FO: Laminaria

This was a really fun knit. Even more so because it was my "keep myself sane since I'm past my due date" project. I cast on the day Tadpole was due and got through all but one of the flower chart repeats by the time we headed to the hospital. Once we got home, I'd knit a row (or half a row) here and there while Tadpole slept and eventually the piece was finished.

(I look reasonably well rested there, don't I?)

Before I forget (or get stuck away from the little piece of paper with my notes on it), here are the project specs:

Pattern: Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman 

Yarn: one skein of Fleece Artist Suri Blue (a 50/50 mix of Suri alpaca and Blue Face Leicester). Colorway? I have absolutely no idea. It's a collection of lovely greens that nearly jumped into my hand at the yarn store.

Needles: size 4 addi lace circulars

Size: the pattern gives directions for two sizes, a small scarf and a large shawl. I wanted something in between so I made up a hybrid of the two. I worked 5 repeats of the star chart and 5 repeats of the flower chart. 

Mods: other than hybridizing the size, I went with a 3-stitch border rather than a 2-stitch one. Why? I just liked the look of the extra stitch - it felt more sturdy. That's all.

So how big is the thing?

The shawl is 26" deep from bottom point to the cast on bit, 38.5" wide measuring straight across from curved point to curved point, and 52.5" wide if you actually measure that curved line. All in all a great size for wrapping around your neck.

I really liked the various stitch patterns used in this design. I especially like the star chart in the first section, a stitch that Nancy Bush used in her Miralda's Triangular Shawl (which I knit last year). And the flower chart produces a fabulous textured design.

(What's with the color changes? The sun was out for the top three pics.)

I wasn't a huge fan of the edging - it looked pretty droopy in the pattern shots. But it's actually really fun to knit (there's just something special about working double and triple yarn overs), and it doesn't have to be that droopy if you don't block the points out quite as aggressively as the designer did. 

That said, I'm definitely looking forward to knitting the echo flower shawl, which uses the flower motif from Laminaria for the body of the shawl and finishes with an edging design filled with nupps. I just might have a skein of malabrigo lace in the stash already slated for that project.

Moving along, I had a helper for this photo shoot.

Apparently knitting photo shoots aren't that exciting since she slept right through it.

I honestly don't know if I have much more to say about this project. Fun knit, great yarn, wearable finished piece. That about sums it up. But I do have some more Tadpole pictures so how about we just end with that?