start date: Aug 2006
finished: Sept 29, 2006
materials: 3 skeins of Misti Alpaca (actually, more like 2.4 -- surprising since I thought I'd read that you're only supposed to use ~900 yds of laceweight. I tend to have much more left over yarn than other folks, especially if I follow the directions)
needles: size 4 Clover straights, Clover circs, Boye circs (didn't like the Boyes because they are too slippery for alpaca and got the Clovers)
Observations and alterations from nicely written protocol:
- knit the main piece in one piece, not two. I didn't like the way they joined in the middle.
- they should warn you that most of your time is spent on the edging...damn that edging. That part of the stole took me seriously, a month. None of that 40% of the scarf is edging, more like 60%
- in hindsight, should have taken the time to do the math, and figure out the pattern of the edging. It sure got wonky right on the corners. I hope it'll block out.
- knit with different needles. I figured out that for Misti Alpaca, must use bamboo.
- I'm really a loose knitter, and I really should consider smaller needles.
- Misti Alpaca is quite warm, and I hope I'll wear the stole.
- will attempt to block using music wires and am hoping that they don't rust
- I really like this pattern.
- I really like knitting lace.
Before:
Later...
Observations about the blocking:
This blocked large, way large. I had purchased some music wires and had to use additional pins to pin it out (it's larger than 72 in). The stole blocked beautifully, but I did come across a glaring mistake on the edging. Okay, not glaring, but somehow I managed to have 2 somewhat peaks instead of 1. I'm a tad puzzled since the math worked out, but oh, well.
Will post beauty shots once I get a chance. (The weather is crummy).
2 comments:
Lovely! I bet getting that done feels great!! Yeah, the edging takes sooo long! I wanted mine to be a gift, gave myself 3 weeks to do it (ambitious but I was a teacher and we had 10 days off for spring break/easter), had the body done in no time, and then came the edging. And a finished product 2 1/2 months later! I think I screwed up the corners too, thank god for blocking.
That's really lovely. The idea of a warm alpaca shawl is quite nice! I don't hope to ever have the patience/focus for this, but I sure love that other people do!
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