Elizabeth Zimmerman Square February Shawl FO

Pattern: Elizabeth Zimmerman's Square February Shawl

Source: Knitters Almanac by Elizabeth Zimmerman

 Yarn; Gifted From Lyn in Sydney
Needles: 3.5mm dpn's and circular

Start: July 3 Finish: November 8, 2012

I said I had visions of a plump baby sleeping beneath this.

Ha!

Off the needles and blocked to its' woolly maximum my vision required downgrading to something more like a sleeping plump guinea pig!

This is not altogether a problem. I don't know of a plump female baby to whom this might be given while I'm very familiar with a more aged than plump knitter -cough-me-cough- who hates having a cold neck!

Final dimensions are...nice scarf size, soft warm and light as air!

I'm smitten with how this woolly wool rather than the super wash I used here held the shaping I gave it through the wet blocking. Removing the pins and blocking wires prompted no shrinking or relaxing. It stayed put as if, contrary to what really occurred, the pins had been unnecessary in the first place.

I learned a lot though this project...

About visually judging the yield of a cake of yarn or maybe more accurately failing to judge the yield of a cake of yarn. (See comments above re plump guinea pigs)

About using decorative stitches in the round. As you can see in the blocking photo (above)I had trouble anticipating necessary row spacing  to accommodate the addition of elements while maintaining consistent borders of stockinette either side of the increases. So again, I guess my lesson was what not to do i.e pay closer mathematical attention to row count not just stitch count in advance of adopting a motif - especially with an expansive pattern like this one.

About Emily Ockler's Circular Cast On. (I've "used" it before but never correctly.) This time I didn't settle for less than absolutely right and it was worth the trouble to make it so.

About how the bag-like thing that results from knitting a square on a circular needle translates once the stitches are bound off. I managed to anticipate for and then correctly execute shapings at the corners while adding my own edge detail...a miracle!

And speaking of the edge, I wish I'd used a stretchier bind off.  Next time I'll try the one Brenda outlines at the bottom of this post.

From the yarn's arrival a couple of summers ago from Lyn in Australia to my neck today this project has been fun to work on mentally and physically. Now its a great practical and attractive addition to my wardrobe. A perfect knitting experience!

Thanks again Lyn!

Thank you for dropping by!