FO: Dragon Melody Shawl
Now, this is one FO that I'm really proud of. I'm getting a bit of a reputation at the shop. People are starting to ask me to make things that they want to have, but not necessarily want to make. Such is the case with this shawl.
Cathy at the at the shop comissioned me to make this shawl for her. I was in the middle of making that devil tank, so the yarn and pattern sat on my vanity for a few weeks before I even looked at it. Then, it took me a while to get into it after I started because it has a large stockinette bit at the begining and, as you all know, stockinette can get really boring pretty fast.
Then, after increasing in stockinette to over 300 stitches, I got to the fun lacey bit. I enjoyed that. It was an easy enough lace panel that I could read what I was kntting and know what was to come next without having to look much at the chart. The lace part went quickly and I thought I was close to being done.
Boy was I wrong. I didn't realize until I got there that the lace border was knitted on. It was 35 stitches per row. The pattern was a 12 row repeat. I had to do the pattern repeat 93 times. Yeah, that's 1116 rows total. When I scaned over the pattern at the begining, I olny saw this little 12 row chart and thought it would be a quick easy finish.
Not so much.
For at least the first 10 repeats I had to count and really pay attention to the pattern to remember where I was, and I was hating life. By repeat 30 or so, I could read the knitting pretty well and find my place a little quicker, bit it was still awkward. Boy, though, when I got up to repeat 50 or so, I was a master at the pattern and could knit it with my eyes closed. By that time, I was flying through the repeats and feeling fine.
And this is what I ended up with:
I was almost sad to give it to Cathy, because it came out so pretty! And the sucker's big! I never realized how big it actually was going to be until I cast off. I knit the thing on 40" circs, so I couldn't ever really spread it out. But it'll keep anyone nice and warm.
And the lace pattern, even that pesky border, came out so pretty. You know, I knit lace socks all the time, and I've done other lace things, but never something this big. In fact, this is my first ever shawl, so I double proud of it for that.
Project: Dragon Melody Shawl by Mary Young Smith (Rav Me!)
Yarn: Jojoland Melody
Needles: US6
Date Started: September 21, 2009
Date Completed: October 30 2009
Mods: None
I'm really glad I made this shawl, and the gals at the shop raved about it. In fact, I've got orders to make 2 more shawls now. Good work pays off. But those other shawls have to wait until I get my Christmas knitting done. I'm too far behind to pick up any other projects.
Cathy at the at the shop comissioned me to make this shawl for her. I was in the middle of making that devil tank, so the yarn and pattern sat on my vanity for a few weeks before I even looked at it. Then, it took me a while to get into it after I started because it has a large stockinette bit at the begining and, as you all know, stockinette can get really boring pretty fast.
Then, after increasing in stockinette to over 300 stitches, I got to the fun lacey bit. I enjoyed that. It was an easy enough lace panel that I could read what I was kntting and know what was to come next without having to look much at the chart. The lace part went quickly and I thought I was close to being done.
Boy was I wrong. I didn't realize until I got there that the lace border was knitted on. It was 35 stitches per row. The pattern was a 12 row repeat. I had to do the pattern repeat 93 times. Yeah, that's 1116 rows total. When I scaned over the pattern at the begining, I olny saw this little 12 row chart and thought it would be a quick easy finish.
Not so much.
For at least the first 10 repeats I had to count and really pay attention to the pattern to remember where I was, and I was hating life. By repeat 30 or so, I could read the knitting pretty well and find my place a little quicker, bit it was still awkward. Boy, though, when I got up to repeat 50 or so, I was a master at the pattern and could knit it with my eyes closed. By that time, I was flying through the repeats and feeling fine.
And this is what I ended up with:
I was almost sad to give it to Cathy, because it came out so pretty! And the sucker's big! I never realized how big it actually was going to be until I cast off. I knit the thing on 40" circs, so I couldn't ever really spread it out. But it'll keep anyone nice and warm.
And the lace pattern, even that pesky border, came out so pretty. You know, I knit lace socks all the time, and I've done other lace things, but never something this big. In fact, this is my first ever shawl, so I double proud of it for that.
Project: Dragon Melody Shawl by Mary Young Smith (Rav Me!)
Yarn: Jojoland Melody
Needles: US6
Date Started: September 21, 2009
Date Completed: October 30 2009
Mods: None
I'm really glad I made this shawl, and the gals at the shop raved about it. In fact, I've got orders to make 2 more shawls now. Good work pays off. But those other shawls have to wait until I get my Christmas knitting done. I'm too far behind to pick up any other projects.
Add a Comment
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Comment by Cristi-Lael on November 11, 2009 at 12:27pm - Thanks for all the kind compliments! I love compliments from knitters because they at least know what goes into knitting something like this. ;o)
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Comment by ruthmci on November 11, 2009 at 11:06am - Well done! It's very pretty.
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Comment by Madame Koiteh on November 10, 2009 at 9:44am - Absolutely gorgeous. It will be an heirloom.
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Comment by Kate on November 10, 2009 at 8:11am - Wow! This is gorgeous! I love the subtle stripes. Also, I thought that I didn't like pink, but I really like this particular shade of pink.
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Comment by Peggy Stuart on November 9, 2009 at 3:55pm - Cristi: Your stuff is always amazing, but this is really over the top! Fantastic! What a feast for the eyes! --P
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Comment by Knit4Many on November 9, 2009 at 3:38pm - Wow!! You should be very proud. Great job!
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Comment by Cristi-Lael on November 9, 2009 at 2:29pm
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Susan and Capergal- I was so proud of it, I took it to church with me and showed it off to all the little old knitting ladies (LOKL). ;o)
And, as far as patience, I had to just keep trudging through. I couldn't think too much about how much I had left or I'd get discouraged. I think that was teh secret.
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Comment by Susan the Blue Lake Knitter on November 9, 2009 at 1:06pm -
Cristi,
This really came out fantastic1 You should be proud of this accomplishment. --S
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Comment by Capergal on November 9, 2009 at 12:27pm - Beautiful shawl, and boy the patience to do all that work.....I hope have that much patience when I decide to do a project like that...You should be very proud of it!
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