Friday, March 21, 2008

FO Friday: Icarus!

I am DONE!!!!



DETAILS:

Pattern: Miriam Felton's (genius!) Icarus Shawl
Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist "Fino" in the "Frost" colorway
Needles: Knit Picks Options Harmony, size 3, 24-32" circular
Time: January 11 - March 21, 2008 (working somewhat steadily)
Fun: A! (I can't say enough how much I loved, not only knitting this, but the end result. The charts were well made, pattern well written, the design is amazing and you always knew where you were when doing the lace rows. This is the first lace that I've ever wanted to knit again!)

*I know I shouldn't be saying this, but there is one mistake in my knitting. When I had to frog the 40 rows when I first started (I'd read the chart wrong for the center stitch), I picked up one stitch wrong and didn't notice it until I blocked it. So, on one of the diagonal "wings", there is a "k2tog" that is out of place. Oh, well. Besides that, I am THRILLED with it!*

Oh, and one more thing....when coming to the very last 2 rows, I ran out of yarn. (Story of my knitting life!!) I had hoped to use only 1 skein of the Fino for the whole shawl and thought I would, since I was so close to the end. But, alas, it was not to be. Look at this:



I only had this much...so, needless to say, I had to ball up another skein of Fino (which I had bought, just in case, knowing myself as I do). The cast off using a purled type method, which I hadn't tried before, was awesome and it gave the best, flexible bind off that I've ever seen. Must try that again sometime. Anyway, now I've got 90% of another ball of Fino to use for something else. That yarn is amazing and I'd recommend it HIGHLY to anyone doing lace....silky, didn't split, super soft and has a very slight, but beautiful shine/halo because of the silk/alpaca.

Wanna see more pics??

Here is the shawl before blocking:



Shawl blocking on my bed, looking mighty delicious:



A close up of the lace part blocking....boy, I love those flower head pins!



A pic of me trying to show off the lace part of the shawl....



A pic of the shawl feeling all lazy on the chair:



I think that's enough, huh? LOL!

I'm totally in love with this shawl and had such joy through the whole process. I didn't add the beads at the end, but I think I'll do that to the next Icarus that I knit. I'm sure there will be another one in my future.

What do you think?????

Oh, and before I go, I just wanted to share with you a picture of the pysanky eggs that Ian and I made years and years ago...ones that we put out each year at the Spring Equinox and Easter. Aren't they cool??



Have a very happy Spring Equinox and Easter!!!

18 comments:

cayli said...

Love it, love it love it! It looks great and who will ever notice that one k2tog mistake. You only catch those when blocking. Sounds like a lace yarn I need to try, like I need any more lace yarn!

Lapdog Creations said...

Its beautious!!!! Great job!

Lora said...

Wow Gina, your shawl turned out beautifuly!! great job!

CraftyGryphon said...

It's lovely! (And *whew* on having bought the extra ball of yarn, just in case!)

Heide said...

There can never be too many pictures of a something this pretty! You did a fabulous job.

KSee said...

oh yeah, I was going to point out that k2tog mistake, Not! This is fantastic. I still have my skein of Fino. You can see what I tried to do here. http://kseekreations.blogspot.com/2008/02/see-it-and-weep.html
But I have hope looking at yours.

Sonya said...

What a beautiful job!!

Gigi said...

Covet, covet, covet [giggle]
Love the shawl! It is so silky soft and absolutely gorgeous. Way to go.

The eggs are really cool, too.

Amy Boogie said...

The shawl is so deliciously beautiful! I hope you have a Happy Easter :)

Anonymous said...

Your shawl is so beautiful! And I also loved the eggs. When we lived in San Diego the kids and I watched a demonstration of that technique. When we tried it at home, wow, it much harder than it looked. So it was back to the egg coloring kits from the store.

mochirunner said...

Your Icarus is GORGEOUS!!! Phew on the extra ball of yarn--I would be holding my breath the entire time! I love seeing the transformation of lace from knit-->blocked. It amazes and fascinates me everytime--obviously I'm very easily entertained.

Anonymous said...

Gina, that is gorgeous!!!

Love the eggs too.

Jackie said...

Stunning. Really gorgeous and beautiful and stunning. I'm amazed at how big it turned out. Love the eggs too.

Donna said...

That came out beautiful Gina! I am amazed how the pattern just pops out in the white. Be proud girl!!!

GoldenTracks said...

Icarus is lovely! I know you will enjoy wearing her.
Thanks for the comments on the yarn. I just may have to use it on my Swan Lake when I start it.

Han said...

this is one of the most beautiful shawls i think ive seen, i think they are all very pretty but this one just strikes me, simple enough to actually wear, but has wonderful lacework. gawgeeeousss i love it!

Kimberly said...

Oh your icarus is gorgeous-I just love white, as you know. Don't worry about the one little mistake-I call it character and no one else has one with this. Hehe I used two skeins of knit picks alpaca cloud for mine and ran out on the last 3 rows too! Luckily I had a rest I could use but I would love to knit another one but only have 2 skeins which is keeping me from doing it. Love the eggs!

Unknown said...

Lovely! (sorry I took so long to catch up on my bloglines!)