stretching is good

Posted on annePosted in lace/shawls, projects, Uncategorized

Glory Morning Wrap
Briar Rose Wistful merino/alpacw/silk blend—used approximately 850 yards from two 500-yard hanks.
finished blocked measurements: 24 inches wide by 86 inches long

off the needles friday night and i blocked it last night, but it was too late to take pictures. then i had a setback today when, after installing a new router, we could not get anything to upload to the ftp. enter david to save the day, and now i can show you the results.

this shawl was totally inspired by the yarn—when i got wistful in the mail from chris, i immediately thought of the morning glory stitch from BW2, and the idea nagged at me constantly til i sat down and started knitting.

this is my favorite picture of all, i think . . .

this one is for debbieKnitter—just look at that surface texture and the way the light catches the shifts in the motifs . . .

or maybe she’d like this one better (she’s a big fan of the lo-o-ong shot)

a detail of the hem, and my new blocking wires (thanks lisa!)

i couldn’t find my t-pins anywhere (maybe they are actually a figment of my imagination??), but the trusty yellow pins did the trick. i threaded the wires through the solid part of the shawl edge, and then pinned out each point of the edging separately.

straight as an arrow, yeah?
here’s a shot of the graft at the center back. i used kichener stitch to join the two halves—simple and clean, i think. or it will be someday when i finally learn to do it evenly . . .

and, from more than 8 inches away, fairly invisible. here you can see how the motifs meet in the middle, and then reverse.

that’s why it’s so important to end the knitting on the exact right row. ROW 16. remember that.
and, because i just can’t help myself, one last shot of morning glory goodness

i dunno about you, but where WE live, we can use as much of that today as we can get.

81 thoughts on “stretching is good”

  1. Anne!! I’m back!!! I LOVE these shots!!! They’re beautiful. Yes, I got my balls wound. Yes, I cast on. And NOW I’m going to knit!!!!! Can’t wait!!!

  2. Wow. (Wow!)

    I keep wanting to type something else but that’s all that’ll come out. 🙂 Seriously wonderful.

  3. LOVE it! Did I miss it, or have you mentioned what colorway and how many skeins of the Brier Rose you used? I want to be ready when the pattern becomes available!

  6. Ok, wow, I mean a heartfelt and genuine Wow, and just in case that didn’t come through in the typing translation thing-y, it is totally and awe-strikingly Wow, or maybe I should do the WOW, all in caps, maybe that would have said it from the beginning in a more succinct, way, but I had to impart the depth of my Wow… Ok, I have some yarn, that is just the thing for this beauty… pattern available???? not to rush you or anything….

  17. SO pretty! Now–do I do Hypoteneuse, Casino, or wait for the Morning Glory pattern!? I want to do them all. For heaven’s sake–don’t design another one too soon! 🙂

  18. Eek! I’ve been stalking the blog all weekend for this! Lovely, lovely, lovely. I especially love the edging on the ends!

    You inspired me to break out the BW1 (it’s the only one I have) and do some swatching for my own lace something-or-other last night. 🙂

  19. Lovely! I must confess, I wasn’t taken with this when you started it, but seeing it blocked has won me over. I really like the way it opened up and the texture it has. I also like the way you put a mesh lace at the ends. So often you see mesh in the middle instead. I image it gives a nice place to drape the stole over one’s arms.

    Bravo my dear! Well done.

  21. oh, that is really pretty! i like the way the morning glories still show depth even after blocking. and it’s nice to see a sign of spring, even if it’s just knit!

  23. Wow, it is so beautiful! How would you rate this pattern on a difficulty meter? Would it be possible for a beginner lace knitter? Thanks!

  27. Wow. Absolutely gorgeous! That yarn! I’m assuming although you were inspired by BW, this is your own pattern? Will you be sharing it??

  29. It’s gorgeous! The texture looks so rich. Well, and so does the colour. And the motif. It’s gorgeous! 🙂

  30. I love the edging, love the stitch pattern and the colour!
    It is something to wait for…

    (PS. My daughter really loves the Casino shawl I made to her and wears it over coat every single day…!!!)

  31. Absolutely hypnotic. I just kept scrolling up and down, and back up and down. I’ve gotta make this one when the pattern comes out, just gotta!!!!

  32. Stunning! Great pairing of pattern and colorway too! And yes, even down here in Louisiana today that would have been handy.

  33. It’s beautiful, and the edging is fabulous! But–sigh–I still can’t see the morning glories, except in the final photo. It’s weird, because I’m usually good with optical illusions.

