I found just enough floorspace in the guest room to block my shawl. (Chappy wanted to help, I want you to know, but I didn’t want him stepping on the pins.)

This is not my best blocking job. I pulled out my wires but was having such a hard time seeing the pattern of the lace, I couldn’t quite figure out where to put them. (Yes, I know. Pathetic.)

This will have to do, though. I only pinned the shawl out at the end of each scallop at the bottom, and that only because it insisted on curling. I didn’t get them pinned as well as they deserved, either, but … green shawl on green carpet. I truly could not see the pattern well enough to figure out where the pins should go. So I guessed!

Oh, and in response to comment yesterday about how a shawl can’t be too big. I refer you to this post about my Peacock shawl. The one I’ve since given away because it was just too big for me to wear without tripping on it!

Now. Do you realize? This means my shawl is finished! Which means I can go on to my next project. (Not forgetting the blanket for Chappy, of course.)

First option? The Gray Cardigan from Mother-Daughter Knits. The pattern that made me buy the book. I know, of course, that I will have gauge issues (don’t I always have gauge issues), but I still love the pattern.

But, then, there’s sweater #4 from the new Vogue Knitting. It’s been a while since I fell in love with a VK pattern, but … look at this! (And, three cheers for this 3-D turn-the-model-around video clip that they do with their patterns these days. I missed all the fabulous details of this sweater when I saw it in the magazine. But, oh, isn’t it pretty?

The drawback? I’d have to buy yarn to make it, since I don’t have enough DK wool in my stash … which is ironic because DK is my favorite weight yarn for sweaters. Though, I DO have Silky Wool, which I love working with, but that’s a very tricky yarn for me. Every sweater I’ve made with that yarn has come out radically too big, no matter how much gauge-swatching-math I do.

Of course, this could be my excuse to try Peace Fleece, which I’ve wanted to try forever. (They need more color options for their DK weight, though.) That comes out to $41.25 for the sweater, which is a pretty good deal, don’t you think?

Be at ease, though, I cast on for the Gray Cardigan last night.First, because I still love it, Second because I went to all the trouble of doing the gauge-math to try to match my funky gauge, and, Third because the first skein of yarn has been sitting on my dresser for over a month and it looked sad and pathetic. And who wants that?

I’m just so intrigued by this cabled sweater–the construction, the horizontal cables at the waist and the cuffs … interesting! The body is knit in one piece, too. Love the complex/intriguing aspects. Wonder if maybe moving the waistband cable up a bit (since I am waistline-challenged) wouldn’t be a good idea. Definitely want to give this a try…

Tags: Finished Knitting, General, Knitting/Spinning // 7 Comments »