| Archive for Crafty Threads 'n' Yarns The Friendly UK Board that invites Knitters, Crocheters, Dressmakers, Quilters, Patchworkers, Jewellery makers and Paper Crafters to join in our chat about Craft |
| jacquie |
Forest Canopy Shawl Invades UK - WINNER ANNOUNCED!I was telling Susan about our Forest Canopy Shawl Knitalong last night and she is thrilled that so many of you in the UK love her pattern.She wants to see all your FC shawls - past, present and future, and has kindly donated a skein of Weaver's Wool Mountain Colors yarn - the original yarn specified in the pattern - as a prize for one lucky winner drawn from those who post pictures of their shawls on this thread. This is it: 
and a close up to see the colors: 
This colorway is called "canyon" and it is indeed reminiscent of the colors of Utah's red rock canyons and vegetation against the blue sky, but softer. This is Bryce Canyon, just to give you an idea of the southern Utah landscape: 
Anyway I digress slightly! The KAL starts on Feb 1st, but I need some idea as to when it would be reasonable to set the deadline for showing your completed shawls so as many of you as possible will be eligible for the draw. |
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| terri |
Thats really kind of her isn't it  Can you not convince her to join us Jacquie????
I've no idea how long lace takes as I haven't attempted it before so nothing useful to suggest for a time frame 
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| Aknita |
Ohhh! - is all I can say for all sorts of reasons! Oh! because the colour of that wool is quite exquisite, oh! because Bryce Canyon is breathtakingly beautiful, and oh! at Susan's generosity. What a lovely thing to do.
As to time frame, if it were me doing this and I had nothing else to concentate on apart from home and work and had time to swear at it a few times probably 2 months? At a guess????? |
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| terri |
Maybe march the 31st then
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| FatCat |
I'm not in this knitalong (although that might change having seen that yarn...) so can't advise on the timeframe, sorry. But wanted to put my comments in about this despite all that.
Joy's summed up exactly what I want to say - what an amazingly generous thing to do! and that view! And that yarn is exquisite!
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| cazzie |
Re: Forest Canopy Shawl Invades UK
That is a beautiful colour. My FC shawl only took a week max. And I dont have that much time to knit - sometimes only an hour a night. |
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| FatCat |
LOL, instant confusion for me. Until I realised FC stood for Forest Canopy .... 
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| cazzie |
Sorry  have worked in local government too long with KPIs, BVPIs, LEAs, ........... etc.etc.
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| Glynis |
Oh goodness, that is kind of her, isn't it? And what gorgeous colours in that skein of yarn!
I first have to buy my circular needle and then decide which one of two yarns to use, but I'm raring to go with this project! 
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| pictish |
What GORGEOUS wool  
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| Auntie Noo |
The colours in that yarn are incredible WOW!!!! | ||
| Piglottie |
A huge thank you to Susan for her generosity.
I'm going to make another one but am not sure when I shall be back on the pins This is quite a quick knit, but that depends on what else everyone is knitting. I think end of March is a good, generous date to set (esp as hopefully by then i shall be firmly back knitting and will have my next FC finished for mother's day )
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| jacquie |
We'll do the draw on 31st March then
So just to clarify - any Forest Canopy shawl that you have knitted counts, you don't have to knit another one in the KAL to qualify for the draw! I have let Susan know how much you all love the yarn she is offering
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| Piglottie |
OK, as Susan doesn't mind if its a shawl we've knitted already I'm going to post a pic of my shawl but am hoping that I will have another one finished prior to end of March (if I can find the right wool  ). So here's a slightly different shot:
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| gilraen |
Oh that is fabulous yarn. I remember the colours of those canyons in real life! That is a lovely thing for Susan to do.
Piglottie yours is lovely
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| jam_mam |
This is a lovely idea, and a great way to get me motivated to knit the FC shawl which I have had planned for too long I'm in! It is wonderful to be part of the knitting community, so many lovely people.
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| Binty |
Jam_mam ..................... hello.......... its lovely to see you.
