Brassica Shawl from Mosaic Yarn Studio--Done!

Done!

Look at it!  This project is absolutely worth all the time and strife I put into it.  The wingspan is luxuriously long—perfect for someone “not small” like me.  

It was so long I had to borrow a screen door to block it--and even then I had to fold it back on itself.

So yes, it's long. Wonderfully long. I love that there’s more than enough length to lay the lacework section across my chest and loop either “wing” loosely around my neck and shoulders. Lots of time when I do that, the ends feel too short. Not this time!

I love the color--even though it looks different in every photo here. I'm eager to wear it on St. Patrick’s Day—only I don’t think I’ll be able to wait that long. This beauty will make its debut this week (maybe even tomorrow!!)

Thanks, Darlene and Mosaic Yarn Studio, for an adventure of a project!

Next up, DestiKNITions travels to Peoria, IL.

Brassica Shawl from Mosaic Yarn Studio--Day 6

Speedy happiness!

Oh, this is the best part.  

Rows start going faster and faster, and my pulse starts racing at the thought of making it to those final stitches.

A funny thing happened on the way to the finish, too.  I memorized the boarder pattern!  I didn’t set out to, but things were so marvelously simple once the middle section of each row became a simple decreased stockinette, I stopped using the row counter.  Then I realized I had stopped looking at the pattern all together because in both the stockinette decreases (ever 4 rows) and in the Petite Open Points border, I easily knew where I was by looking at the stitches.  Usually I have to work at memorizing a repeat pattern, take time to really see what’s going on in the progression of one row to another.  This one just seemed to settle itself in my brain without my noticing.  It was a rather wonderful surprise.

And the speed—everything goes so much faster when you don’t have to keep stopping to check the pattern or add another row to your stitch counter.  I’m flying through the rows!

It just occurred to me today, by the way, that I’ll have a lovely green shawl to wear on St. Patrick’s Day.  I hadn’t planned that, but what a delightful coincidence!

PS: I'm giving myself a seventh post on this project, because I lost so much time to the middle section rip-out disaster.  See you at the finish line!

Brassica Shawl from Mosaic Yarn Studio--Day 5

Restored!

It only took nine grueling days.  

Over one week of counting yarn-over holes every few rows, lining up stitches, grumbling about my hubris and knitting misfortune.  Everyone around me knew my pain--a sufferer in silence I am not.

But I have emerged from the Valley of the Ripped, and tomorrow dawns a new day.  I will begin the final, blessedly decreasing section of this shawl.  I hope I am more fearless (and less foolish) than before as a result of my trial.  

This shawl may be green, but to me it has the red heart of Superman's cape!

Brassica Shawl from Mosaic Yarn Studio--Day 3

A worthwhile challenge...

This is harder than I thought.  The first dozen rows of this new section took a LOT of time.  Mostly because at the end of each row I had to stop, take stock, and record where I was in each of three areas:  the border repeats, the individual lace repeats, and how many lace repeats I had done.  That’s a lot of counting for one pattern.  

The good news is that the Sirka is the perfect tool to manage this.  All I had to remember was which color represented which set of counts.  Well, that and to shift each of the little tabs one “click” at the end of each row.  I’m astounded at how many times I almost forgot to do that.

It made for challenging public knitting—needing lots of concentration—and a great deal of my knitting time this week was in public.  That’s why this post is late…I didn’t make progress at the speed I’d hoped.  The good news about knitting, however, is that lives are rarely at stake, and all is well even if a few days behind schedule.

For all its challenges, it is pleasant knitting.  Engaging (if you’re not too distracted) and satisfying.  I’ve never done a shawl that looks so long and narrow in the making before—I am wondering if the shape will change at all once blocked.  The texture is lovely—not too delicate, but still elegant and with a nice drape.  And the fiber…ahh against the fingers.

I’m officially half-way done and very much enjoying myself.

Brassica Shawl from Mosaic Yarn Studio--Day 2

A question of taste?

I admit it, I’m glad the stockinette section of this is over.  Yes, I know there’ll be another one on the far side of the lacework section, but at least there the rows will get shorter and shorter rather than longer and longer.  The journey to 60 stockinette stitches in this portion was long.

Still, You had to pay a dab of attention at the end of every row to know where you were in the border pattern.  That kept it from being tedious.  I thought I’d have memorized the border pattern by now, but even after dozens of repeats, I still have to look at the directions.  Memorization might be a helpful goal before I throw myself into the lacework section.  That way I’ll only be reading one pattern at a time.

Just for fun, I looked up the word “brassica” since Darlene had told me the name comes from a botanical term.  Wikipedia informed me it’s a genus of plants in the mustard family.  Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and brussels sprouts—all of which I like—are all part of this family.  

Interestingly enough, that may be genetic: evidently there’s a compound in them which only tastes bitter to some people depending on their physical tastebuds.  I have brassica-friendly tastebuds.  DestiKNITters old enough to remember the Bush administration (W, that is) will recall that a certain Commander in Chief did not.  Do you?

Come to think of it, my yarn is in a very veggie-botanical color.  I love it when I get thematic without even trying.

Brassica Shawl from Mosaic Yarn Studio--Day 1

Top notch...

Words cannot describe my joy at knowing this shawl will not result in another Top-Down Rant.  Yes, I know the rows will get longer for a while, but it will only be for a while.  At some point I’ll reach that magic middle where the rows start to get shorter and shorter.

I find it amusing that we’re also at the point in the year where the days get longer and longer.  It’s a fitting metaphor.  Even if we’re only gaining minutes of daylight each week, I find it heartening.

Still, this piece is not without it’s challenges.  To work two patterns at once will require a bit of brain matter.  Fortunately, I have a gadget that will help with that—my trusty Sirka counter.  Sure, mine looks a bit like a pocket watch on pastel steroids, but now it comes in lovely vibrant colors, too—I want more!  This brilliant gizmo counts three separate things simultaneously.  That makes it ideal for instructions like “repeat this six-row pattern eleven times,” but we’re not quite there yet.

For now, the increasing half of this shawl is mostly stockinette with a clever little i-cord border (quickly becoming my new favorite!).  On the other side, the eyelet border stays constant over a six-row repeat.  So, right now, I only have to know where I am in the six-row border repeat.  This means I’m only using one of the colored hands on my clock.

That will change, but not for a while.  What a delightful start!