Although my mate Midsummer Night's Knitter over at Twelfthknit has discovered the joys of swatching at the mature age of 21, I find it very difficult to discipline myself to do so. However, wanting to experiment with a new yarn (Rowan Damask, shade 46, Lava)
without investing in a whole project's worth, and wanting to try out the stitch pattern for the Swallowtail Shawl (Evelyn A. Clark of Fibertrends, Interweave Knits Fall 2006) has resulted in a lovely new summer headscarf for me. That's why it's a funny shape.
without investing in a whole project's worth, and wanting to try out the stitch pattern for the Swallowtail Shawl (Evelyn A. Clark of Fibertrends, Interweave Knits Fall 2006) has resulted in a lovely new summer headscarf for me. That's why it's a funny shape.I really enjoyed this "lozenge" pattern (Swallowtail chart) because you can clearly see what you're meant to do next, and it is very instinctive, unlike the Flowerbasket Shawl I am grappling with at the moment. (Please don't regale me with tales about how easy you found FBS- I'll cry.)
If I had tons of this yarn I could be tempted to do the whole full size shawl in it, you know. Very pleasant to knit with and lovely effect.
Reservations-
#1 It is marketed as Rowan's new linen blend, but has only 22% linen in it.
#2 I did give the Lily of the Valley chart a try. (The one with the dreaded NUPPS k1 yo k1 yo k1 in one stitch then next row p5 together. Not that hard with "real" stitches, but very fiddly with raw y/o stitches. When I do the shawl for real I will use a fine cable needle to control the stitches and get some room for manoeuvre.) The main problem I encountered with that is that the yarn is a bit slubby and a bit thick/thin, which was awkward with the nupps.
I enjoyed my experiment, killed two birds with one stone, and learned a lot. x K
6 comments:
I loved this shawl pattern and hated FBS too. What yarn are you going to knit the fullsize shawl in?
Keep on experimenting! Lovelly headscarf!
When I saw the top picture, I thought that Swallowtail had begun....are you going to use the Rowan Damask for the real thing??? It sure looks pretty in that yarn!
Hi - just made a 'meme' -'What flavour of knitter are you, and why?' - current blog entry gives my flavours and reasons.
Answers on a postcard, well, your bolg, then go tag someone else - but only if you want to ;0)
India
It looks lovely in the damask. Am making a quick emergency trip home later on this week - and hope to get the time to see this yarn in the real. I might just treat myself to some and copy your idea!
Pretty ! The damask looks lovely - I must get round to trying it :0)
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