WIP - Lala's Simple Shawl

What'cha Knittin'?
1

The shawl pictured on ravelry is worked in a bulky yarn and a size 10 needle. I’ve wanted to make a triangular shawl for ages and I thought the colors and texture of the yarn I’ve chosen for this project would be perfect.

Knit in Araucania Lontue – There are no dye lots for this yarn; I wound the skeins into balls to be able to discern the color differences. This shawl is knit from the top down so I am using the lightest colored yarn first; the color gradations should work well.

Long tail cast on size 7 needle – There is a five stitch cast-on and I wanted it to be firm, tightly casting on and four sizes up from the working needle size worked well.

Knitted with a size 3 needle – The yarn tag suggests using a number 6 needle, I don’t know if this is right or not, the yarn is so thin, and spun with slubs. I found a kit on the web for a top using a size 4 needle. With the color changes and the texture, I wanted to use the seed stitch to show these off; and did a seed stitch swatch first using size 4, then did one using size 3, settling on the 3.

Pattern Modifications:

Knitting the seed stitch rather than the garter stitch.

Knitting last stitch of every row in back loop.

Knitting middle stitch in purl rather than knit.

I am considering adding a ruffle to the edges; this yarn is knitting up at 6 stitches and 10 rows per inch, so that would be a lot of stitches to bind off.

In the first photo I am winding the yarn into balls in the motel room on one of our overnight stops. None of the furniture was going to work for setting up the swift and the ball winder and in looking around the room I realized the drawer back would suit my purposes; it would need to be removed and set on its front. As I was winding, DH had picked up his I-phone and I asked him if he was checking messages, then I realized he was setting up to take pictures :rofl:

The second photo is a view of the project completed thus far.

The third photo is a close-up, hopefully it will show the texture of the stitches.

I have never worked an entire project in size 3 needles before; I feel like I am all thumbs :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

2

That’s looking lovely. I think I like your version better than the original. Try not to think about how many stitches with size 3 needles!

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I love how this looks so far, can’t wait to see more!

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I thought I was in Knitting Heaven, but must have made a wrong turn. Egad! I found myself in Frog Heaven, ‘ribbit, ribbit, ribbit’ became an all too familiar chant.

I committed the offenses of:

Knitting while :balloons:
Knitting while :clink:
Knitting a complex project (lace) without a lifeline (ahem, a little arrogance will surely attract the attention of the frog gods).

And working the stitch through the back loop at the end of the every row did not work out so well either. Rather difficult to undo/redo that for me.

Ah well, there is always the opportunity for some good to come out of such mishaps and I was not too far along in the project. The resurrected project has two stitches at the end of each row worked in a stockinette stitch rather than a single stitch as the pattern calls for. This really helps to reinforce the neck. I also changed to a size 6 needle which means it is going along a lot faster. And I picked up some stronger reading glasses. It really helps to be able to see the yarn/thread.

We’ve been on the road for nearly two weeks, I :knitting: today while DH drove, and I made good progress. A short drive tomorrow, just over four hours, and we’ll be home :cheering: (I miss my meow, meow). There are 159 stitches in the last row worked, 4 stitches are added every other row, so it is growing at a rather rapid pace. Maybe I’ll have it finished by the weekend after this. Alright GG no :roflhard: A girl can dream, can’t she? :wink:

5

Nice pattern, you have done a great job!!!

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You’re making great progress and the shawl looks fabulous. I love the ingenuity of the drawer back but I have to say I’m most impressed that you packed the swift and ball winder for your trip. What a knitter!

7

I certain DO LOVE your yarn! It’s nicer than any I’ve seen for this shawl over at Ravelry! Nice job so far! Thanks for sharing the pattern link!

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I’m not laughing. I’m thinking of how many times I’ve frogged and restarted to frog and restart to frog… I’m glad you found the larger needles work well as it will be a faster, easier knit for you. It often surprises me that fine yarn and needles that seem too large go well together.

