Details:
Started: July 7; Finished: September 9, 2009
Pattern: Madli’s Shawl by Nancy Bush, Interweave Knits Summer 2004
Yarn: Valley Yarns 2/8 Merino Cashmere, unknown amount (most of what was left from the DNA scarf)
Needles: Brittany Birch 14″ straights, size US 5
Here she is on the lamp so you can see the detail:
This was really my first “process” project. I did so horribly on my first Madli’s Shawl way back when…it was my first lace project, and my first time using charts. It was full of mistakes. And I used black alpaca. Just a bad combination all around! I always liked how snuggly the photo looked, in a grayish yarn. I’ve always wanted to reknit Madli’s Shawl, in a gray or beige yarn…just to do it right. Since I’ve been taking a break from knitting (seriously, my last FO was in February!) I didn’t have anything to enter in the fair this year. So I decided it was time to knit Madli’s again, just for a fair entry.
She won second place. My first loss at the fair! But it’s OK, I’m just fine with losing to the winner (an adorable set of teensy finger puppets. Had to be knit on 000s or 0000s, and they were beaded too!).
I also entered Emily’s stripey sweater. It won an honorable mention.
So both of my entries won ribbons. Just no blue this year! I still haven’t ever won a third place ribbon. Maybe that’s what I’ll set my sights on for next year. ;)
Tagged as:
Harvest Home Fair,
Madli's Shawl,
Sweaters
I knit Madli’s Shawl back in 2004. It was my first lace, my first shawl, and my first charted project. I didn’t do so well. I didn’t even add it to Ravelry. I am going to give it to the girls to play dress-up with.
I’ve always wanted to knit it again. Especially in a gray color like the one in IK. It just looks so snuggly! But definitely not with alpaca.
I hate knitting with alpaca. Yes, I said it. I really don’t like alpaca. I know it’s sacrilege but it’s too slippery and not elastic.
I have the remainder of a cone of yarn from WEBS. It’s the yarn I used to knit the DNA Scarf. It’s gray. It’s wool & cashmere. It’s close to laceweight.
It’s been yelling at me for 5 years to use it for Madli again.
So instead of the Flower Basket Shawl, I’m knitting Madli.
Hopefully I have enough yarn.
Tagged as:
Lace,
Madli's Shawl
I finally released Madli’s Shawl from it’s pins on the guest room carpet.
Final measurements: 21″ wide (at the widest points, 19″ at the inner points), 69″ long.
The DNA Scarf has now taken its place. I’ve pinned it down with these final measurements: 6.25″ wide, 67″ long.
I washed the scarf in dishwashing liquid (to try to remove the last of whatever they put on yarn for knitting machines), and then used fabric softener in the final rinse to help the softness. We’ll see how it is when it’s dry. If it’s not soft enough, I’ll give it another wash in dishwashing liquid and rinse with fabric softener. But I think it’ll be okay.
What’s up next? Madalyn’s Scarf, and Melanie’s Mittens.
Tagged as:
DNA-Along,
Madli's Shawl,
Shawls
It is very difficult to get a nice photo of something so long & skinny, but here it is blocking on my guest room floor.
I can clearly see the rows I got off track in the photo, but they aren’t as obvious when you look at it live. Interesting how photos can sometimes hide errors, but other times they magnify them? I will probably try to take a photo of it later tonight, perhaps draped over a chair, or maybe even on me!
A fun photo will be posted later today (not of Madli), so check back later this afternoon!
Tagged as:
Madli's Shawl,
Shawls
It’s done! It’s over! “That Damn Shawl” is finished!
I finished up the border Saturday night while we watched “The Secret Window,” a movie that I liked better the first two times we saw it when it was called “Fight Club” and “Identity.”
I then went on the mission to figure out how to do the kitchener stitch, to graft the border to the body of the shawl.
It took 3 books before I finally found one that made sense. That book was “Knitter’s Handbook : A Comprehensive Guide to the Principles and Techniques of Handknitting” by Montse Stanley. This is the first time that Nancie Wiseman & “The Knitter’s Book of Finishing Techniques” let me down. I actually ended up grafting the border on backwards (purl side out), but it’s not noticeable, and worked with the grafting instructions for doing it with garter stitch. I finally got it figured out, but it was too loose when i was done. I tried to pull the yarn to tighten it up, but that just made a bigger mess. I fixed that this morning by loosening it up stitch by stitch. Sounds like fun, doesn’t it? It wasn’t, but it looked fine in the end. Can’t even see where I grafted.
I wove in the ends, and gave it a good washing with Johnson’s baby shampoo. The T-pins that my KR Secret Pal sent me were perfect for blocking it! It’s all stretched out with the little points on my guest room carpet right now (who needs a blocking board when you have wall-to-wall carpet?).
There are a few visible mistakes (a few holes that are larger than they should be), but overall, you can’t see where I got off track and tried to fix that. I’d say this pattern is rather forgiving about that. And in the end, when it’s being worn, the larger holes won’t be noticeable, especially since it’s black.
I’ll post the photo tomorrow.
Tagged as:
Madli's Shawl,
Shawls
