Snail Spirals

So, umm, yeah. I’ve been obsessed with this shawl. On Friday night, I finished knitting the body, and designed the edging. I couldn’t resist starting the edging even though I should have been toddling off to bed….I picked up a gazillion stitches along the sides of the shawl, and knit a few repeats and did a test stretch to see how the edging looked with the chevron pattern.



Looks good, so the next morning I’m off and running! By that night, I had turned the point. Wonder of wonders, my calculations worked and the point actually came out even and symmetrical, as seen in the second test stretch.



Emma and I went off island on Sunday, so I didn’t knit at all during the day. Sunday night, however, saw Emma tucked in for an early bedtime (fun times buying diapers and dog food on the mainland meant no nap for the little one) and me happily sitting in my chair and knitting away. At 3:00 a.m. (I know, I know…) I finished the last row of the I-cord along the top edge.

A nice warm bath and some quality time with the blocking sheet and T-pins yesterday, and I am proud to present The Chevron Shawl:



I am deliriously happy with the way this turned out.



I would have been pleased with this project if I had knit it with commercial yarn and a published pattern. To know that I also spun the yarn and designed the pattern myself adds that extra fillip that makes me feel bigger inside than my skin can contain.

This shawl looks just like what I had in mind when I was spinning the yarn- a geometric laciness, but not too fussy. This project was so fun. It was the exact opposite of the “Knitting Black Hole.” Instead of knitting and knitting and knitting and never seeming to get anywhere, it seemed like I knit for a just a little while and suddenly, whoosh! A giant chunk of fabric had appeared. I love it when a project just flows like that. Both lace patterns (the body and the edging) were easy to memorize, and my fingers just knew what to do.

The specs:
950 yards of handspun sportweight two-ply (15 wpi), gently spun with a worsted short draw
Knit on one US 5 Addi Turbo circular (US 8 for the I-cord)
Finished size: 80” across the top edge, 40” from the center top edge to the point