off the needles and onto the floor

Posted on annePosted in designing, lace/shawls

actually, it doesn’t quite go like that . . . .
YES, i finished my snow shawl and wove in the last end around 4am this morning. then i cried.

it was mostly out of exhaustion, but also i was already feeling the loss; the minute that hulking piece of knitting was detached from the needles, my arms felt oddly empty (well, after all, i’d been literally carrying it wherever i went for four days straight), and my balance was thrown more than i’d expected (it only weighs about 13 ounces for heavens sake, but still?? ok, it was 4 am, maybe i was just tired).

so i went to bed, hoping i’d get over it by the time i woke up. and i had.

because soon after i woke up, the mail carrier arrived and guess what she had for me today??

vanessa’s shawl, to be blocked.
this was SO great; all weekend long i had dreamed of the two of them blocking side by side.
how exciting! i hummed merrily while i made some coffee and while drinking my first cup out in the yard i had a realization. well, more like a DUH-uh moment.

heh. i can’t block them side by side; i only have one set of blocking wires.
oh well, maybe another time.

instead of fretting over it, i put vanessa’s shawl in to soak.

i’m blocking hers first because hers is the real representation of the pattern, and i need to glean some information from it, like final dimensions, etc.

a word about size. my own sample shawl has 20 more rows than everyone else’s will have. 20 rows is not a lot . . maybe it amounts to 2 inches in length. but when you double that across the shawl, it makes it a LOT more huge (you’ll see when i block mine tomorrow). i mean, my shawl looks like a (lovely) gross swamp creature and hers looks, well, normal. interesting what a few inches can do.

anyhow, after an hour or so i took the shawl out of the water

(just a tinge of color there, not bad at all)
and set to work getting it on the wires.

the square shawl is actually pretty easy to block, despite its size. just thread the wires through the edging on all sides and then pin them parallel.

ok, i won;t tease you any more with talk; let’s see some photos (you’ll have to excuse the dark-ish cast on everything; it’s appallingly gray here today. and yesterday. and probably tomorrow. oops, i digress).

here’s the tree border; a forest of delights, with twinkling snowflakes scattered over and through it. and let’s not ignore the large, snowflake center

it’s kinda like a revolving snowflake kaleidescope.
here’s a shot of the entire progression of motifs from the center out

i just adore the play of shadow and light on the motifs—it has so much more dimension and depth than i expected from such a fine yarn.

this is one of the advantages of working with pastels and whites; these contrasts in light and dark are not so obvious in a more strongly colored yarn. also, knitting to gauge (not too loose) helps maintain that effect once it’s blocked.

and then there is the scrumptious edging

this picture is especially for vanessa, who i know was a little concerned that the edging might lose its 3-D quality in the soaking. but not so vanessa, yay.

see? it’s as plump and shadowy as before it was blocked.

ok now, i know you’re holding your breath waiting for the long shot. but first, let me explain that a true long shot with the whole shawl in it showed no detail really

(i had to get too far away and the day is gray).
so i’m giving you the quasi long shot.

and here, you can see the triangle long shot

the shawl did end up large, but not ridiculously large (THIS is large, i think; mine isn’t that big . . .)
vanessa’s measures about 74 inches across the diagonal and about 56 inches along each side of the square. so there you have it.

and now—on to something new for me i think (hell, i deserve it).

59 thoughts on “off the needles and onto the floor”

  1. Oh, so lovely! I can hardly wait to see the off-the-wires photos and the photos of yours and Vanessa’s being modeled together. Good work!

  4. Very Pretty and it really captures that pale pale greenish cast that ice gets sometimes. Thread some crochet cotton through the edges before a soak (leaving lots of slack), pin that out tight, and yes you can block them side by side!

  6. Wow Anne!! It’s just really more than words can express. I kept thinking while I was viewing the pic’s that it kind of reminds me of when you’re a little one and you cut out little notches from folded up white paper to end up with snowflakes to hang in your windows. Only the snowflake shawl is on such a grand and glorious scale!!

