sophy's knits, notes, etc.

i'm trying to remember when i first saw this shawl... was it Eunny Jang's blog? this was well before i started subscribing to Interweave Knits; and i only knew of projects through the blogs i read. but this project would probably have remained buried in my queue if i hadn't decided one day to search ravelry to see what other people had knitted with this yarn. when i saw projektleiterin's beautiful flower basket shawl, i knew immediately what i wanted to make with this lovely yarn that Hilary gave me.

First lace project of 2009!

Pattern Flower basket lace shawl by Evelyn A. Clark.
Source Interweave Knits, Fall 2004.
Yarn Schachenmayr nomotta Alpaka Fashion, Color 155, 3 skeins.
Needles Size 8 (5.0 mm).
Finished Size 5 ft wide and 2.5 ft tall.

the pattern

i love this pattern. and, you know what? 3 skeins of this yarn is more than enough to complete the shawl without any modifications... well except that i knitted with a larger size needle.

i began this on the plane ride to Philadelphia in December. knit some of it while hanging out with Jennifer and Helen. and knit some more of it on the plane ride back to San Francisco. it's a very easy pattern to memorize; and really, had i just knitted the entire flight, i probably could have finished it while en route to Philly. (instead, i spent most of the flight reading a series of vampire romance novels by Lynsay Sands.) and then it took me another couple of weeks before i picked it up again, once i was back home.

Adam says i dress too matronly--mean!

really, though, it was a fun knit and i would consider knitting a few more if i didn't have other shawls in my queue... at least a couple more by Evelyn A. Clark; what can i say? i love her lace shawl designs. but also, just today i saw Larrissa's Storm Cloud Shawlette. Hanna Breetz's design is so simple and pretty (i like the ruffled version very much); i think it will be my next shawl...

the yarn

when Hilary gave me this yarn last year, i really had no idea what to do with it. and not because i didn't think 3 skeins would be enough for a project (as far as i'm concerned, you should always be able to knit something with three skeins of any yarn). at the time, i just hadn't really thought too much about knitting with yarn that wasn't simply 100% wool, cotton, maybe linen, or even silk and wool blends. so, to have alpaca yarn for myself was new.

blocking! i actually pinned it out a little more a few hours later.

this yarn is especially soft and cozy after blocking; i mean, all the bumps just smooth right out and it felt sooo much lighter after it dried. and i love the green-blue color. it's my default scarf, nowadays.