I'm definitely in the mood for lace in the shape of triangles lately, no? This will be the fourth I've shared this year, and I have another to share (blocked and everything!) and another on the needles. And dreams of future lace triangles are skipping through my imagination even as I am barely half-way through any one that I am working on.
I had it in my head that I had to knit the Spring Things Shawl in the spring. Just because I am weird like that. Then I had to knit the Fountain Pen Shawl because I just had.to.have.one. Wasting time Doing some serious research on Ravelry for my next shawl to knit I came across the Norwegian Woods Shawl/Scarf. I love the story of the shawl, the names of the charts enchanted me and reading the description I visualized the perfect yarn for it. Best part? It was already in my stash.
Knowing the shawl was a story of a forest of trees progressing from winter through spring, I imagined the finished shawl to have a sense of the forest canopy on a hike, green leaves and buds with the breeze whispering through them and glints of the sky, bright, sparkly blue or a little bit hazy with that greyish lavendar look it can get, peaking from above the leaves. A skein of Woolen Rabbit Merino Lace Weight in Herb Roberts seemed just the right yarn for the job.
It was made all the more perfect when the knitting was happening on my back porch and everything matched so well! Knitting synchronicity.
- Pattern: Norwegian Woods Shawl by Sivia Harding. (ravelry link)
- Yarn: Woolen Rabbit Whisper Merino Lace in Herb Robert.
- Needles: Addi Lace size US 2.5, 3mm.
- Cast On: May 9, 2009
- Bound Off: May 19, 2009
- Blocked: May 20, 2009
With charming lace patterns named (from top to bottom) Winter Branches, Budding Twigs, Emerging Leaves and Leaf and Bower, I felt I was knitting the tale of spring even as I was living it. I feel I created a version of a bower, a shady place among leaves.
Sivia Harding loves her beads, so beading was a part of the pattern. I almost went and got some green beads, but I had these left over from my Spring Things Shawl and thought they were the perfect thing to add the sparkle of a sunny blue sky to the shawl.
The Knitty Gritty: Having a hefty hank of yarn my plan was to knit the large size of this shawl, but then I really thought about the dimensions and realized that was crazy knitting for a shorty like me. I changed my mind and proceeded to make the scarf size which, if a teensy bit small, a more appropriate size for me to throw over my shoulders. I do think another repeat of the second or third charts would have been a good idea, but after all of the beads were on there.... Well, you know. I was done. The knitting of this scarf was absolute pleasure. I loved every second watching it grow into my vision. The blocking, there is no easy way to say it, SUCKED! I spent two hours one night, only to pull the pins out and leave it to the morning. I was trying to avoid pinning out each scallop, and that was a mistake. The next morning I put in another two and a half hours or so, making it necessary to re-wet the shawl so it could block. Had I not changed the bind off rows a little bit (I was afraid they wouldn't be stretchy enough), the scallops might have looked more uniform. I think I added too much into them by working extra yarnovers on the row before the bind off. A mistake I am willing to live with. (I think I am getting a little more tolerant in my old age. Who knew?)
I wish I could say that even one of these photos captures the color and the fantastic pairing of yarn and pattern, my vision come to life. The only downside was the amount of yarn I had leftover. UGH. I hate leftover yarn, and this shawl used up less than half the skein. Having my head in the Forest Canopy through the knitting of this shawl made it easy to immediately cast on for another.
Seventy. How long can this shawl madness last?
This is my favorite of all your shawls so far. Beautiful knit!
Posted by: diane | June 03, 2009 at 06:34 PM
Terry it came out just as you envisioned it would. You did my yarn proud for sure....I agree with Diane. This is my favorite too!
Posted by: Kim | June 03, 2009 at 06:44 PM
Now THAT is drool-worthy. Beautiful!
Posted by: sunflowerfairy | June 03, 2009 at 07:20 PM
That shawl has been on my list for so long. It's fabulouso!! The blue beads along the edge are inspired! You can never have too many shawls and you should never stop knitting them!
Posted by: margene | June 03, 2009 at 07:48 PM
That's lovely!
Posted by: Lynn | June 03, 2009 at 08:09 PM
LOve, love, love it! And the blue beads are perfect! Just finished my first shawl and have also been bitten by the lace bug.
Posted by: Manise | June 03, 2009 at 10:53 PM
Your new shawl is gorgeous!
Posted by: Carole | June 04, 2009 at 05:28 AM
Love. it. Now, I don't know how long your "shawl madness" will last, but I do wish I could catch some!
Posted by: Marcia | June 04, 2009 at 09:16 AM
A mistake she's willing to live with? Who are you?
Posted by: claudia | June 04, 2009 at 10:31 AM
Gorgeous FO (and it's not even Friday). I love the colors. You've almost got me considering knitting a lace shawl. Almost...
Posted by: Jennifer | June 04, 2009 at 05:40 PM
Quite beautiful! I don't think I would have been sane after TWO blocking sessions.
Posted by: Laurie | June 04, 2009 at 07:34 PM
So, so pretty. And lately, though I'm not so much of a shawl girl, the weather has been absolutely shawl-perfect when I get out of my classes at night. Lucky for me, I've got Cookie to knit orange lace for me. Heh.
Posted by: Norma | June 04, 2009 at 09:04 PM
Oh my that is darling!
Posted by: grace | June 04, 2009 at 11:02 PM