brainylady

Presenting ... my fanciest FO ever!

It's the Leaf Lace Shawl, in all its blocked glory, and I! love! it! So I'm going to show you lots of photos. Ready?



Pattern: Fiber Trends Leaf Lace Shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Inca Gold 100% baby alpaca (colour: 404), 3 balls (600 m)
Needle: 4.0 mm circular
Blocked Size: 68 inches across / 33.5 inches deep at point (pattern includes instructions for two sizes, and this is the small size)



I'd never really thought of myself as a shawl person. (The people who still can't believe I ever took up knitting? They'll probably choke when they hear I knit a shawl.) But I've changed my mind. I am quite certain that I am indeed a shawl person. I know this because I want to wear this one all the time, and because I want to knit another one, and because I want to get started on that Right Now. Yep, all shawls, all the time.



I wore a white T-shirt for the photos to highlight the knitting, and now I see that the T-shirt is a little blinding in these shots -- sorry 'bout that. Anyway, I'd absolutely recommend this pattern -- it's complicated enough to stay interesting for 12 repeats (with fingering weight yarn) and the edge, but not crazy-complicated. In other words, you can knit this with one eye on the TV. The resulting lace is delicate and pretty, but it doesn't feel fussy or fragile.



The obligatory holding-up-my-shawl shot is on another page -- it's not the greatest photo, but you can get a sense of the size of the shawl (and have a look at one habit developed in Taiwan that I just can't shake: the love of plastic flip-flops for household wear). You can go and have a look by clicking here. I'll wait....

You'll have to take my word that these photos don't completely capture the beauty of this thing. I, however, managed to capture a cat who hates to be excluded from absolutely anything:



OK, I have to leave Fanta-shawl Island now. I think I'll be back, though. It turns out that handknit shawls are like tattoos -- once you have one, you just want more. Who knew?