  34. What a lovely accomplishment! Just breathtaking. Oh, and Lynne, I can’t see morning glories either, but I think we’re looking too hard! Gorgeous.

  36. Anne it’s beautiful! It’s a great pattern and the yarn works great with the lace. And those blocking wires look super useful, I’ll have to pick up some!

  40. That’s breathtaking! Your kitchenering is invisible, and your blocking skills are to be admired. I love the color, the motif, all of it!

    Speaking of weather, it snew tonight. We got the north end of the nor’easter. Big, wet flakes that smack you in the eye. Always in the eye. I had to drive in it to pick up Darren from work, and I laughed at all the people who took the winter tires off their cars just because it’s April. HA!

  42. It’s beautiful, Anne! Much as I like the MG motif, I think the faggoting and borders really make the whole thing special.

    I hope spring returns soon!

  44. my god, my god, my goddess !! where i can find exactly this yarn in the same color… it’s so beautiful….. i want, iwant, iwantit !!

  45. That looks fabulous. I had to stare at the join to figure out where your “uneven” Kitchener stitch was, and I was only sure when I noticed the different directions of the border points.

    But having spent one evening last week agonizing over my join, it is reassuring to know someone who knits as skillfully as you do still approaches the Kitchener stitch with some trepidation. (And I learned the hard way about ending in the correct row!)

  47. This is gorgeous! Are you going to be selling the pattern? When my cash flow improves around the middle of May or so (knocking on wood), I’ll be able to buy patterns again. Until then, i’l just keep on drooling!

  49. wow. that is just so beautiful – such texture, color – wow…..(you will eventually inspire me to do some lace knitting of some kind)

  52. Well done! It is so beautiful, I want one to wearright now! I did just start the Japanese Feather scarf though, so I am working on one of your patterns:) Thanks for sharing all the pictures!

  54. OK…I have to admit that I couldn’t see the morning glories in the previous (unblocked) post. Wow! That’s a beautiful example of the magic of blocking lace. I love that the subtle variegation in the colorway doesn’t detract at all from the lace pattern…in fact, this is one of the very rare lace patterns which probably look even better variegated than totally solid. Well done!

  55. Nice job! If my BRF Wistful wasn’t destined for ChicKnits Aliane, I would be sorely tempted. When your pattern goes on sale, I just might have to contact Chris for more fibery goodness. Keep on knitting and post a pic of you wearing the garment once it is off the wires, please.

    Blessings,
    Susan

  56. Oh WOW!

    I don’t know how you do it, but you always manage to make color and texture work with each other instead of against each other. Seriously, that’s very hard to accomplish, but you make it look effortless. 🙂

    🙂

  63. Wow. Beautiful, Anne! I knew it would be tho which is why I got the yarn before you even finished. Mine will be way shorter tho because I only got the one skein.

    Can you please put in your pattern a good spot to stop w/the repeats for those of us using only one skein? 😉

  64. Honestly, dear, you slay me. You zipped right through ANOTHER stunning project. The colors are beautiful as is the pattern. Will you have a day you can curl up in it before it goes off to it’s moments of glory?

  65. Absolutely Stunning! I now have to research this shawl! Congratulations what an amazing job you did on this piece!

    I’m new here by the way –linked over from the yarn harlot’s blog the other day.

  69. I love that shawl. I am currently working on my first lace project and I think I am becoming addicted! 🙂 I can’t wait for the pattern for this to be available. Must…have!

  70. You are truly gifted with a talent ! Yet another georgeous shawl !
    This pattern is a perfect match for this perfect yarn. Too bad they won’t ship outside the US 🙁

  72. Just catching up on the blogs now that my power’s back on. This is STUNNING! Not that I expect anything less from you. Brilliant!

  73. Beautiful! I really like the texture, and how the light plays with it. And yeah, I can use as much of that morning glories gorgeousness as you’ve got: it was snowing here this morning…

  74. I came over here from JenLa…and holy crap lady! That shawls is gorgeous. Please please please will you put the pattern up for sale?

  75. Oh that is beautiful! The yarn is beautiful too! I bet you can guess what link I am going to click on next. I haven’t heard of the yarn before.

  80. Anne, you have done it again! The Morning Glory Shawl is absolutely gorgeous – – excellent job!!

    Rosalia

  81. I guess a lot of people really like this design, myself included. I love that it’s in dk-weight. I actually have some natural colored Cormo that is laceweight, but it almost feels like fingering b/c it’s so sproingy. I was going to use it for Madli’s shawl by Nancy Bush, but I like this pattern much better and I think it would look great in variegated and solid colors. Scrumptious.

Comments are closed.