Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Rays of Sun

I just finished a new shoulder shawl. I am in love with small shawls that just warm your shoulders.
The shawl is the Lakedale Shawl by Stephen West, from Malabrigo Book 3.
Yarn: The blue is Jitterbug from Colinette. I don't have the label, so I don't know the color way. The yellow is Socks that Rock lightweight. These colors were in my stash (Jitterbug from A, and Socks that Rock from J) and I couldn't resist the combination. Nice and bright. The blue makes me think of Starry Night and also what has come to be known as the Duc du Berry blue (from a medieval manuscript that reaaaaally liked that color).
I knitted this lovely shawl in three weeks. It kept me interested and enthused the whole way. I will say the bind-off was a pain (1000 stitches ish), but well worth it! I love this pattern. Here is the finished piece blocking:
I had a few modifications. Jitterbug has slightly less yardage than what the pattern called for, so I did fewer repeats of the center blue (I went to 211 instead of 231). The pattern is really easy to make larger or smaller because the edge repeat is two stitches. At the very end of the shawl, I didn't have enough of the blue to do the bind-off, so I bound off in the yellow. I think it looks quite nice that way, if I do say so myself. It reminds me of a few things, Van Gogh's Sunflowers, a sun against an azure sky among them. Here is a ravelry link, if anyone is interested.

And now, eye candy!


And I will leave you with the flowers in bloom! What do flowers need? Rays of sun!








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