Saturday, September 26, 2009

DONE! FO: Diamonds and Triangles shawl

DONE!

Pattern: Diamonds and Triangles stole from Victorian Lace Today
Yarn: Baruffa Cashwool, nearly a full hank
Needles: US size 7, three brands.
Cast on date: November 2007
Cast off date: September 24, 2009

That's right. It took me nearly two years to finish this behemoth. I began it, finished the center and put it aside, worked on the edging, got bored and put it aside. Rinse and repeat until a couple of weeks ago when I decide that it will be perfect with the dress I've bought for the opening of my museum. At that point I have the edging complete on two sides, so I've about half the edging to go. And I kick it into high gear. I finished knitting it on the 24th and had it ready to wear on the 25th.

If I were to knit this again (which I don't plan on) I would absolutely use smaller needles, and probably a slightly thicker yarn. It was very fiddly. The pattern itself is quite straightforward. I find that I have a strong preference for shawls knit in one piece, instead of having to knit an edging on after knitting the body.

Technically speaking, there are problems with this shawl. I had some difficulty with the corners - I had to fudge one or two things here or there. There are a couple of mistakes in the edging. And my weaving in of ends isn't very good. In short, this isn't a fair piece. But I don't worry about it because the shawl is black, which makes a lot of things hard to see, and because of the size.

One thing this piece is, is enormous. I blocked it out to about 3' by 7'. And I didn't even block aggressively... It's also very warm. The wool is soft and kept me warm all night long at the opening.

Preblocking, with a meter stick.
Diamonds and Triangles stole

Blocking on my alphabet foam blocks, with a meter stick. You can also see the line created by grafting. I pulled the kitchener tight, rather than making it invisible.
Diamonds and Triangles stole

Blocking cat deterrent devices. We had a little problem the last time I blocked...
Diamonds and Triangles stole

Post blocking detail
Diamonds and Triangles stole

Wearing the shawl with my dress from the opening. Not the shoes though. My feet were tired from the heels.
All dressed up

Higher contrast posing:
Diamonds and Triangles stole
Diamonds and Triangles stole

Fluttery detail shots:
Diamonds and Triangles stole
Diamonds and Triangles stole

1 comment:

stringplay said...

Looks lovely; with the dress and with lighter contrast. Great job.