The Feather & Fan is finished.

Whilst this is not a true Shoalwater, I thought you might be interested to see the finished Feather & Fan shawl from Folk Shawls. It is essentially the same pattern as the Shoalwater but instead of being a triangular shape it is a rectangle and it's over a different number of stitches, the effect is somewhat different.

Been busy!

After pausing to swear after I ripped out 44 rows, I cast on again and am now just beginning the third repeat of the pattern block. I'm still on the first skein but I can see I'll have to wind skein two soon.


The ever lengthening rows are, indeed, meditative and quite soothing to work, so I do begin to think that I will finish this and it'll be a work to be proud of!


I was a bit worried about blocking soy silk, but a quick websearch reveals that this is possible and gives good results. The fabric has a lovely drapey feel to it already.

Of course, the bottom edge as shown in the picture will be the long straight edge of this trinagular shawl, but it is too big to show stretched to the proper shape now.

Casting on Again :o)

Although I decided that I want a bigger version of the SW shawl ,I didn't want to cast on for another triangular shawl straight away. I looked through this book http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1883010594/ref=sib_dp_pt/104-7413686-3784763#reader-link and found the feather and fan shawl which uses the Old Shale pattern but is knitted across the length of the shawl rather than by casting on the short side/end.

Actually I looked through all my books :o) there's a couple of pleasant hours gone.

Once I'd wound the Emily yarn (Patter) which I got in the last PY sale I had to cast on last night. 390 stitches - that's a long row!

I am using the Emily which caused me so much confusion last time and size 5mm KnitPicks Options needles. Just doing my second repeat. This is a stocking stitch version of the feather and fan so the second row is purl - there are 6 YOs and K2togs instead of the 8 in the SW but otherwise pretty much standard stuff and I am hoping good for a variegated yarn :o)

Expletive deleted

Well I was motoring along nicely but at row 44 I notice that I had two too many stitches on one side, and a couple of holes in the wrong place, so I've frogged the lot.
Hm, lifelines next time I think!
Samantha

Wound up!

Thanks everyone for the kind comments. I bought the yarn in two batches from Peak Wools on Ebay - they also have a webshop.

I wasn't planning to do a shawl, but the idea of lacework had begun to niggle at the back of my brain ...

I never cease to wonder at how different yarn looks in the ball to as a skein, and different again in a knitted garment. You'll have to wait a bit for that view of 8 Track!

Logged in and ready to start

Just checking in here and saying that I've got all the materials except the coilless safety pins.

For the record I will be making Shoalwater using Conjoined Creations Pastimes Music Collection, 8 track colourway, which is a laceweight soy silk I bought on Ebay.

I have already experienced some of that meditative repetitive trance like activity which I expect knitting this shawl to be (because of three "plain" rows to one "worked" row in the pattern) when winding one skein of yarn into a ball ...

I have some long train journeys coming up and so want to get this started to take with me (plus, of course, the ubiquitous pair of socks!).

Samantha