The Colorblock Shawl is ALMOST finished. It came off the needles last night and was pinned to the blocking blanket this morning. Considering the cool, damp weather we've been having, it may have to spend a few days there to finish drying.
I thought I was being ever so cautious about the bindoff, constantly weighing the remaining yarn to make sure there was enough. And there was. Just. Apparently the knit lace bindoff needs 2-3 times as much yarn as a full row of pattern knitting. Good to know for future endeavors.
This is the best picture of the colors, which are extremely elusive. They appear to prefer flash photography. Even so, the middle color is a much deeper olive green in real life. The shape of the shawl is, uh, different; not a triangle, circle, half-circle, or anything squarish, it most resembles a traditional Danish Tie Shawl . The Danish shawls have two increases at each end and one on either side of the center. So the ends grow much faster than the middle and elongate into pieces that can be wrapped around and tied in back. This pattern accomplishes a similar effect by increasing at the ends on every right side row, but in the middle bits only on every other right side row.
If this shawl blocks large enough I may try to turn it into a tie shawl, perhaps with the addition of some i-cord at each end. Although it isn't lace (which could be expected to stretch a lot), the plain garter stitch is nevertheless knit of 100% alpaca. And we all know how alpaca loves to stretch, don't we? Not so good for sweaters, but great for shawls. The center back, which was 18" deep at bindoff, blocked to 26". If it holds that length and the rest remains comparably large, it may indeed become a tie shawl. And if not, it will still be a nice cozy everyday shawl.
5 comments:
First it was the Swallowtail and now this one too...binding off with just the tiniest squib of yarn left. I believe you are redefining - "knitting on the edge"!
That came out well. It reminds me of the pennants they fly on ships--the ones that are different colors. I think they use those to send messages. (?)
What a nice cozy shape. The tie shawl is an interesting idea. This might inspire me to knit more shawls.
As the locals around here say, "You done good!"
It's beautiful! Is your weather cool so you can wear it a lot?!
That looks very nice. I've seen shawls with similar shapes, and they seemed so sensible. They seem as if they'll sit on your shoulders and not move around, the way some triangular ones tend to do.
Post a Comment