FOs: Lace Shawl(ettes) aka – Scarves

Lace knitting always intimidated me. Not because of the actual knitting, though, despite my recent failures.

What really intimidated me about lace knitting was the blocking. The soaking the garment, the stretching it out, the pinning it down evenly. I felt sure I would mess up somehow, that I would stretch the item beyond recognition, that it would just be too HARD.

Boy, was I wrong.

This weekend, during my Amazing Day of Knitting Productiveness, I finally bit the bullet and pin blocked the two lace items.

Here’s a little before and after shot of the first item (kitty feet for scale):

Quite a difference, wouldn’t you say? Here are the pattern details:

Pattern: Forest Canopy Shawl by Susan Lawrence  (Ravelry Link)

Yarn: Mountain Colors Weaver’s Wool Quarter in colorway “Wild Mushroom” on size 7 needles.

Started Knitting: July 10, 2007. Finished Knitting: July 17, 2007. Blocked: September 13, 2009.

Did you catch that? It took me a week to knit this scarf. And it took me TWO YEARS to block it. Sheesh.

I am absolutely amazed at what a difference the blocking made in this scarf. The lace pattern opened up beautifully, showing off the beautiful leaf motif. I followed the pattern exactly, right down to the number of repeats, which kept the finished product more like a scarf rather than a shawl (to me, a shawl implies a lot of coverage of your back and shoulders).

This is an excellent pattern for new lace knitters – Susan Lawrence walks through every portion of the process with step-by-step explanation. I think when I make another one, I’ll use thicker yarn and make it much larger, for added warmth. But all in all, this was a great pattern.

And now, here’s the second scarf, with before and after action:

Pattern: Ishbel by Ysolda Teague  (Ravelry Link)

Yarn: Hazel Knits Artisan Sock yarn in “Beach Glass” on size 6 needles.

Started Knitting: June 21, 2009. Finished Knitting: July 24, 2009 (I think). Blocked: September 13, 2009.

Oh, wow, this is a gorgeous pattern. You can’t see it in these pictures, but with the way you increase the stitches, it leads to a very gentle curve at the upper tips of the triangle. Again, this is a scarf size, and I defnitely, definitely, definitely want to make a larger version. Can I say defnitely again? Defnitely.

Now to get back to my sweater knitting. October will be here before you know it, and I want to wear a handknit sweater if it kills me!