Whitewater Shawl

Project Details:

Yarn: Alpaca With A Twist Fino, 70% baby alpaca, 30% silk, 1 hank, 100grams, 875 yards. And I used all but 1.2 grams of the hank.

Pattern: I put this together using Evelyn Clark's Knitting Lace Triangles book. It's 16 repeats of the Medallion pattern, then 3 repeats of the Ripple pattern, then the edging. The Whitewater name came from our river raft trip in June of this year. I knit part of the shawl on that trip.

Needles: Holz & Stein ebony circulars, size 3.25mm.

Started: February 2008. I took a class from Evelyn Clark using her triangular lace shawl techniques at the Madrona fiber festival in Tacoma. As I was working on the Langsjal Jóhönnu shawl at the time, this sat in hibernation until April.

Finished: August 1, 2008.

For: ?? Maybe me, maybe a gift. Who knows.

Modifications:  Well, it's all a modification, really. I didn't deviate from Ms. Clark's plan, though, except for leaving off one plain row at the end. I was running out of yarn, and just left it out.

What I learned: The cast on used in this book is rather clever. Basically, you provisionally cast on 2 stitches and knit a little 2-stitch garter strip for several rows, then pick up stitches on one long side, then those first 2 stitches. This gives you a garter "tab" that flows better into the top border.

I also learned a lot about how triangular lace shawls are constructed. Ms. Clark's book makes the whole process very simple, and takes all the guess work out of it. The book has a lot of instructional material, then pattern charts (also written out, for you chart-o-phobic types) for four different laces. There are instructions on how to knit the transition sections between one lace type and the next, then one edging stitch chart. You basically pick which laces you want in your shawl, decide the order and how many repeats, then put in the appropriate transitions to make it work. This works whether you are making a small neck scarf or a ginormous shawl.

The book is by no means comprehensive as far as lace shawl construction. I would have liked to see more information on how to take this method and run with it. She doesn't really explain the process of taking stitch patterns with varying stitch counts and making them work together. I think that after one or two of these shawls, you'd get tired of the four stitch patterns and want to branch out. I love the finished project though. And the yarn is divine. It has enough silk to really glow, and the alpaca has just a bit of a halo.

And a few more photos, because it's my blog, and I don't finish something every day:

Comments

[marjorie]

That is beautiful--so lacy and airy. I've been intrigued by that yarn, and when restraint fails me (I already have more shawls that I can reasonably wear, yet I keep knitting them), I may have a stash enhancement.

[Donna]

Ww! That is gorgeous - I have that book but haven't found the time to sit down & really work with it.

[tiennie]

This is absolutely gorgeous!!!

[--Deb]

So PRETTY! You know, one of these days, I need to make a white shawl--it's one color I DON'T have!

[Chery]

I love your shawl. Ms. Clark makes beautiful designs. The last pic is the best! Thanks for sharing.

[Stacey_CrimsonPurl]

So beautiful!

[Geek Knitter]

Well Done!

[lynda]

Ooooh, it's gorgeous! I say ya keep it!

[Micky]

Ooh so beautiful.
Awesome pics.
:)

[Miss T]

It's wonderful! And the book sounds like a good starting point for learning to design.

[Laurie]

Beautiful! Exquisite! You must feel so good about something you designed that looks so good.

[Chris]

It's gorgeous! And now I'm intrigued about that book.

[Denise]

ooooh it's so pretty!!! Very nicely done! And so exciting too!

[Kris]

sooo beautiful!!!! I think I'm almost ready to give lace knitting with actual laceweight another go. I learned so much from that class and can finally "read" my knitting.

Whitewater shawl turned out wonderfully!!!!

[Cathy-Cate]

Lovely, lovely! And you should absolutely get to take and post as many pictures as you want of such a gorgeous FO!

[marti]

nothing quite like the magic of blocking lace. it is beautiful!

[Nora]

Truly beautiful.

[Laritza]

Oh my! I is gorgeous!

[Dorothy]

Absolutely stunning! You're now not only a lace knitter, but a designer as well. I had to laugh at your comment to John about the furnace coming on. Bill and I had the same conversation the other day.

[monica]

It's beautiful! Great job! I love that book.

[Bridget]

Really really beautiful! Really.

[Karen]

It's really beautiful! I think you should keep it for yourself. I would!

[Teyani]

what a stunning shawl! I also enjoy Evelyn Clark's cast on techniques.

and I think I've gotta get me one of those cool little scales :-)

[Knitnana]

OH! It's so pretty!
You did a beautiful job. I have the book and am casting (ok, haha) about for the "perfect yarn" but this is so pretty, I may not bother looking any further!
(((hugs)))

[danielle]

BEAUTIFUL!