Thursday, December 13, 2012

on the needles: robins' feathers shawl

It's the holiday season and I have lots of gift-knitting to do.
So naturally I decided to cast on a non-gift charted lace shawl!

turquoise merino lace yarn
Here's the yarn I'm using-- it's soft and fluffy superwash merino wool, which I spun from this Lorna's Laces roving.  I have 900 yards of a heavy laceweight to light fingering weight, so my shawl should be big and cozy!  

stephanie bold gwendolyn shawl feathers
Here's my progress so far.  I'm using the Gwendolyn pattern, by Stefanie Bold.
Since it's lace, the full effect of the patterning won't be visible until the shawl is finished and blocked, but I am so, so pleased with how it's turning out.  The lace looks like feathers, and the yarn is the most beautiful robin's egg blue, so I'm naming this shawl my Robins' Feathers Shawl.

As I keep working on this shawl (along with the four or five other projects on the needles-- how did that happen?  I almost never have more than one knitting project going at once!), I'll include a few little tips and tricks that are making my first charted lace project a bit easier.  The first thing I've discovered?  I can only work on this shawl if I'm listening to a podcast.  If I'm trying to watch a movie at the same time, I'm too visually distracted, and if I'm not listening to anything, my brain gets bored and my mind wanders from my place in the charts.  Podcasts seem to be a happy medium for me.

I hope you're having a wonderful week!


9 comments:

  1. That looks like it is going to be gorgeous! I love the colour too, Robins Feathers is definitely a good name for it. Seriously in awe right now, learning lace and knitting a shawl is on my new years resolution task list.

    Podcasts are my go to for knitting as well, I might try out audio books whilst knitting soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Aw, you're making me blush, thank you! It took a few tries, but truly, the actual knitting is much less difficult than working up the nerve to start it. :) Ooooh, I love listening to audiobooks while knitting! Especially now that a lot of libraries are making them available for borrowing by download.

      Have a lovely day!

      Delete
  2. Beautiful work! I'm so impressed by your projects as it is, but I am even more impressed by your gorgeous handspun and how you always pick the perfect pattern for it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much---This is where I would usually say 'Pumpkin,' but after reading your blog for a year, I finally clicked the about page and realized that your name is not, in fact, Pumpkin. Oops. :D So thank you, Ivy! I try not to have a project in mind for the finished yarn while I'm spinning, but even as roving, this yarn was itching to be a soft, fluffy shawl for curling up in. I hope you're having a wonderful holiday season, full of yarn and kitties!

      Delete
  3. The yarn is gorgeous, it works great with the pattern! Knitting lace shawls is soo addictive... I've been wanting to cast on a new shawl for weeks(since the minute I finished my last one hehe) but I have some Christmas knitting left to do. Knitting hats and socks is really boring compared to lace shawls...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you so much, Marie! Oh my gosh, ALL I WANT TO KNIT is this lace shawl. I'm feeling comfortable enough with the chart now to knit on it while watching video podcasts. Luckily I'd finished most of my Christmas knitting before casting this on, but there are still a few stragglers that need to be finished, and... well, they're sitting in my WIP stash, waiting for the last-minute knitting frenzy in the next few days. I can't wait to see what you cast on next, your knits are always so beautiful!

      Delete
    2. Oooooowww! SO PRETTY!!!!! Love the color you chose and the pattern is divine! Looking forward to seeing it when you are done. I am working on a Noro mobius cowl. I am using Louisa Harding Amitola yarn. Color Salsa. It bright! The pattern is from the Noro magazine and I believe it is a free pattern from Knitting Fever website. Happy knitting!!!

      Delete

thank you so much for visiting, and for your thoughts! x