Statistics
Pattern: Garden Party Shawl by Fiber Dreams
Yarn: Posh Yarn Cecilia in ‘Sherbert’, about 650yds
Needle: 3.0mm Addi Lace Turbo
Started: 9 March 2008
Finished: 30 March 2008
More photos of the process here. This shawl will be going to my granny, who is having a bit of a rotten time healthwise at the moment, but I certainly intend to knit this again with heavier yarn to make a larger shawl for myself.
Although not the first shawl I have attempted – both Icarus and Swallowtail met an ill fate when I tried to knit them last year – this is certainly the first that I am likely to finish. Round about the beginning of March, someone in the Posh Yarn Ravelry group suggested a knitalong of the Garden Party shawl by Fiber Dreams. The idea took off and I think there are around ten of us knitting this shawl at the moment. I have had a skein of Posh Yarn Cecilia, which is a light laceweight, although not technically a traditional cobweb, in the stash for a few months, and thought that the colour would go really well with the theme of the shawl. I cannot tell you how enjoyable this has been to knit – the yarn is soft and so, so light, and I could not have chosen a more uplifting or Spring-like colour, and the pattern is brilliantly constructed. You first knit the centre panel, then knit one side, joining the working yarn to the slipped stitch edges of the panel, then do the same for the second side. You then knit across the whole body of the shawl for a scant 27 rows (the longest row in this whole project is only around 300 stitches), then leave the live stitches on the needle whilst working the border as short rows, knitting it onto the body. I have about seven border repeats left to do, so I really hope to have this finished by the weekend, as then I can block it and get some pictures.
I have to finish it by April 1st, anyway – we are starting the next KAL then! Swallowtail, this time, so I hope I can cope with it better than my last try. Oooh, I can feel a new addiction coming on – luvverly, lush lace.
Well hello, my lovelies! Did you miss me? It is so good to be back again, feeling revitalised and replenished after my unintentional, but absolutely needed, blog break. How are you all? I hope you are all filled with the promise of spring, or the calm of autumn, in this new season.
Thank you also for the kind words on the last post, and please accept my apologies for not getting back to you all by email. I am a bit muddled as to whose comments I responded to, so can we call a moratorium? A fresh start? A clean slate? Most appropriate for this fresh new season, no? But truly thank you, your kindness means the world to me.
Did you enjoy the Easter break? We spent a lovely weekend visiting my grandparents on the Dorset coast, eating fish and chips, walking by the beaches and taking in the air. I slept more soundly than I have slept in a long time, and returned to London refreshed in both body and soul.
Knitting-wise I have not been idle this past month. I have been working on a large project that I hope to finish by the end of March, but in the interim I polished off the above slouchy hat using two balls of the Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk I bought in the mammoth Knit Happens sale last year (last year? 2006? I cannot quite remember) – the same purchase as the Koolhaas yarn. The hat is simple enough, but for those of you who like having things spelled out:
Squooshy Hat
Yarn: Debbie Bliss Alpaca Silk, 2 balls
Needles: 5mm 16″/40cm circular needle; set of five 5mm dpns
CO 88 stitches (although you could do 80 if you prefer a tighter fit around the forehead.)
Knit 8 rows 2×2 rib
Knit, knit, knit until you have only about a third of the second ball left.
Decreases:
R1: Knit 9 (8) stitches, k2tog, *ssk, k18 (16), k2tog*, repeat from * to * twice more, ssk, k9 (8)
Keeping the decreases in line, repeat until you have 8 stiches on the needles. Draw the yarn through the live stitches, pull tight and fasten off. Weave in all ends, and wear with deconstructed aplomb.
I best get to work, so I leave you with a sneak preview of my next installment. Adieu, mes amis!
