Finished Object Friday

Last night I blocked this shawl - which I've come to think of as my Purple Lace Agate shawl - a shawl that was knit entirely at work while downloading files from Los Angeles. The pattern? "Debaser" by Meghan Jackson. As written the shawl is smaller and does not come to a point at the bottom centre the way mine does. Because this is a hand-spun art yarn that I received in a swap, I adjusted the pattern to make best use of the yarn. By adding 24 sts to the body of the shawl I wound up with an odd number of points rather than an even number. I wish I could have added another 24 sts to retain the original shape, but there just wasn't enough yarn - trust me I tried! I could have knit a smaller shawl, but it's small as is and I wanted as much shawl as I could get from the yarn.

The yarn is absolutely gorgeous - it's from Whimsy Wool and it's a hand-spun mixture of mixed wool, mohair, karakul and alpaca. Sooo soft! With only 240 yards my options were limited to a small scarf or shawl, and with so much texture, I figured simpler was better. That's why I picked this Debaser shawl pattern. The body of the shawl is a simple broken rib which flares out into a textured edging. A lot of the detail in the edging is lost with this yarn, but it's lovely nonetheless. I couldn't be more pleased with how this turned out!

I've also finished my (w)rapped pullover. It's nice enough finished but it looks awful on me. (boo!) The neck looks wonky in the photo but it looks fine when worn. The armholes are un-edged and I find them unfinished looking. With the entire pullover in rib, the armholes pull in rather than hanging straight down, which I don't like either. One more gripe? The seam at the shoulder ends up half a stitch off from front ribbing to back which bugs me too. In retrospect I should have added a few more inches to the mid section of the pullover because on my 6ft frame, the banded rib section sits too high. I think I'll offer it to my sister - she's shorter, thinner, with entirely different colouring, so this will likely suit her a lot better. If she likes it, I'll post photos next week and probably feel a lot better about the time, effort and materials that went into this pullover. At least the yarn, soft touch DK from Shelridge Farms, is lovely. 

Today's lesson seems to be that you win some and you lose some. Or as the Yarn Harlot remarks, the path to a good sweater is paved with crap. As always on Friday, you can share the highs and lows through the links at Tami's Amis. Happy Friday everyone!