This knitter's sock rut has taken a summer vacation.
The mindless knitting substitute was the Alpaca Baby Shawl. Although it is neither alpaca, nor a shawl, the busy knitter will not hold these inconsistencies against such a delightful pattern.
Old Shale (Feather & Fan) seems to have taken over the world as defined by Ravelry.
Yarn: Tess Designer Yarns Superwash merino ~880 yards
Needle: Knitpicks Harmony #7 on increasingly large cables after initial Lantern Moon #7 dpns
Size: 34" x 34" blocked. It could have gone slightly larger or slightly smaller.
Mods: I closed the hole in the middle from the cast-on with the yarn tail. One could also have started with Emily Ocker's cast-on.
Rejected mod: One knitter on Rav insisted that M1 was the only correct increase to use. Barbara Walker uses the KFB increase in her Stitch Dictionary pattern for Old Shale. That's authoritative enough for me. It looked fine.
I had enough yarn to do another stockinette section repeat. But it would not have been much larger, and the WIP was telling me that it needed to be done. I also didn't think that adding more weight to a baby blanket was necessarily a good thing. And the points would not have been as decoratively pointy.
I loved this yarn. It was smooth and soft, and felt wonderful as it slipped through fingers.
Finishing the mindless knit forces me back to the mindful knits. I've accepted the challenge of a mini-KAL with Manise and Knitigator. They persuaded me to pick up a woefully and long-neglected Leaf Lace shawl. That slows down progress on Swallowtail, but she doesn't mind. Much.
Ooooh! That came out beautifully! Very nice.
I ripped the Leaf Lace and have started again :-) I found the error.
Posted by: Manise | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 04:48 PM
You know, I went through my (commercial) yarn stash yesterday with the intention of giving a garbage bag full away to friends of mine, because I have Too Much Yarn. I did find a bagful I could give them, but I also found alllllll this lusciousssssss yarnnnnnnn. Apparently, I have good taste in yarn.
Now that the Tour de Fleece is over, I shall be spending a week weaving like a madwoman, and then I shall knit. Put my feet up and knit. Maybe even beautiful blue lace like yours!
Posted by: Lynn | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 04:52 PM
That is lovely. I like the combination of stockinette stitch with feather and fan. Great idea.
Posted by: Diane | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 05:07 PM
It's a lovely colour, very you, and certainly not a sock.
Posted by: Caroline M | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 05:12 PM
The lace finish makes a nice edge and the blanket looks beautiful.
You'll find the Lace Leaf much easier the second time around.
Posted by: margene | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 05:19 PM
That's beautiful! The baby blanket I finished this weekend is 35" square so we're obviously on the same page with this.
Posted by: Carole | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 05:26 PM
Loverly! Lucky baby! ( I may bring Susan's Beach Glass to Maine with me next week....I have yet to make a real shawl!)
Posted by: Marcia | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 05:40 PM
Wonderful! I recently found out my niece is pregnant with twins. I think I'll have to do a couple of baby blankets.
Posted by: Cheryl S. | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 05:40 PM
Very, very pretty. I used to knit, you know. Maybe I'll take it up again.
Posted by: Paula | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 05:47 PM
How pretty! I LOVE the color you picked. Not overtly baby-ish, but still pretty and cheerful. Nice!
Posted by: Anne | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 06:16 PM
It's so beautiful! I love the symmetry and repetition of it.
Posted by: grumperina | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 06:41 PM
Yanno, I generally hate the look of old shale. That knit might be the one to change my mind.
Posted by: Carrie | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 07:50 PM
Lovely, lovely lovely!!
Posted by: Kim | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 08:33 PM
Lucky baby! I haven't cast on yet, but am going to soon.
Posted by: Kathy | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 08:47 PM
I love that pattern, I like to make a shawl eventually. Nice knit Laurie!
Posted by: diane | Monday, July 27, 2009 at 10:45 PM
That is lovely. Some baby is gonna be very happy!
Posted by: kmkat | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 02:32 AM
Beautiful! And you did well to end with a lace repeat instead of the stockinette - makes a lovely edge.
I have one mindless knit going, and way too many mindful ones. Must finish something...
Posted by: gayle | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 07:10 AM
Lovely lacey bit of mindlessness. I'm kinda like Paula - I may take up knitting again someday.
Posted by: Chris | Tuesday, July 28, 2009 at 07:57 AM
wow. love that baby blanket!
I really do enjoy shawls too - what a great idea for a baby blanket.
Posted by: Teyani | Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Love it! Great decision to end with the lace section, too.
Posted by: Linda | Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 12:42 PM
Very lovely! I love that color.
Posted by: Lorette | Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 03:43 PM
It's absolutely beautiful, Laurie. Lucky baby!!
Posted by: Ruth | Friday, July 31, 2009 at 09:16 AM
perfection! perfect size, perfect color, lucky baby :-)
Posted by: vanessa | Saturday, August 01, 2009 at 08:37 AM
It is SO beautiful Laurie!
Posted by: Pat | Saturday, August 01, 2009 at 10:59 AM
It is beautiful!! I almost missed it. So happy I didn't.
Posted by: Judy | Thursday, August 06, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Blocking makes all the difference. I guess I need to make this shawl.Lovely!!!
Posted by: CindyD | Monday, August 17, 2009 at 03:41 PM