I recently had a birthday (June 23). This is my present to me.
It’s my first major lace project, and my first ever project with lace weight yarn. We received the yarn, Limited Edition Saldanha (by Fleece Artist) at work and as I took each skein out of the box, I knew I had to knit with it. I’d been flirting with the idea of knitting an ultra light, lacy shawl, and this was just the yarn.
I scoured Ravelry for the perfect pattern, since I didn’t want to risk making up my own to have it turn into a disaster. I needed to practice with something I knew would work. I wanted something that was moderately “holey,” and with a single motif repeated throughout, so that I wouldn’t have to memorize a lot or keep referring to the pattern (I’m a pretty lazy knitter). I also wanted something sort of dramatic. Lastly, I wanted it to be BIG. I finally chose MimKnits Adamas Shawl. Small diamonds nestle within larger diamonds, which all cascade from a center spine and end in sharp points.
It took much less time than I’d thought – from start to finish, just under a month of (very) sporadic knitting. Before I knew it, I’d completed the 14 motif repeats. The last chart, the points, went in a flash. However, in my usual fashion, I did not get around to finishing the shawl for another two weeks.
Once I finally had both blocking wires and shawl together at work, I soaked it for about half an hour in Kookaburra wool wash then pinned it out, starting with the center spine. The next day, I took it up.
AMAZING! It turned out beautifully. I couldn’t be more excited about it. The points all point just the right direction, the curves between them arch evenly. The diamonds all stretched out to reveal the little rows of eyelets between them. I absolutely love it.
And one of the best parts – the entire shawl only used about half the skein! I still have just over half a ball to use on another project. Perhaps my holiday gift will come early this year!