Its lovely to see you here, Im going to have a go at this one, the yarn should be falling through the door any moment
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| jam_mam |
Hello Binty *big huggy squeeze at finding you all again*
which yarn, you see, I have to have better so I can win the prize  Oh perhaps I am getting off to a bad start erm, I mean I would really like to admire your taste and discrimination in yarn choice
Seriously, I have to knit from stash anyway as I REALLY must NOT buy any more yarn, anyone who ses me buying yarn, must shout at me (in a nice way )
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| Binty |
It should arrive tomorrow (I cant remember what its called )
I'll post a picture tomorrow of the yarn (if it arrives). Im hoping to make it for my mum's birthday in June
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| Glynis |
I'm hoping that someone can help me out.
I've done a lace swatch for my shawl, and I've used a 75% wool 25% sock yarn. Compared with a pure wool yarn it seems quite thin, so I've tried a 4.5mm needle, rather than the 5mm used in the pattern. It makes a nice drapy sort of fabric, but I keep wondering whether I would be happier with a slightly tighter knit (say 4mm). If anyone has any thoughts or advice I'd be glad to hear, because I'm not really sure what sort of tension I'm aiming for. |
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| Binty |
Jam-mam my yarn arrived and its angel yarns hand dyed colourway 12 - which is a 4ply.
Its a lovely heathery colour which Im hoping will be lovely for my mum. |
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| terri |
Glynis, if you have a look on Eunny's lace tutorial, that might give you a few ideas of needle size and how to decide which you want! | ||
| Jobo |
Piglottie - your shawl is so lovely its one of the nicest Ive seen.
One question - probably a daft one thats been answered before - but do you start from the straight edge or the pointy end? If starting from the straight edge I bet thats an enormous amount of stitches.
I would love to make one of these but too many other projects planned at the moment - I might do it for my Mum for next Xmas
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| terri |
i think you start from the pointy edge cos you don't cast on a large number of stitches I don't think
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| Jobo |
Thanks Terri
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| cazzie |
Not sure how how to explain this - you knit from the center back neck down (cast on 5sts), you increase out so and then the last few rows form the bottom scallop edging | ||
| terri |
Its hard to visualise isn't it!!!!! I knew the cast on number was small I'm going to have a go at the weekend I think so I'll grasp it then I think 
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| cazzie |
I found the FC pattern easy to follow - although it took a while for it to sink in which way I was knitting I really enjoyed knitting mine.
Provisional cast on on other patterns have me baffled
Glynis - I did mine on 4mm needles with sock yarn - it just came up a bit smaller .... |
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| Glynis |
Terri, thank you for the link to Eunny, it was really helpful. So essentially it is all about how I like the lace to look.
Thank you Cazzie, 4mm sounds good. Is the FC shawl on the YarnYard's club blog yours? It is really lovely. The swatch I'm doing is also some of Natalie's yarn in "cranberry sauce". |
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| cazzie |
Glynis, that is my FC Shawl on the Yarn Yard Club Blog - thanks for the compliment.
Cranberry Sauce sounds nice. I want to do another couple - one in Kid Silk Haze (that will be a challenge for me) and one in Hipknts Sock Cashmere
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| Glynis |
Cazzie, I've tried 4mm now and it feels much more "right", so that's what I'll go with.
"Cranberry sauce" is very pretty. It also reminds me of fuschias with its tones from pink to plum. |
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| Piglottie |
Thanks Jobo I couldn't visualise how on earth it all worked but I just followed Susan's pattern and it all become really clear. Like Cazzie said, you sort of knit down and diagonal, sort of, and the last bit you do is the scalloped edging. This also means that you can increase/decrease the shawl size easily, just by doing how many repeats you want. It all looks a bit odd (and small) until you block it - and then its magical (lace blocking is more addictive than sock knitting so beware!). Its also a really quick knit
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| Jobo |
Thanks Piglottie - your shawl has really inspired me to try one I see what you and the others mean about knitting the shape - I think i can visualise it in my head.
My Mum said she would like a black shawl, (don't fancy that!!) or white or cream, so I'm going to start looking round for some lovely white or cream yarn to do it for her for next Xmas.
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| Glynis |
Another question about the shawl.
