Shetland Tea Shawl

I knitted most of this last week while we were waiting to hear if our house was burned down or not. As with the possum scarf, this shawl will always remind me of this last stressful week.

I used the first and second lace motif and then made up my own for the third lace round. I wanted to knit this such that the lace motifs became smaller as the rounds became bigger. I thought it would look neat. I also did this for a short term project (because I'm avoiding Erin) and I didn't want to wade through probable errors for the third motif. I used the edging given in the errata sheet, and it is beautiful.

I reckon I spent about a third of the total knitting time knitting on the edging. I began by following the direction (k the lace edge and a body stitch together), but it produced a "lump" on the front of the work. I progressed by slipping the body stitch over the first lace stitch before I began knitting the row of edging, and it turned out just fine.

The yarn is Lorna's Laces Helen's Lace in the Cedar colorway. I think it's 50% silk and 50% merino. I liked working with this yarn very much. It looks like silver in the sunlight, and a beautiful sea foam green indoors. My only complaint is that the yarn has very little color difference throughout, and in places the shawl simply looks like I got a dab of bleach on it. But, the weight and flow of the shawl is perfect.

Overall I really enjoyed knitting this, but I'm not sure I'll wear it. There is just no way a round shawl looks like anything BUT a table cloth to me.

Check the Errata Sheet before you begin knitting this.

Wilted Melon

So I decided to use the Melon Pattern from Victorian Lace Today and make a triangular shawl with my hand spun:

I like the pattern very much, however knitting it on the bias has been more difficult than I'd realized. Down the center of the pattern the lace must jut out on the bias, and I've done it irregularly here and there, and it's all I can see when I stretch it out. I just realized last night that the first big repeat of the pattern is much different looking than all the subsequent initial motif beginnings.

The pattern is made up of 2 adjacent motifs, one of 4 stitches and one of 6. So, as I have 4 or 6 stitches show up at the center of the shawl, and the two edges I can begin part of the motif. But on the first big pattern repeat I waited until I had 10 stitches before I began knitting in pattern. Subsequently, though, I began when I had 6 or 4, making the piece over all much more lacy. But now I have a big triangle of stocking stitch at the top center of the piece where I waited to have 10 stitches. Argh.

Other than that...