  8. Beautiful.

    And now I know what blocking is. But why do it? (Stupid question maybe, but I’ve been knitting since I was 7, and it’s only since I started reading knitting blogs that I’ve heard of this term.)

    Can someone enlighten me? It obviously serves an important purpose because it takes so long that no one would bother otherwise….

  10. That is just gorgeous. I can’t even imagine the dedication you have. I mean, I read it almost daily, so I know it is there… but how can you stand to work on something that big?!? Well, perhaps I can motivate myself to do it someday… Your pattern would make a lovely wedding shawl after all… Thanks for sharing the gorgeousness… I appreciate getting to vicariously participate in your shawl-ly goodness!

  12. I love how the light and shadows are playing in the trees, especially in the last few shots, where they are seen from an angle. It looks just like the trees in the forest when their branches are partly covered by snow. Lovely!

  13. OMG…..I would cry too. This is really beautiful and what knitting! Congratulations…..you should be very proud of this fine work of art! cg

  14. Wowie, zowie. It turned out beautifully!! I really adore that edging. I’m so impressed by knitting something that large — I haven’t had the courage to try a square shawl yet. Someday…

    Of course, now I’m dying to see what your reward (or is it recovery?) knitting turned out to be!

  15. So beautiful, I bet you’re glad it’s done! I haven’t knit any lace of that size yet so I can’t imagine. Great job though and looking forward to seeing what’s up next!

  18. Very lovely Anne! I finished up a project from one of your patterns recently. Just got to blog it today. 🙂 Take a peek if you like! Your pattern was brilliant. Not one teeny tiny snag. I don’t think I can say that’s ever happened before!

  23. anne: they are both beautiful. The edging is wonderful and really completes them. Can’t wait until the sun shines in NE Ohio and you get those shots outside with the shawls.

  29. Congratulations. I know it seems to you that these shawls take a long while to knit, but in my eyes it seems you finish a new design every few days.

    Well-conceived, well-designed. You must be pleased.
    LynnH

  30. Oh Anne!
    Your site is truly a place of happy and inspiration.

    I am currently working on my first color worked item and I decided that a pattern from my absolute favorite designer should be my first one.

    I am making your retro felted chain stitch bag and I am loving this project.

    Always a fan….
    Jamie

  31. Glad to know I’m not the only one who feels sad when a project comes to an end. Now if only I could be so quick to block things as you are – in my world, they seem to sit for at least a month before I get around to it. Don’t know why. Little children, perhaps?

  32. Oh! After seeing the blocking loveliness I ran to my cupboard, pulled out the yarn and took it to the light to pet it and whisper, “Soon, precious, soon!” (Why yes, I do talk to my yarn! Doesn’t everyone?”) It looks even better than I imagined. Kudos, and needles raised to Vanessa for the fabulous job she did as well.

  33. As tired as I am of snow and winter, it is really lovely. It might be a fun summer knit, when winter doesn’t sound so bad!

  39. Beautiful! That isn’t so big, sounds perfect for nearly everyone. The motif… same as I see out my window. hahahaha!

  40. Oh, so pretty! I just had to bring my husband in to see it to. He liked it, too. 😀

    I can’t wait to see what you’re going to do next.

  41. That is BEAUTIFUL! I’ve been excited to see the development of the motifs throughout, but these blocked photos are just stunning. Gotta love a shawl that seems to tell a story!

  42. Anne, Surely there is royalty somewhere needing a Christening shawl! It is a perfect armful of wooliness.

  43. Wow! That is breathtaking.

    And now if you’ll excuse me I have some yarn to order from The Sweet Sheep ; )

  44. Oh I am all OVER that edging. I want to make something that is nothing BUT that edging. It all came together beautifully!

  47. Truly amazing and absolutely awe-inspiring!! You have inspired me with your gorgeous patterns to actually try knitting lace. First up for me, your scarf pattern Gust and some Hand Maiden Swiss Mountain silk.

  48. No wonder you cried ! Such an anticlimax at 4 am !
    But what a fabulous job you did ( and Vanessa as well)
    It looks crisp and clear as freshly fallen snow 🙂

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