Great Feather & Fan Shawl Project of 2008

Seeing as today is the last day of 2008, I decided I really needed to get this shawl photographed and posted to the blog.



Pattern: Pacific Waves Shawl by Danielle Miner
Yarn: Sundara Aran Silky Merino in Charcoal over Blue Lagoon
Needles: US size 10 / 6 mm
On Ravelry

I originally started this shawl in Crown Mountain Sock Hop, but I didn't like how it knit up. Re-done in Sundara Aran Silky Merino in Charcoal over Blue Lagoon gave me pretty much exactly the shawl I wanted. The yarn is gorgeous, soft, and warm. And the color, totally delicious.



I was so delighted when I finished it that I started wearing it every where even though I hadn't blocked it. I think I've decided I like it as it is. I wouldn't mind if the scalloped edges would lay a little flatter, but I think blocking would stretch it out too much and make it much too large for me.



The other thing I really love about this pattern in the L-shape. There is a nice point that hangs down the back, but generous arms that lay across the front too. No slipping or bunching. I'm going to work on turning some of my favorite patterns into L-shaped shawls, I think.



A big winner in my book.

Recent FOs

My knitting has been a bit scattered since I finished the Icy Shetland Triangle in June. (I did block the three shawls, but haven't had photo sessions with them yet).

I like having knitting projects that are portable, because I knit away from home a lot - in the car (when I'm the passenger, of course), when I'm hanging with friends, and during several Wednesday meetings at work. I also want projects that are easy to memorize, because a lot of the time, I have to concentrate on something besides my knitting.

With Project Spectrum Air happening over the months of June & July, I decided to pull out the sampler blanket project that I put in the bottom of my stash bins over a year ago. Because this is the first project I ever knit, I am not into knitting it any more, so I decided to take the 25 squares I had already knit, finish off seven more, and make two baby blankets with 16 squares each. The grey & cream (& brown) colors were a perfect match for PS Air, and working on squares would be a portable little project good for summertime knitting. Except - each square requires closely following a pattern, so it turned out to be less convenient than I thought. I am happy to say I just finished sewing up one blanket, and have four more squares to knit for blanket #2.

So I've done a slew of quick little, portable projects. Many of which are actually good for Project Spectrum Water, which just started August 1. I finished the Falling Leaves Shawl:



And knit a Foliage Hat out of the same yarn (Berrocco Ultra Alpaca in Oceanic Mix) to match:



I found that the Ultra Alpaca was not as suited to the pattern as the Malagbrigo. It was way too long. After finishing the hat, I had to pick out the cast off, rip back the ribbing and a lace repeat, and then reknit the ribbing.

I knit a Scrunchable Scarf and a pair of mittens (cobbled together my own design) out of Malabrigo Chunky in the Vaa colorway to match the Foliage Hat I made for myself:



And a quick little Pro Bono hat in naturally dyed handspun from Tactile Fiber Arts:



I also was out of town for almost two weeks. I took along two one-skein lace scarf projects but was not engaged by either of them. And frankly, Hawaii is not conducive to knitting - I was either swimming, taking pictures, or reading (a lovely vacation indeed). I have already frogged the one I was trying to design and I suspect the other one will follow. Also, I frogged Birch - I knew I couldn't make it into what I wanted it to be. I do love the Morehouse Merino Lace yarn with the fern leaf lace pattern, so expect they will be paired again at some point.

So, the only WIP I have going right now is the baby blanket #2. I need a portable, easy to memorize project. Which means, ladies and gentlemen, that it is time to cast on for the Great Feather & Fan Shawl Project of 2008.

Cast On: Birch

I realized I never did a post re casting on the Birch Shawl, just one about swatching for it. So here it goes (but, be forewarned, it gets angsty):



I wanted to make the shawl a little on the big size, but as a top-down shawl, you have to figure out how many stitches to cast on in the very beginning, and I had trouble doing so. I asked for math advice here and on the Ravelry Lace Knitters group forum, to no avail. I don't want to knit Kiri (I want the shawl knit straight down, as opposed to sideways down with a dividing line of two yarnovers down the middle). I don't want to knit bottom-up, because that turned the lace pattern on its head, and I prefer it with the leaves hanging down rather than pointing up. Yes, I'm picky, but I'm knitting it so I can make it exactly what I want.

In the end I decided to cast on 319 stitches, which is two more repeats than the pattern calls for. I figured that if I used up more than half a skein in those first two repeats, I could frog and cast back on with fewer stitches.



You see where this is going, right? I'm about a repeat and a half in (which has been at least six hours of work, probably more like eight), and my gut tells me I've used more than half of the first ball of yarn. I don't have a scale to weigh it and know for sure. (I suppose I could take it to my LYS and get it weighed.) And, of course, I don't actually want to rip out all that work that looks so lovely now that I'm here.

I could order another skein of yarn, most of which I wouldn't end up using. I could rip and cast back on with 10 fewer stitches - I'm pretty sure I have enough yarn for that. Or, you know, I could pick an entirely different yarn. (Yup, here's the angsty bit).

I really like how it is knitting up. I've never used yarn this fine on needles this large, so it's much more "holey" than I'm used to, and it looks lovely. It's going to be an airy, light, wonderful shawl. But, as Project Spectrum Earth project, and one that I'm calling "Rustic," the truth is I envisioned something much earthier and heavier. Look at this Birch knit in Felted Tweed. Or wouldn't it be lovely in Berocco Ultra Alpaca Light? (Although they don't have the dark evergreen color I have in mind.) But I don't really want to go out and buy new yarn when I already bought some specifically for this shawl.

In any case, this lovely shawl is now in time out while I ponder my options. (And, um, if you'd recommend a nice DK-or-sport-weight rustic, earthy, tweedy, evergreen green yarn, I'm open to suggestions.)

Swatching Birch

For Project Spectrum Elements Earth, I'm planning on the Birch Shawl by Sharon Miller (Ravelry link). I knew it was going to be dark green, both because of the theme of PS Elements, and also as a nod to the leaf lace pattern. But I didn't want to use the recommended Kidsilk Haze - I'd like to avoid knitting with mohair as long as possible. I decided to use this project as an excuse to try a lace yarn I hadn't used before, and decided on Morehouse Farms Merino Lace in Hemlock green.



On Earth Day, I swatched the lace pattern. I used the Fern Leaf Lace from Barbara Walker's first Treasury, as it's the same pattern without built-in decreases. I used US size 8 needles, as the original pattern called for, and love the result:



The yarn is single ply, so feels fragile. It's not as soft as other yarn I've been using lately - there is a lovely rustic-ness to the yarn that is perfect for the pattern. I've never used such large needles on such fine yarn before (it's thicker than other laceweight I own, but thinner than the fingering weight I'm used to using), and so have never knit something so "holey."



I have 880 yards, and want to make a generous shawl. Thing is, you cast on the long end and knit up to the point (which means the finished lace pattern will "hang" in the opposite direction of what is pictured above). So if I want to make the shawl bigger, I have to cast on those additional repeats and hope I don't run out of yarn.



Luckily, Fig & Plum has already knit this shawl in this yarn, and she used approximately 770 yards, so I've got a benchmark to start from. I'm thinking about casting on 20 extra stitches for two extra repeats. If anyone had any advice on how to know if I can fit two extra repeats in 110 yards, I'd love input.