sophy's knits, notes, etc.

i knitted this right after finishing my midnight storm cloud and swallowtail shawlettes. hands down, this is a true favorite; seriously, i wear it every single day. well, i did until i let erica wear it home one rather chilly evening a few days ago. hint. hint. [ravelry]

the first time i took this picture, i forgot to make the bed...

Pattern Ishbel shawl by Ysolda Teague!
Yarn Rowan Yorkshire Tweed 4ply, #269 Blessed, 3 skeins.
Needles US 6 (4 mm).
Start-to-end April 4 - 9, 2009.
Finished size Approximately 40 inches wide (across the top) and 17 inches tall (along the center line).

:: the pattern

this is such a fun little pattern; i still found myself making mistakes rather more frequently then i like with lace patterns... i mean, i know i tend to be quick to frog or unravel if i find a mistake, but i really wanted to just fly through this.

of course that didn't stop me from unraveling when, halfway through the stockinette portion, i discovered that i'd forgotten to increase on a few wrongside rows (the pattern requires you to increase every row, not just every other). i restarted it and made sure to double check the edge stitches. (i'm lazy and prefer not to count stitches every row... err... ever?)

oops! slightly blurry -- i blame it on the sunlight and mirror!

everything went much smoother once i started the lace portion. thanks in part to the fact that the lace pattern itself is very easy to remember -- familiar territory perhaps? -- well i did make some mistakes here and there (definitely familiar territory), but they were easily recognizable and reparable. (luckily, did not require unraveling; unraveling lace ranks pretty high in the 'no fun' category.)

of course, if you're knitting the smaller-sized shawl, you really don't have a lot of repeats to do... i felt like, in next to almost no time at all, i was finished!

it looks like wings on the blocking board!

:: the yarn

i've gone on and on about how much i love love this yarn and will miss it when i've used up my stash; do i need to say more? of course i do!

the color of this yarn is "Blessed", a mix of pinks and purples. it might look dull in some pictures, but i actually rather adore the muted mauvey-ness -- especially because it suits the sweetness of the garment. sweetness? no. i didn't try to eat it. i think the shape of the finished shawl is just very feminine and delicate (without being granny-ish like most other shawls).

everyone should get a squishable -- and knit a shawl for it!

after blocking, the yarn softened and falls with a really lovely drape; very unlike my other very lightweight shawlettes (this and this) and my much heavier flower basket shawl.

so yes. this is a keeper. and because i had a skein and more leftover, i also made a matching beanie...

happy knitting!