Knitting: Icarus Shawl washed & blocked

I can't believe it's been 3 weeks since I last posted. Eek! Well, I have been busy.... busy riding the knitting mojo wave and making the most of it while it lasts. Seriously, you will not believe how much I have knit in the past few weeks. Oodles!

Here's the first of a long line of FOs and I'll post piccies of the rest as and when I get a moment.

I'm so pleased with this shawl and will definitely knit one for myself in 4ply or sockyarn. I have to admit that I'm a little less than thrilled with the yarn. There wasn't much give when blocking this shawl, unlike the FCS. Perhaps it's because the yarn was a laceweight single ply as opposed to the 4ply sockyarn that I used for FCS. Well, whatever. I think it looks great, even though the points are not as pointy!

I blocked it as hard as I could and hopefully my ISE6 pal will like it. For more information and details about this pattern, check out my Flickr photostream.

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Knitting: Shawls & Caplets (with PHOTOS)

I recently finished the 'Comfort Shawl' for my mum. When mum fell and broke her arm and leg a few weeks ago, I immediately wanted to knit her something. I knew she needed a bed jacket that she could wear with the ease of a shawl. Thanks to the clever shaping of the 'Comfort Shawl' it sits comfortably on your shoulders. It was an enjoyable knit and I especially liked how it was constructed. I will try to post some photos later when things are a little quieter here.

Mum has had both of her casts removed - the leg cast was rmoved after 4 weeks and the arm after 6 weeks. Amazing! She's like a giant bandaid and heals so quickly. Lucky woman. The weather is still a little cool in the evenings in Spain so she should be able to get a couple of months wear out of the shawl before putting it away for the Autumn/Winter.

With my new found confidence for shawl knitting, I decided it was time to tackle something bigger. So after a bit of investigation, I chose the Icarus Shawl from The Best of Interweave Knits (the one on the cover). I'm about 25% in, using a laceweight merino yarn that I bought last year from Ebay (I think the seller was called 'Yarn Wise'). I am enjoying knitting this top down shawl and it feels right, you know what I mean?

Not happy with one WIP on the needles, I cast on the Forest Canopy Shawl this morning which I purchased and downloaded yesterday. I'm knitting this in 'Gemini Knits' sockyarn and the pattern is so easy to follow (I can see how more experienced knitters find this a 'quick' knit). What was I so afraid of?


Thankfully both of these shawls are progressing well so far. I clearly wasn't ready for lace shawls last year. Maybe this year I am!

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