I took the Fir Cone Square Shawl, mentioned in A Knitter’s Journey and Morning Knitting, off the circular needle last night. I shifted all the live stitches onto waste yarn, so it spreads out into a large square rather than the odd-looking bag shape it made while knitting in the round.
I’ve started the outer lace edging, which is a great relief, because it means switching from rows of over 800 stitches to rows that max out at 15. Mistakes are easier to notice and repair because the stitches are no longer packed tightly onto the needle but spread out so I can see them. I felt cramped and cranky, knitting with them all scrunched tight like that. It’s as if my knitting has been set free.
I don’t have pictures of mine on the needle, but White Star, another blogger who knitted this shawl, has a photo that shows the bag shape it makes on the needle. Taking the knitting off the needle after seeing only this strange thing for weeks is like opening a gift.
Below are photos of mine, off the needle (unblocked, mind you). I used a different color scheme, driven by yarn on hand. I would’ve preferred a more teal shade of blue to go with the ocean wave theme of the lace edging, but I’m happy enough with these colors.
The pattern is from Cheryl Oberle’s book, Folk Shawls.
Thanks for your kind words, Barbara. It was nice for you to visit, especially on such a hard day.
Comment by blogdog — February 27, 2005 @ 12:36 pm
What a beautiful project. And so ambitious!
Comment by cassie-b — February 28, 2005 @ 12:41 pm
Thanks, Cassie. I worried for a while that it was too ambitious, but now I’m glad I made the commitment. Some of those long rows got hairy, especially the time I found I’d made an error about five or six rows back and had to unknit. There were evenings I was too tired to even face it, but the rest should be a breeze.
Comment by Barbara — February 28, 2005 @ 5:05 pm