Another Shawl Dances Off the Needles

Yes indeed, another lace shawl has danced its way off my addis and into my heart. I just love the look of the Flower Basket Shawl. It took me a lot longer to memorize the pattern repeats, so it took more presence of mind while knitting than Kiri did. But it was oh so worth it! I ended up knitting 12 repeats to get a shawl that is similar in size to Kiri. I had hoped to do 10 repeats, but it just wasn't big enough. Two skeins of the Alpaca Cloud lasted through 11.5 repeats, so in the future I'll know to plan on three skeins for this design. One or 2 more repeats would have been nice, but frankly I was just ready to be done, so I quit at 12. I think I'll be happy with my decision once I get her blocked.

Next up on the needles is the Trellis Lace Scarf from the current issue of Interweave Knits. Trellis is another Evelyn Clark design, so it should be a well-written and well-conceived project. Clark has an excellent reputation for her lace designs. This time I'm using another very popular lace yarn-- Jaggerspun Zephyr, which is a 50/50 blend of fine merino and tussah silk. I've chosen a bright coral pink, one of my favorite colors for spring and summer. I swatched on the size 5 needles suggested in the pattern, but my gauge was a bit big. More importantly, I didn't like the look on 5s, so I switched to size 4s. I swatched with Balene II needles, which have a fine tip, and with Clover bamboos. I've used both of these on previous lace projects and have been quite happy. Not this time. Oh the drag!!!! I am rotten now. Addi rotten. Those super slick suckers that drove me crazy only 3 weeks ago have become my best friends. The yarn just slides along those lovely flexible cables. Oh my poor budget. I dragged my poor sick, ashy green body out of the house to my lys for some size 4 addis. It's a very good thing I live close by. If I buy a new size each month, eventually I'll have what I want. Add me to the list of needle snobs. I just knew addi addiction was a contagious disease.