Anyhoo, this is a Charlotte's Web Shawl, knit with Koigu yarn. I picked the yarn out over the internet, with mixed results. I love the greens along the bottom edge of the shawl, and the dark blues along the top of the shawl are pleasing, but I am less crazy about the sea-foam green color in the middle of the shawl. See how the stripes are much more noticeable in the middle? If this sea-foam color were more variegated, the stripes would not show up so much. Instead, the colors would "blend" more. Ah, live and learn.

Otherwise, I'm glad this is finished. This is my first "real" lace project, and overall I managed to avoid lace-knitting disaster. Lace stitches can unravel in mind-boggling ways. I did not add the fringe to the bottom of the shawl because I am desperate to move onto other projects, and frankly I've seen enough of this shawl for a while...

The shawl is a gift for my sister Sarah. A while back, I promised to knit her a shawl for her upcoming wedding. Now that the shawl is finished, I don't think it is really "wedding material." To me, it looks more like a Sunday-concert-in-the-park shawl. It's a sun-dress shawl, or a jeans-and-t-shirt shawl. It has a bit of a "hippy chic" flavor to it, which I think Sarah will like. So Sarah, feel free to wear it at the wedding reception, or not!

In the meantime, I have a bunch of baby knitting I want to get going. I know this sounds superstitious, but for a long time I felt I shouldn't "jinx" things by starting to knit baby stuff too soon. Now that I've reached the six-month mark, the due date deadline is looming in my mind. It's time to get cracking!

I don't think I'll be knitting "heirloom" type projects for the kid. I'm thinking practical, wearable stuff. I've started a small Wallaby sweater in denim-colored yarn, and we'll see what else I can fit into the schedule during the next couple of months.

- posted by Laurie @ 1:15 PM