I've decided that 4mm needles work best with the thinner sock-yarn, so my shawl will be a tad smaller than the original. If I did one more pattern block to bring it up a bit bigger will I have any fiddling about to do with the bottom edge? The pattern reads as if it would work ok, but I wonder whether there might be something obvious that I have missed. |
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| cazzie |
The botom edge works out fine no matter how many patterns you do - the edging repeat is the same as the pattern repeat does that make sense)
I will check how many I did and the size of it if it helps
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| cazzie |
Mine measures 46" x 18" that includes 14 pattern blocks (inc the setup rows) and the border. I think is slightly more than the original pattern - I'm sure I had more than 195sts before the border...
I used sock yarn and 4mm needles. It is about right as a scarf - might do another slightly bigger - I had 20g yarn left out of 100g skein hope this helps
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| Glynis |
Hi Cazzie,
Thank you, yes that's really reassuring. Do you think that the 20g you had left would have done yet another repeat, or did you do the most you could out of the yarn available? |
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| cazzie |
I think it would have done another pattern repeat:
I bottled it after reading not to under estimate how much the edging took . There is probably a way to work it out as I know the approximate yardage it took but thats too hard for a Sunday afternoon
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| Glynis |
OK , thanks.
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| Piglottie |
I did an extra 5 pattern repeats, and this pattern is set up so that you can do as many repeats as you want as the edging is done at the end. Agree with Cazzie, I also chickened out on doing another repeat as you always need more yarn than you thought (remember, you are increasing every odd row) and am glad I did as I wouldn't have had enough yarn. The other thing to remember is that it is really difficult to see how big the shawl will be whilst knitting it as its only when it has been properly blocked that it reaches its full size (which is magical!). The original is designed as a shawl scarf, so it isnt going to be very big so if you want something which is going to wrap around you a bit (like I did) then you might want to get a bit more yarn if possible.
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| Dawn |
Am off work today so my job for this afternoon is to get winding my yarn into balls ready to start this tomorrow night. Must get on with some housework first though as I have a friend popping in for a cuppa about eleven. | ||
| murdo |
I adore this pattern, did a neck-shawl with fewer repeats. Wear it all the time
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| Binty |
Im all really for this one tomorrow, but I probably will not be able to start tomorrow as I have my DS school play (and for him this is a really big thing to be able to get on stage - he is very shy) and I also have my parents coming to watch and this will be the first time the are coming to my house (in 5 years)
So tomorrow may not be a good day to start something like this. |
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| Piglottie |
My yarn arrived today and its delicious! I'm going to give it til after the weekend and then try some knitting so shall probably start a bit later but hopefully will catch up! | ||
| Dawn |
I might not get the chance to start tomorrow but I have wound up the yarn ready. Thursday nights I pick up my grand-daughter straight after work and keep her overnight whilst my daughter is at work. Usually by the time she goes to bed at eight I am exhausted so will need somthing easy to knit so will probably work on the baby cardi I am making. Still I will have more time at the weekend. | ||
| murdo |
Hope all goes well tomorrow Binty.....I am sooo tempted to join in
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| n |
So what we need is for someone to knit it in 4 ply sock yarn which has about 400m/100g, and to knit it the size it's supposed to be and weigh it, and then knit another section and weigh it again, and then weigh it before and after the edging, so we can all spend our evenings with paper and calculator and convince our other halves that we are balancing the household budget, while actually planning our next visit to the LYS.
n |
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| Binty |
 @ n!!
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| Glynis |
I'm using Natalie's sock yarn for mine, but I don't think my ropey old kitchen scales are up to such scientific weighing.
In fact they are so unreliable that they refuse to admit there is anything in the weighing bowl until about 4 ounces!! |
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| n |
How much chocolate do I need for these muffins?
Where's the recipe? One ounce. Gosh I've added a whole bag and a half, but I still seem to need more..... oops 4 ounces, and when I remove one chocolate chip..... I have not added any chocolate at all..... all those choc chips and not a single ounce....great! Low calorie muffins. Can I come to your house for coffee and a bun please Glynis? n |
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| Glynis |
any time!
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| Piglottie |
at n!
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| n |
This is actually a serious proposition, the more I think about it.
Is there anyone who wants to knit a Forest Canopy (!) who would be willing to do it fairly quickly with a contrasting edge? If you are interested, you need to 1. Be planning to do it pretty much straight away. 2. Own digital kitchen scales. 3. Have some idea of which colour. (I'll supply the yarn) 4. Send me a pm. n |
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| jam_mam |
I could but I haven't got the scales.
