shawl underway

[lindaj]

Against expectations, the yarn for my Estonian Garden Wrap arrived, and I've begun knitting.

As predicted, the middle part (which is where you start...go figure) is zipping along. I've completed 4 pattern repeats out of the requisite 41, and I only started yesterday.

The yarn is darker than I'd hoped, but since I had no other yarn at hand, I started anyway. The color is growing on me.

I've never knit lace before. This stuff is amazing. Wow.

Comments

[lindalee.livejournal.com]

That's pretty cool.

The yarn I'm using for this shawl is incredibly thin...thin like embroidery floss. It uses a size 5 needle, though, so it pretty much knits up as fast as anything else with size 5s. This means that is is airy and light and soft and lovely...but it will not be warm, so when I tell you I need a wrap to go over a sleeveless dress in October (and I will, don't worry), feel free to laugh slightly. At least it will be warmer than nothing, and my goosebumps will be covered in style.

I am all for "using up the stash" mode, just in general. It is a noble cause, and one that more of us should take up.

[lindalee.livejournal.com]

I saw that in my search! I did consider shrugs for a while.

I really wish I believed that I'd use either a shrug or a wrap after the fact, but I simply don't. n a sense, I'm thinking of this as my one chance to make something that's this sort of lovely...because why else would I ever make it? I don't even know what I'll do with the wrap I'm making after the wedding. I'm considering giving it to someone, but I don't know who.

I also want to encourage you to knit something lacy and beautiful. I thought it was scary, but now that I'm in the middle of it, it's simply not that bad. Now I think everyone should have this experience of "Look at that stuff coming off my needles! Where did it come from? Certainly I didn't knit it!" :-)

[lindalee.livejournal.com]

I'm finding that in the middle part of this pattern (8 rows, but the wrong side is just purling across, so that's really only 4 rows of "stuff"), it ends up being pretty obvious. I'm still consulting the pattern at the beginning of each row, and chanting the stitches to myself, but it becomes really obvious if I make a mistake and get off from what I'm supposed to be doing. I think I didn't expect that, but it sure is convenient.