Putting the -ette in Shawlette

So, I'm knitting the qiviut shawlette from the winter 2010 issue of Spin-Off magazine. I've got a bit of yarn that I've spun from the spinning class Abby taught last year. Was that only last year? It must have been earlier than that. Either which way, we all got samples of an abby batt, which is how I started my addiction. A few of my lovely friends gave me their strip, since they reasoned there wasn't much they could do with less than an ounce of fiber. With all of that together, I got a whopping total of 240 yards.

Y'know, there's really not many patterns written for 200 yards that aren't scarves.

Thankfully, I ran across the qiviut shawlette. It's a really simple, really easy pattern, IMO. Then again, I've probably knit a half-dozen shawls by now, so what's one more triangular shawl? Let's not count, shall we?

The shawl starts off easily enough, with one exception. The center stitch doesn't have an increase on every right side row for the first 10 rows. Which is really different, compared to the Swallowtail Shawl or Icarus. So, I had to pay a wee bit of attention those first 10 rows, but the stitch pattern is interesting enough that it's not monotonous. I won't lie, I don't understand how the stitch patterns flow. Usually, after a few repeats, I can begin to guess where the next decrease or increase goes, but not with this one. It makes for an interesting, but not overwhelming lace knit. I definitely had to make use of the post-it note, but one 3x3" square was enough for me.

To make things more interesting, I added beads. I can't wait to get to chart C, where I've got much more beading planned. It's a slippery slope, I tell you. This whole beading thing, it starts out so innocuously. Then suddenly, you're wanting to spin beaded yarns. Maybe it's just me. But the pattern lends itself well to beads, and I almost wish that it was larger so I could really sink my teeth into the motifs. The motifs are completely new to me, which makes it fun. I'd love to try this shawl again in a larger yarn and needles for something that was a quick knit and snuggly. Perhaps in the new yarn, Epiphany by Cascade yarns. Wouldn't that be scrumptious?

I'd post pictures of the work in progress, but I suppose it will have to wait. I missed my golden window of opportunity. I was too busy knitting when the sun was shining. Next time!

I'm flying high on the wings of...

a shawl.

So I'm working on the icarus shawl I'm making for my boyfriend's mother. She saw the icarus I had made and wanted to make one for herself. I sort of discouraged her from making a super nice one since I, ahem, had already bought the alpaca yarn to make her one.

I'd forgotten how nice the pattern is to work on. I think I may splurge on some addi bamboo needles to make the knitting go faster. I've just gotten to the point where I can purl without looking and yeah. I'm deathly afraid of dropping stitches - icarus is SO unforgiving of that. Ahh well.

I've got finishitis, so I'm trying to finish atleast 3 projects. The poet's sweater is ALL done!!! Dance of glee!!! Pictures coming soon, I promise. The neck ruffle stood up alot more than I would have wanted, but that's an easy fix. Someday, I'll probably buy another ball of the yarn and cut off the collar to make another. I would definitely make it wider than recommended, if you're using a mohair yarn, because I didn't realize just how much body the mohair would have by itself.

Hopefully, I'll get some pictures up for the finished projects tomorrow.