Slacker

For the past week or so, my shawl has been waiting to be blogged about. Patiently waiting. Just like it patiently waited for me to finish it. For a year. I'm renaming (renaming? I think I should say naming since it didn't have a name other than that shawl I started last fall) the shawl Patience. As in, it had patience and didn't form into an unknottable knot or open itself up to destruction by moth or some other horrid fate. No, the shawl has been patient with me and now I will give it it's due.

It is quite embarrassing that it has taken me so long. First the knitting itself. I mean it was garter stitch. Could it have been more simple? I think not. Then the blocking and the photographing, oy! Part of the reason I haven't blogged about the shawl is vanity. Plain and simple. I haven't taken any good pictures of the shawl. I had Boo take a few of me when I dragged it off the blocking wires but I was hot and sweaty and (as you can see) the pictures do neither the shawl nor me any favors. Hell, I look like an albino Buddha! A humped-back albino Buddha. Note to self: don't tie shawl around neck. Also, throw away that white shirt. And, am I flicking off the photographer or is my middle finger oddly stiff?



As a last ditch effort, I even tried to get the dog in on the photographic action, but she was not receptive. Bitch.



I kept thinking I would take more pictures after, you know, I bathed. But then the thought of bathing, let alone taking pictures after doing all of that scrubbing, well it was overwhelming. Instead I decided to have a beer and wallow in my filth. So the shawl pictures sat in my camera (next to the pictures of the dog pooping because, hey, I am one classy dame) waiting to the see the light of day. Which is, apparently today. Ironic since it is dark and raining out and there is no light to be seen.

The shawl blocked out pretty big. It could have been blocked out more to be a little more open and hole-y and, um, big, but my blocking board, also known as my guest bed, is only so big. I blocked that puppy as much as I could so the final dimensions are basically that of a queen size bed.



I am hoping to breakout the shawl this weekend in Joisey. I'm not sure what our plans are, but I am sure that I can work this in somehow. Beach cover-up, dinner wrap, or evening wear. One way or another, I will whip it out. And maybe, just maybe, I will wash my stink off and get a decent picture.

In the end, despite the fact that I took a pause on the knitting of this, I really like it. It was one hundred percent brainless knitting. The yarn worked smoothly and was knot free. This was my first endeavor with wooden circs and they were fine. The cord had to be dekinked in boiling water and with the hottest setting on my blow dryer. But the dekinking seemed to worked and stay. I liked the knitting process. I like the shawl. And I love the fringy tassels. They were only moderately fussy. And since I am a huge fan of the tassel, totally worth it.



Yarn: Farmhouse Silk Blend, Color: Sedona, 2 skeins
Needles: Wooden Circ, size 5
Pattern: None - Make/increase one stitch at the beginning of every row.
Final Dimensions: A big triangle, roughly 74" across x 42" down.
Time: Forever. Originally started on 08/08/06 but had to rip it out and start all over. Restarted 08/23/06. Finished 04/2007.
Care: Hand Wash Cool, Flat to Dry.