I keep meaning to post about my progress on my Hanami, but since I portion out each week's allotment to work a little bit each day by the time I finish with one section it seems everyone else is already on to the next ! But I couldn't let the end of the basketweave section go by unremarked. I enjoyed knitting it but I'm excited to be on to something new.
So here is my Hanami so far, in what is really a light lilac shade of Misti Alpaca laceweight and not the blue that my camera is determined to capture. I was originally going to work this in a silk/merino blend from my stash, but at the last moment I caved to the fact that the yardage wasn't really enough and let these two balls jump into my basket at my LYS.
Since I have heard rumors that the Misti doesn't actually grow when blocked (does anyone have any experience with this?) I am worried that the length won't be enough at the end. To try and protect myself I've knit an extra repeat of the basketweave chart (really), then put in two lifelines, one at the end of the basketweave section and the other at the start of the transition chart. That way, the theory goes, if it is too short I can remove the purl row between the two sections and pull them apart, knit up more of the basketweave, then graft together again. At least that is my backup plan if needed (hopefully it won't!)
Looking at completed Hanami's, I've also been less than content with the abrupt end between the transition panel and the first 'flowers' panel. To fit with the theme of the shawl overall, I made a few extra copies of the transition chart and then got creative with the white-out, erasing selected decrease/yarnover pairs in this area, then adding back in a few more of these pairs in the upper empty zone. On the chart, at least, it now looks like the basketweave is being blown apart in this area - almost like a dandelion puff in the breeze. We'll see how it looks in the knitting itself - I think I'll have to be a few rows beyond that point to really stretch it out and get a good look. I'm keeping my fingers crossed!
Happy knitting everyone,
Megan
5 comments:
What a cool idea about the transition section- I'm interested to see how it turns out. It's looking great so far.
I think it's a great idea. Isn't there a stole in A Gathering of Lace with a large blossom in the back?
Yikes! I posted this comment to the wrong entry!!!!
Glad I signed in as anonymous!
I used Misti Alpaca lace weight for MS3 and it blocked out just fine. If by grow, you mean, can you stretch it out, yes, of course. It can be pulled longer and wider. I didn't notice any resistance to the stole being pulled out longer or wider.
I'm waiting in anticipation for the result!
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