicks size 4 needles so hopefully i will be able to show those p5tog's who is boss! thanks for the inspiration!

just a note, the pattern is actually in the fall 2006 issue.

Sarah and Jack said...

Enough left over to knit 3 more? My address is.... LOL!

I LOVE it!

Sea Anemone said...

Gorgeous! I love it! It looks fantastic on you. :)

nicole said...

thanks SO much for all the great comments! And Vanessa - thanks for the heads up, I corrected my error.
Sarah - heh....you never know!

Sarah and Jack said...

LOL, I just saw your comment on the easter decor, and was trying to email you, but there is no email link on your profile! I would totally swap whatever you wanted for one of those gorgeous, gorgeous yarn creations! You should be able to email me through my profile. (If you want to, that is. LOL)

hotsauce said...

Holy crap, you are fast and it looks gorgeous. You make me want to be a better knitter.