Um, it's March.
How the heck did that happen? Again!?
February was a blur. I remember a bunch of work stress. Missing planned events/meetings. Pouting over not getting to go to Quiltcon. And reading half of the 5-book Game of Thrones series (which I'm loving, although book 3 is annoyingly repetitive). That's not much to show for an entire month!
But you know what else I did in February? I knit! For realsies! Look:
That's the new shawl design I started in late January from the Cephalopod I got at VK Live. On Monday I finished the short-rowed half-circle main body and started to do the edging. You might notice that what you see above is off the needles . . . that's because I've since ripped out that edging and will be redoing it. The big spaces are a bit too big for what I have in mind so I'm going to redo that to make them about half as big as they are here.
Here's a closeup of the now-ripped-out edging:
(this photo's way better in terms of color by the way)
The technique I'm using for this edging is pretty much made up on the fly, except for the fact that I thought about it and planned it out for a while before actually trying it.
After knitting the main body, the edging is started by first crocheting a sc-and-chain row along the long edge of the shawl, and then stitches are picked up along that crochet row. It's a lot like doing a provisional cast on, except you never rip the crochet out. In fact the provisional cast on is where this idea came from! I can't even tell you how long I've had this concept swirling around in my brain waiting for the perfect design to use it on. It's perfect for this design and I can't wait to see the shawl with its edging on!
I'm honestly really excited about this shawl. I love handpainted yarn knit up in garter or stockinette, especially when you're changing directions throughout the piece. In this one I've got short rows mixing up the colors and will soon have a border knit in the other direction with a "barely attached" look that lets in some much-needed negative space . . . I seriously cannot wait to see how this one finishes up!
Here's to a more vocal and productive March. I'm aiming to have at least one new pattern for you this month, so stay tuned!
