FO: Icy Shetland Triangle

I finally had a photo shoot with the three shawls I knit earlier this year that I've blocked. So expect a few FO posts this week:



Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Pale Skies over Sugared Violet
Needles: US size 6 / 4.0 mm
Dates: May 4 to June 19 2008
On Ravelry



This shawl takes my breath away. I've loved the pattern from the moment I first saw it in print, and this is the second time I've knit it. It's a fantastically easy lace shawl pattern - the only reason it took me six weeks is because I was working on several other patterns at the same time. I highly recommend the Shetland Triangle to all. My only complaint is that triangular shawls do not fit around the shoulders very well, so I am thinking I'll design my own L-shaped shawl using the same lace repeat someday.



This yarn was a dream for lace. I really like fingering weight yarn for lace, and the superwash merino is soft and relaxed, not wiry like some other sock yarns I've knit with. Sundara dyes amazing semi-solid shades, with enough variation for some interest but not a multi-colored yarn that would overwhelm the lace.



This shawl is a gift, but the holidays are far enough away that I could not wait until the end of December to post it. Hopefully, if the recipient sees this, it will be a distant memory by the time the package is opened.

Overly Ambitious?

* Number of days spent on my recent trip to Portland, OR: 3
* Number of knitting-hours spent in the car on said trip: 7
* Number of knitting projects I brought with me: 4
* Number of projects I actually worked on: 1
* Number of rows I knitted on said project during said 7 hours: 20
* Number of minutes each row took me, on average: 21

When planning for a trip, I seem to think every minute spent away from home will be spent knitting. But between navigating for my partner while driving through an unfamiliar town, time spent visiting with friends and family, time spent photographing kids playing, and time playing with the kids, there wasn't a whole lot of knitting that actually happened. I also always seem to forget how long those final rows of triangular lace shawls are! I seem to think that 20 rows left means I'll be done in about an hour. No, not so much.

* Number of knitting stores I visited in Portland: 1
* Number of skeins of yarn I bought: 0
(Took some willpower though! Knit/Purl had an amazing Koigu selection! My subscription to the Sundara Seasons Club, my desire to only purchase yarn I can't get at home, and my partner standing next to me, kept me from walking away with a lovely souvenir.)

I did finish knitting the Icy Shetland Triangle shortly after I made it home from the trip.



Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Pale Skies over Sugared Violet, approx 1.7 skeins
Needles: US size 6

Two skeins of the yarn, 700 yards, brought me to a finished shawl of 13 lace repeats plus the edging. I'm pretty sure there is enough yarn left that I could have done 14 repeats. Pre-blocked, it's measuring 50.5 x 21 inches. Which brings me to another statistic:

* Number of finished shawls I still need to block before they are "FOs": 3



(From top to bottom: Icy Shetland Triangle, Lace Leaf Shawl, and Tuscany.)

Fridays are for...

Is it Eye Candy or Yarn Pr0n on Fridays? I'm not sure. Either way, the following will surely count:



The six yarns & colorways from the Sundara Yarn 2007-2008 Seasons Club, Winter. She really has an eye for color, doesn't she?



Clockwise from upper left: Fingering Silky Merino in Winter Sky, Aran Silky Merino in Charcoal over Blue Lagoon (simply divine - and we got three skeins of it!), Silk Lace in Black over Fuschia, Sock Yarn in Candied Chrome, Sock Yarn in Burnt Cranberries, and Sock Yarn in Emerald over Charcoal. I signed up for another year of the club and stuck with Winter.

This is the "Icy Shetland Triangle" that I'm knitting out of two skeins of Sundara Sock Yarn in Pale Skies over Sugared Violet. (One skein down, up to one more to go). I really love this yarn for lace, and I love the play of colors without wild variegation. It's also as soft as buttah.



I couldn't justify the expense, but now I regret that I didn't sign up for two installments of Winter, since two skeins in the right amount for a shawl but one is too little in my book. My single skeins will likely become scarves, cowls, or baby sweaters. Or maybe I'll be able to do some trading and wind up with enough for more shawls.

Cast On: Icy Shetland Triangle

I've cast on another shawl, a second Shetland Triangle. I'm calling this one the "Icy Shetland Triangle" because of the icy blue color:



Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Sundara Sock Yarn in Blue Sky over Sugared Violet
Needles: US size 6



The yarn is like buttah. I'm so knitting lace with the other Sundara Sock Yarn skeins I've collected as part of her Seasons Club. A cowl, a scarf, a shawl for someone more petite than I?

I started this shawl as part of a Shetland Triangle Knitalong group on Ravelry. I am totally not keeping with the other knitters, though, because this makes the fourth shawl I've got on the needles right now. (It's really not my style to have so many projects OTN at the same time, especially so many similar projects. I do enjoy the process of knitting, but I'm enough of a product knitter that a lot of knitting without a finished object makes me ancy.) I have a deadline to get this one finished, though, so I used the KAL as an excuse to cast it on.