twistedloops

I recently finished blocking my Citron Shawl.  I’ll have to admit that I was glad to finally be done with this one.  The rows of stockinette seemed never ending.   I almost gave up in the last few rows.

Overall, I’m ok with the shawl, but it’s not one that I love.  Even after a very strong and forceful blocking, the top edge of the shawl rolls unmanageably.  I’m not sure why I expected anything different from stockinette.  For my yarn the three garter stitches at the edge are not enough to stop the rolled edge.   Now as I look back at the pattern photos, you can see that the edge on the original shawl top edge rolls in the 2nd photo – the one where she is holding it up to the window.  The effect is less drastic than on mine. 

There aren’t many issues/concerns/complaints about this rolling in the project listings on Ravelry, so perhaps my issue is partially due to the yarn choice.  I haven’t knit a shawl in alpaca before, and it doesn’t block the same way that wool does.  In the end, I’m not happy with this project because of the edge.  I don’t think I’ll ever wear it.  But, that means this will become a gift for someone who will appreciate the frilly purple shawlette and not be concerned about the rolled edge.  I’ve already got someone in mind.

Pattern: Citron
Designer: Hilary Smith Callis
Source: Knitty, Winter 2009
Yarn: unknown laceweight alpaca in stash
Yardage: 350 yards
Color: Lavender
Needles: US5 (3.75mm)

Started: December 22, 2009
Completed: January 22, 2010

Pattern modifications:

• I added one extra repeat of the pattern.  I felt that with the laceweight yarn the shawl was not as large as I wanted.
• I added four extra rows of the final ruffle to lengthen it a bit more.
• I used the k2tog bindoff to ensure the bind off was stretchy enough for the ruffled edge.

Ever since the 2009 Winter Knitty came out, I’ve been thinking about Citron.

While it seems that the majority of Ravelry seems to be knitting it in fingering weight yarn, I’ve decided to stick with the original laceweight.  I’m using an unknown, unlabeled lavender colored baby alpaca laceweight yarn that my mom purchased  She knit a scarf out of it and decided that she was done using laceweight yarn.  Since I received it without a label, and mom didn’t remember what it was, I don’t know the yardage.  I made a guess about yardage based upon the popular alpaca laceweight yarns in Ravelry.  Those yarns seem to average 250 yards per ounce.  Since I have approximately 3 ounces, I figure I have around 775 yards.

Since Citron is a smaller shawl, I think that I’ll probably add a repeat or two of the pattern.  The pattern, as written, calls for 470 yards of laceweight, so I should have enough.  However, I’d like a little better knowledge of how much yarn I actually have and use in the shawl.  After some quick searching this morning, I found this article from Interweave’s Handwoven Magazine on how to make your own yarn balance (like the McMorran Balance).  I may just have to try this and see how much yardage it tells me I have.

I cast on last night and made it through the shawl body first section.  It went very fast.  But, as with all top down/center-out shawls, each section will be slower because of the ever increasing number of stitches.  I’m not sure if I’ll be able to finish this by the year end, but I’m going to try.  I’ve had a goal the last few years of not carrying projects over from one calendar year into the next.

I know I’ve been missing for a while (4 months!), but I plan to update more regularly from now on.  I’ll also post some updates for some projects I’ve finished while I’ve been missing.