April 22, 2005
Tangled Up In Blue
This shawl is the first thing I have knit from my own handspun. I started with dyed "Sherino" roving (Shetland x Merino cross) from Frene Creek Farm. I spun it long draw (or the closest I could come to long draw) and then did a 2-ply. It fulled somewhat on washing the plied yarn.
Once I finished the lighter blue yarn, I started knitting the Feather and Fan Triangle Shawl from Cheryl Oberle's book, Folk Shawls. It's knitted from the top down, which was perfect because I didn't know how far my yarn would go. There are extra increases across the back of the shoulders, which help it drape nicely. It has very long tails which are created by increasing on each edge on every row for the last third of the shawl. This a traditional Icelandic shawl feature, as they often tied the tails behind them, but it does create some challenges for how to wear it, in my opinion. I do like the back shoulder shaping, though, as I find triangular shawls often do not drape nicely around the shoulders.
It became clear I didn't have enough to finish the shawl, so I ordered some more Sherino roving from Frene Creek Farm in a darker blue. I have to say this batch wasn't as nice and I had a hard time drafting it. It was full of little blobs of colored fleece loosely held together with more web-like roving. I wound up putting it through my drum carder to blend it together, and that improved it a lot, although it still didn't draft as nicely as the first batch I got from her, which was really easy to work with.
Then I just knit away on the lace edging with the darker color until I ran out of yarn! I had only a couple of feet left after binding it off.
Warning: if you decide to knit this pattern, make sure you get the errata sheet as regards "eyelet row 2"!
Here's how I am wearing it:
One tail wrapped around me and tucked into the waistband in back, the other tail flung over the shoulder. I think a shawl pin will keep it there!
and the back:
Katie
Posted by at April 22, 2005 05:45 PMTwo major FO's right on top of each other! I'm impressed! I love this shawl - it's been on my list for about a year now. It looks so comfy!
Posted by: Kerry on April 22, 2005 08:12 PMNice shawl and fireplace. I like what you did with the darker color, it looks really planned that way.
Posted by: Chery on April 22, 2005 08:50 PMNice Shawl !
Congratulations.
I like your jamiesons's jacket too !
katie, fabulous shawl! i also like the darker blue for the edging, really sets the whole thing off :-) and the wood surround of the fireplace is lovely! will you be posting photos of the reeves, pretty please?
Posted by: vanessa on April 23, 2005 03:16 AMKatie that looks great! I have about 2 pounds of sherino fleece from them and it's beautiful. I've been looking at that pattern for some spruce green yarn I have. I agree that I'm not sure what I'd do with the long tails.
Posted by: CarolineF on April 23, 2005 05:17 AMvery nice shawl katie, i like the different blues!
Posted by: marti on April 23, 2005 06:41 AMOh my goodness! What a beautiful shawl, Katie. Isn't it interesting how things work out? I think that the two blues make an elegant piece and even more elegant. The heavier dye probably was what made it harder to draft...it just does that. :oI
Your fireplace wall reminds me of the Craftsman homes I coveted in Berkeley, before we moved to the 'burbs. So beautiful!
Very nice work, Mam! Cant'wait to see it in person one of these days.
Kim
Posted by: kim on April 23, 2005 08:04 PMKatie, that looks fantastic. What a beautiful job of spinning you did. I love the way the blues complement each other, and it looks fabulous on the model. Nice work! :-)
Posted by: Sam on April 23, 2005 08:11 PMComplete *eye candy*!!!!!! Great job!
Posted by: Donna on April 24, 2005 06:38 AMLet me add to the compliments--your shawl is lovely. The two different shades of blue really set off the design (I had done this in the unspun Icelandic, shades of natural sheep black, grey, and cream--it does not seem as sophisticated as your version).
Posted by: Janine on April 24, 2005 09:46 AMBeautiful work Katie, I think that's a warm, elegant way of wearing an Icelandic shawl.
Posted by: Angela on April 24, 2005 10:09 AMThat is a lovely handspun project. Truly stunning! The darker edge sets it off perfectly. Planned or not it is a perfect match.
Posted by: Liz on April 25, 2005 12:20 PMBeautiful! You did a great job.
Posted by: LisaK on April 25, 2005 03:09 PMWhat a gorgeous job you did with the spinning and knitting! I think the two shades of blue add a lot of interest to the shawl and make it uniquely yours.
Posted by: Jen on April 26, 2005 09:06 AMHmm.... I'm looking at this again with black and white in my mind... wonder how it would look. Is it easy/possible to leave off the extra increases that make the long tails??
Posted by: CarolineF on May 3, 2005 05:31 AMPlease help me - I am knitting this pattern and I cannot make heads or tails of the chart. On some rows there are boxes that indicate the repeats and on others there are not.
You obviously completed this successfully - can you help me? Yours looks beautiful.
Thanks