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| murdo |
I could start it quick but I am not a speed-knitter. Have done pattern before though, so if anyone quick thinking of it...go for it, wonderful pattern!!! | ||
| KnittingLadybird |
could I just ask if anyone knows whether I would have enough yarn to make this...I have 2 skeins of parisienne with a total of 442m...but I haven't seen one made with lace weight yarn I don't think...I want to use my yarn as a suprise present. I would purchase another as is it gorgeous but i know my 2 were bought at the time and therefore look the same iyswim.
How you would do a contrasting edge btw?
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| murdo |
KLB, I made a neck-scarf version using 175m of a dk silk, so you could definitely knit a garment of wearable size with the meterage you have
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| KnittingLadybird |
cheers murdo...i take it, it's the meterage and not the weight of the yarn then that makes the sizes? | ||
| murdo |
Crikey...how can I explain (I'm not good at this). Thicker yarns "grow quicker" in that you get quicker looking progress BUT meterage counts too. You tend to get more metrerage for lighter yarns than thicker ones per skein (where skein is same weight...as volume taken up by lace yarn is less than an aran yarn of same weight, so get more meters for same weight).
The way it makes sense to me is that to fill a phonebox you would need more Ronnie Corbetts than Ronnie Barkers BUT whichever total number of each filled the box...it would probably weigh the same. Am I talking twadle here  )
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| KnittingLadybird |
I think I get what you mean lol....however i only 50g of lace weight as it comes in 25g skeins....whereas if you use sock yarn, it's usually 100g...and then i got lost lol | ||
| Dawn |
well I've started mine - the pattern is easy peasy but I do NOT like knitting on a circular needle - and typically 5mm seems to be the only size I do not have in straights - I have 3 pairs of 4mm, 3 pairs of 4.5mm and a pair of 5.5s. I might get a pair of straights tomorrow I think. | ||
| Piglottie |
Dawn - it is a bit awkward at first, but I found it much better later on, especially when the stitches increase a lot. I found once you get more stitches on it because easier. And well done on starting. I don't think I can hold off much longer, so might have to brave the pins for the first time in a month tomorrow
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| Jobo |
I dont like knitting on circulars much either Dawn. I haven't bought the pattern yet but I intend to. Does anyone know how many stitches you have at the widest point? Could you get all the stitches on a straight needle? |
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| murdo |
KLB...this will show better than me, what I mean...look at example of
50 g ball meterage with different gauge wools. Her whole section on lace is excellent, click on shawl construction bit for an explanation of how edge formed with triangular shawls. I think that you have plenty for a decent sized shoulder shawl. http://www.eunnyjang.com/knit/2006/03/majoring_in_lace_part_ii.html |
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| n |
Aaah maybe I have suffered from not seeing the pattern.... Is the edge knitted as you go along or is it knitted at the end?
n |
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| murdo |
Natalie
you knit the body of the shawl first, until you have as many repeats as you want for givenwidth/length...then you carry on to knit the edge/scalloping. It's not an-add on edge as such, but one that emerges as final section of shawl. |
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| n |
So you can do the edge in a different colour? It sound like it.... I need to just get the pattern, but I'm not ready to knit it yet.
n |
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| murdo |
I'm pretty certain you can...will have a play tomorrow. | ||
| murdo |
Yes, look here
http://haveyouanywool.typepad.com...blog/2006/10/forest_canopy_s.html |
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| gilraen |
Moved from other forum:
This pattern is still available to anyone for free as I accidently bought 2. I can email it, with the proper ID transaction code, and in PDF if that helps. I bought one in october last year and forgot, but at least I saved the email. It was only when I went to save the new download in Jan this year that I was told it already existed. Silly me. This is now gone, sorry
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| Binty |
I finished I finished I finished!!!
I will post a picture when I have blocked it (I hope it grows a bit )
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| GrannySmith |
Wow - Binty - look at that shawl - I love the colours and the speed | ||
| murdo |
Wow...lovely colour tones and super-speedy!!!!!! | ||
| Binty |
This is my first attempt at lace and I have to say its horrid!!
It has caused me several late nights because that old phase ....... just one more row!! have never been more true than with this pattern
No seriously I loved doing it. |
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| gilraen |
First Attempt!!!!
