I’ve had a week of finishing things off and it’s been lovely. This is a sweet little shawl (we don’t call them shawlettes, do we Knitabulous?) called 198yds. of Heaven and I made it in a little over 200yds of pure silk.
Two years ago I bought two pricey skeins of Colinette Tao silk in Ginger Cinnabar for myself as a birthday gift and for two years I’ve looked at it on a dish on my coffee table and wondered when I’d get around to using it.
Well, here it is. I finally used it. It’s as soft and squishy and luxurious as pure silk sounds and looks!
Although this shawl was easy, so very easy, there were some hurdles. I had 252yds of silk and it was expensive so I didn’t want to waste any. I could have made the shawl as written and used just a little over 1skein but that was no good. So in trying to work out the number of repeats I should do (2.5 in the end) and how much I needed for the border, I had to rip this out several times.
A shawl that should have taken me a week at most took me nearly three weeks and was complicated by an early battle with tangled silk – I knew the stories about centre pull balls and silk and how never the twain shall meet but do you think I listened? No. I will from now on. Never again will I pull silk from the middle! Learn from my mistake!
Thankfully, my friend Elly took on the challenge of untangling the bit I had to cut off. Much appreciated Elly!
The benefit of knitting it a couple of times over was that the second time around, I knew I disliked the garter stitch border. It just looked heavy and jarred with the rest of the pattern. So I did a stocking stitch border instead and I’m much happier with it.
For a small shawl, it’s actually turned out a pretty good size. The extra repeat and a half takes it from kerchief size to a small-mid sized shawl. I can imagine, done as written, I’d have been more inclined to wrap it around my head.
As it is, I think it’s highly wearable. And the orange, which was a radical experiment for me, is lovely. Very autumnal.
A note on these photos. This morning we drove out to a small town 40mins out of Canberra called Bungendore. It’s a small village with lots of farms around (we went to buy chicken feed). We’ve gone there a lot lately and felt very at home in some lovely cafes. We scouted around for ideal photo locations and chose the local police station and a large tree over the road.
When I was a teenager, our family used to go for Sunday drives to Bungendore and I recall finding the whole thing incredibly dull. Now, we go there regularly to get out of town and do something different. My teenage self would be horrified to know that actually I want to move there. How things change!
Bells
Hey Bells, decided to look you up as I’ve missed your smile, your knitting and your neice’s shoes on FB. I am glad to hear all is well and just wanted to say hi. And that I am sitting here, coveting your orange shawl. Covet covet
Beautiful! That orange looks great on you.
I heed your warnings about silk in centre pull balls. As much as I find detangling yarn relaxing, the yarn spaghetti I saw on Twitter was mildly horrifying.
a VERY different colour for you but it looks lovely [ on YOU ... on me it would look ... not so hot ]
Maybe you could bring it to Bendy so I can fondle it in person
It’s wonderful and the colour is perfect on you. Lovely, lovely.
It is very lovely. I’ve been eyeing up that pattern, and having seen it knitted up I’m more drawn to it.
Your shawl turned out amazing! I really like the stocking st boarder.
What gorgeous yarn, colour and the way it has been knit! I love the stocking stitch edge.
hehe, imagining the horrified teenage self
I love the photos; beautifully framed and of course, such a lovely subject
I think that colour is a treat on you – you should definitely wear more of it!
and hooray for the silver lining of having to frog and seeing the heaviness of the garter stitch border and being able to amend. I think your alterations are just right
Beautiful.
Bungedore sounds lovely.
It is funny that we both posted about orange shawls! I know you said yours was, easy, but it definitely doesn’t look it. The color is definitely autumnal, so I suspect you’ll get more wear out of yours than I will out of mine. It’s not a very spring-like color, and most of my spring stuff is blue and pink. Oh well, it will be there for me next fall.
That turned out lovely! The color is great on you.
198 yds. was my first experience with charts and with lace knitting last year. I stuck to the pattern religiously but can see stretching it out with a few more repeats next time.
Yours is beautiful and the color makes your eyes sparkle (even more than they do ordinarily, that is). Lovely photos, Sean.
it’s a beautiful shawl… I love the orange yarn!
What a gorgeous piece it is – that orange is a lovely strong colour, suits you very well and my teenage self would be horrified with so much of what I like to do and where I like to go these days ;o)
Bravo! You are a superb re-designer! And you stage a great photo shoot, too. That aubergine shirt with the cinnabar shawl is sooooo pretty!!
Great color, Bells!
Beautiful shawl and pictures.
A move to Bungendore sounds very exciting – the chickens would love it too!
As I have said, again and again… That shawl is gorgeous, and it really is a beautiful colour on you. I must revisit this pattern… I’ll look to your mods too.
it’s perfect, and looks great on you! the extra repeats make it a better size. i must give this pattern another go.
The orange does great things for your colouring!
And ugh, don’t talk to me about silk and centre-pull balls. I still have nightmares.
You look TERRIFIC in orange, something I envy as I love this colour
You did a lovely job with this shawl and the colour and pattern are so well suited. Also lovely photos of you
thats turned out great, fantastic photos sean! having fondled that stuff in the flesh, no photo can do it justice with its lovely silky sheen, it must feel great to wear. such a great contrast against the black, i think this will get lots of wear.
Wonderful shawl, wonderful colour, which suits you it brings out the highlights in your hair
I have 198yds of heaven on my list to knit, in a beautiful sea green, hope it goes with
my grey hair
198 yards (plus) of heaven indeed! mmmm heavenly silk in such a great colour – gorgeous and great photos of you too – the last 2 especially are fab! You look fantastic!
Pretty! It was much nice wool to play with and lovely to have a small hand in such a beautiful creation.
Ah, Bungendore I remember it well. Dad and I thought about moving there not so long ago. I could see you living there Helen and opening a little craft/knitting shop. Beautiful shawl by the way
it is lovely, and the color looks great on you. The size is nice as it gives you several options for wearing.
We used to go for Sunday drives when I was a kid. Good memories.
It’s a beautiful; shawl and I think the shade suits you perfectly. This has been in my queue and I went and had another look in case I could secretly start it!! Secretly from all the other knitting have on the go.
My dad always took our family on Sunday drives. We went to the Mt Field National Park or up the East Coast or to Snug where, whatever the weather, we all had to get out and look at the ‘meteorite’ and read the sign about it!!!
Hey Bells,
Your shawl is absolutely ravishing! I love it! I’m having a tearful moment knitting my Lilac Leaves Shawl -I’m only up to the edge lace and I’ve stuffed up a bit -I went back and stuffed it up further! I am wondering if I should just continue or pull it all back and start again!!! I’m so disappointed as I have been so looking forward to knitting it, and now I wonder if I’m just not experienced enough.
As for Bungendore, my mum and her partner live there and I get to go there heaps. It is just lovely! The Woodworks is always worth a visit and they have great art there. My mum lives just near the main street and she has the most gorgeous large garden full of roses and six vegie patches! Mum says there is a new soap shop in town now too. I love the garden centre there and the antique shops. There is also a wellness centre where I had a massage last time I visited! I can certainly understand wanting to live there! Only, I can understand not finding it fun as a teenager. I have 3 teenaged girls who DO NOT find Bungendore interesting at all!:-)
Enjoy the long weekend!:-)