Shawls, Shawls, Shawls & A Personal Challenge

Wrapping up FO Parade week is the beginning of a personal challenge. Let me start by saying each year I try to knit/crochet one million stitches. I haven't quite made it yet (and won't this year, for sure) but I also challenge myself to 52 projects a year (different groupings for different types of materials: sewing gets one, knitting/crochet/spinning is lumped together, jewellery/beads another, etc) but this year I thought what about shawls? I love shawls. I love making them, I love wearing them, I love just having them around and stacked up all nice and pretty on my shelves. So 52 shawls in 52 weeks starting June 1, 2012. I'm already behind. Here's the catch-up of what I've done so far.

Pattern: None

Yarn: Cascade Ecological Wool [1 skein green heather; 478 yards]

Needles: 6mm

Hook: 6mm

Ravelry Project Page: Leaf Shawl

Dates: 6/1/12-6/1/12 

Challenge: Shawl 1/52

I absolutely adore this stitch pattern. They're like tiny leaves to me. But the pattern is a bit too simple and I wasn't all that inspired on the edging. Made with bulky yarn so I did it in one sitting.

Not much to say. Very very simple

Pattern: Onerva

Yarn: Knit Picks Palette [2 skeins Edamame; 462 yards]

Needles: 4mm

Ravelry Project Page: Onerva

Dates: 6/7/12-6/13/12

Challenge: Shawl 2/52

I've wanted to make this shawl for so long but was scared of starting it because it's in an unfamiliar to me language (Finnish) but I just went for it. And didn't screw it up at all! Once I got into the swing of things I barely even needed the pattern. 

I was using the remainder of yarn from my Shell for Counterpane giant project (which I just now noticed I haven't posted about the finished project...but I did post about all the weaving) so I ended up not having enough yarn and ended up running out on the last repeat and had juuuust enough for the bind off (which is usually how things go around here...I'll never learn)

Pattern: Ethereal Triangular Shawl

Yarn: Diamond Yarn Luxury Collection Baby Alpaca Lace [1 skein burgundy; 437 yards]

Needle: 3mm

Ravelry Project Page: Ethereal Triangular Shawl

Dates: 6/21/12-6/26/12

Challenge: Shawl 3/52

This ended up being very tiny, more like a shawlette, which makes me sad because I love it so much. probably should have gone up at least one full needle size (to 4mm) 

I really love how the knitting turned out. I just wish it were bigger (and this is after a very aggressive blocking session) I may make this again but either go up a needle size or go up a yarn weight + needle size.

Pattern: Wingspan

Yarn: Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball [1 skein; 459 yards]

Needle: 4mm

Ravelry Project Page: Wingspan

Dates: 6/27/12-7/1/12

Challenge: Shawl 4/52 

Love this yarn. Love this pattern. Will definitely be making this again. My plan for the next one is worsted weight with alternating sections of black/green. 

Pattern: Mousseux

Yarn: Found it in a bag of yarn, no labels [75 grams; 687 yards]

Needles: 5mm

Ravelry Project Page: Mousseux 

Dates: 7/8/12-7/10/12 

Challenge: Shawl 5/52 

I didn't actually follow this pattern at all. I left the house with yarn and needles and started it on the subway with just an idea (fortunately the correct one) of what the project looked like. A child sat down next to me and started to pet it as I was working on it and I was like, "Uhhhh...no". He ran off. 

So I just knit a garter stitch shawl until I had just about half of the yarn left. Then I started on the eyelet section.

After looking at the pattern I saw that I did the second half of the eyelet differently (I ssk'd) I kept going until I had just enough yarn left for four rows of garter and a picot bind off. I think my eyelet section is longer than the pattern but it's the same basic thing. 

AND FINALLY

Pattern: Citron

Yarn: Malabrigo Lace [2 skeins, green; 940 yards]

Needles: 4mm

Ravelry Project Page

Dates: 7/9/12-7/21/12

Challenge: Shawl 6/52

I know I made a purple Citron when the pattern was first released. Can I find it? No. I never even wore it OR got a photo of it. I have no idea what happened to it but I do know that I finished it. I made this one bigger because I remember that upon finishing the first one I thought "Yeah...this is too big for my football shoulders" So I did seven sections instead of the five called for. I also added two extra rows in the gathered section because I like the wider gather (okay, I screwed up on the second gathered section and accidentally made it too big and then discovered I liked it) this, of course, backfired because I ran out of yarn on the ruffle (only made it to row 6 of 11) and then i also ran out of yarn on the bind off. Fortunately I had some more Malabrigo Lace in a green variegated that had the exact green running through it. It's only slightly noticeable. What makes it less noticeable is I like the unblocked ruffley edge more so you really can't even see it at all. Bonus! 

Just for reference this is the amount of yarn I started the bind off with (button is for scale) of course trying to convince myself "Oh yeah, there's plenty there for an 800+ stitch bind off!" I made it about halfway.