Binty you are amazing, my fisrt attempt at lace didn't look anything like that
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| Jobo |
That is fabulous Binty - looking forward to seeing the blocked pics
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| FatCat |
wow, Binty, that looks great! I love the colours
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| Piglottie |
Its wonderful Binty! And I know exactly what you mean, its so addictive I'm trying to limit myself to 30 mins knitting a day which is very hard with lace!
It will grow loads with blocking, you need to stretch it a lot - I pinned mine out, and then pinned it even further. I followed Yarn Harlot's blocking instructions which were excellent http://www.yarnharlot.ca/blog/arc.../08/23/walk_around_the_block.html |
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| Binty |
Thanks fo rthe link Piglottie I will have a look tomorrow when the little ones have gone to school.
Im as excited about blocking it as I was about knitting it - how mad is that!!! BTW Piglottie how are the hands? |
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| Piglottie |
Nope, not mad at all. Wait until you've had the sublime and magical pleasure that is lace blocking - you'll knit lace as much for the blocking as anything else. The hands are so so. I've had a couple of days rest after doing too much and they've calmed down but are looking very yukky - my wrists are all blue and purple (nice bruising!). Am going to pick up the pins today and do one (I repeat, one!) pattern repeat of my shawl. Thanks for asking!
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| cazzie |
Binty - your shawl looks beautiful - love the colours
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| gilraen |
Any chance of progress photos Piglottie, I confess to being excited to see Kirsty's yarn knitted up, since I haven't got that far yet.
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| KnittingLadybird |
Binty that looks fabulous!!! I love the colour you have chosen too.
I want to cast on for it but i have a few things to finished up first (plus i want to do it in parisienne so i need to pluck up the courage too lol) |
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| n |
It's wonderful.
Can't wait to see it blocked. n |
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| Glynis |
I'm going to try to post a picture. I've never tried this before and I've done it all myself !!!! (So don't hold your breath)
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| gilraen |
Oh another beautiful shawl! Lovely red colour
What yarn did you use? |
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| Binty |
Oh Glynis that is fantastic you must be really pleased with it. I hope mine blocks up as well as yours. | ||
| cazzie |
Glynis, That is beautiful
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| Glynis |
I tried to post a close-up too, but failed on that one 
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| Glynis |
I used Yarn Yard's sock wool in a colour called Cranberry Sauce. | ||
| Piglottie |
Glynis its stunning! I adore red so this colour is perfect. Well done you!
Gilraen - I've only done 2 pattern repeats so not too much to see at the moment. I'll give it another couple of days and then get a pic for you (I'm only doing one repeat per day). The colours are divine, but my only slight moan is the wool is very splitty (is that a word?) which can be a bit annoying and not brilliant with lace. But the colours are gorgeous and they really suit the pattern. |
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| Catknit |
This is a really lovely pattern & I'd love to knit it but it might just be 1 shawl too many, I'm all shawled out for a while and need to ignore anything lacy until further notice (even the laceweight and Kid silk stash has been buried under other bits so I don't look at it) | ||
| Glynis |
Thank you all for your kind comments.
I was so pleased with the way the shawl worked out. I've knitted lace panels and lacey socks, but never anything that needed blocking out. Now I'm hooked on the magic of blocking! I have begun another F.C. using Silkwood 4ply shetland, but the gorgeous colours in the yarn are lost in the pattern really, which is a shame. |
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| jam_mam |
That red is gorgeous!
I have finally started mine and I wish I had done this one as my first lace project and definately recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried lace before - going well, growing quickly and I'll post a progress piccie later today
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| Aknita |
Oh Glynis, that's wonderful - such a lovely colour. And Ali, well what can I say - well done, it's beautiful, dying to see a blocked piccy please. | ||
| FatCat |
ooh, another lovely one - Glynis, that's gorgeous!
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| Binty |
How exciting was that Ive just blocked the shawl and how amazing was that. Ive just got to leave it alone now to dry.
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| Jobo |
Glynis your shawl is really lovely - a really rich colour. Can't wait to start mine
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| Binty |
Here it is!! The overall size is 59 inches by 27 inches deep.
Close up of the point 
Close up of a side 
I love this, I hope my mum likes it as much as I do!! |
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| Jobo |
I am sure your Mum will absolutely love it Binty - it is fabulous
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