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Hey GG - I know you wouldn’t laugh about the :frog:

There is no way in the world I will have the shawl finished by weekend after this one, so I guess that was the joke. Evenings and weekends won’t get me there by then. I think the ruffle may take an entire weekend. I’ve started looking at shawl dimensions to get an idea of how long I want it to be, and I haven’t timed it yet, but I’m willing to bet it is now taking more than an hour to knit an inch. And I think I just found a mistake :gah:

DH used to get a little upset when I had to :frog: but today remarked that if you :knitting: you :frog:

I’m beginning to feel more comfortable about the larger needles and the finer yarn. I left the Telluride LYS with two very different thicknesses of yarn for the same project and was a little freaked out when I made the discovery, but while visiting the Santa Fe LYS the owner left me feeling a little more confident about the choice.

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And I think I just found a mistake

Could you see it from 50 yds on the back of a galloping horse? If not, consider leaving it. You’ll be the only one who knows it’s there.

I went the other way with needles and used size 8 for super bulky yarn. Those slippers really do stand up on their own!

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Oh my, I’ve got my own special lakeside property at the Frog Pond! :teehee:

I had quite a time with what I thought would be an easy peasy shawl last year…my Japanese Feather Shawl! Until I got it through my thick head that lifelines were a necessity, I frogged numerous times, right down to the cast on!

Funny thing…whereas the lifelines saved me a couple times, having them as a safety net made me much more comfortable, and I made fewer boo-boos!

I respect you frogging rather than leaving mistakes and calling them “creative modifications”!

My knitting could have mistakes to be sure, but not that I’m aware of…cuz if I sees it, I corrects it! :teehee:

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:teehee:

I saw your shawl on ravelry, it is delicious! I’ll certainly be using lifelines with one of my next projects, a complicated lace shawl. I’m certain they will instill confidence and as you say, less mistakes.

This pattern (Lala’s Simple Shawl) is actually pretty straightforward and now that I am not slipping the last stitch, it is easier if I need to frog. And the seed stitch pattern makes it easier to catch mistakes. I begin and end these rows with the same stitch, alternatively, knit stitches on one row, purl stitches on the next. If I have a knit stitch at the beginning and a purl stitch on the end, well I know I messed up. The yarn is thin and sticky so knitting two stitches together is a mistake that is easily made, but fairly simple to discover and repair.

Well, I am having the time of my life. Having more than one project going at the same time has made a world of difference. And I am so motivated with this shawl, every day it grows more and more.

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Technically that’s a work in progress (WIP) since you’re working on it. A UFO are those projects I’ve got that I never finished and jammed inthe closet. :shifty:

It’s going to be pretty whatever you call it though. :teehee:

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now that I am not slipping the last stitch, it is easier if I need to frog.

Why is that? I’m trying to think if when I’ve slipped a st at the end if it made a difference and my only real recent experience with it is my venture into Entrelacville on the shores of Frog Pond. I can’t remember that it posed a problem for me but I was only working with 5 st rows.

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:roflhard: :roflhard: :roflhard:

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@ GG - I misspoke there. I had first worked the last stitch ‘through the back loop’, not slipped it, although I do seem to have problems getting the last stitches the way they are supposed to be if I slip them/frog them and redo. I think the new glasses would have helped here. The yarn/thread is just so tiny. We need an emoticon for a ‘wee little thing’.

Washed the sheets today and just made the bed so DH could go to sleep, ahhh, me time, no TV :), more :knitting: less :frog: So I used up all of the first ball of yarn, 249 yards of yarn/thread, why does it seem like it was so much more?

I used the ‘Russian Join’:

Remarked to DH that I could barely see the join. DH says “Isn’t the way it’s supposed to be?”, stating the obvious :lol:

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I love the destruction of hotel furniture in pursuit of the perfectly wound skein! Brilliant piece of improvisation. :roflhard:

Looks lovely so far, probably quicker second time through anyway!

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:roflhard: @ destruction of hotel furniture. :heart: that!!!

As for quicker the second time through, I realized not too long ago I always need a dry run or dress rehearsal, if you will. It seems the first start is never the one that takes. sigh

19

It is perfect! I imagine it will take days to knit the ruffle alone :slight_smile:

For us knitters perhaps I could suggest our slogan to be “One row at a time”?

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I’m beginning to realize this, too. May be a reason I end up doing at least two of most patterns. When I’m new to a pattern, I usually frog multiple times, then I’ll knit one to get a feel for the pattern, then another project to tweak the pattern.