Tuesday 11 November 2008

Progress On The Shetland Lace Shawl

I know that it doesn't look like much at the moment but the lace shawl is starting to grow.  I have now completed four repeats of the 'rosebud' pattern and I am well on my way to completing the fifth.  This is a close up of the centre panel as it stands at the moment and after so many false starts I seem to be able to follow the pattern quite easily and to have got used to the fineness of the yarn, so consequently I am having fewer problems with dropped stitches.

The panel is sort of scrunched up at the moment because that is the way that it knits up, but once the shawl is completed it has to be soaked in warm water, then rolled in a towel to remove as much moisture as possible before blocking it out with wires to its final size and left to dry.  This means that the yarn gets stretched a little and then shrinks a little as it dries so that it stops scrunching up on itself and the patterns on the shawl become clearer.

I am hoping that I will have the centre square panel completed at the weekend and then I will begin the mammoth task of picking up stitches from the three worked edges before starting on the diamond panel border and the intricate lacy edging.  

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