Wedding Shawl Delivered

I delivered the shawl to the bride this morning. She loved it. Yay!

It looked quite lovely over her pink robe. :) 

Can't wait to see it with her wedding dress tomorrow. I will definitely be taking lots of pictures.

Have a great weekend!

FO: Luna Moth Shawl

It's finished and I absolutely love it!!!

Pattern: Luna Moth Shawl by Shui Kuen Kozinski
Yarn: Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace in French Vanilla
Needles: US5

I can't wait to give this to my friend on Thursday. I hope she

 likes it just as much as I do. It's not big, not too small. About 32' from neck to bottom point and 64' in length. 

So this was my first attempt at blocking lace and I was definitely worried about messing it up. I had a sample size of Soak to use. Pretty floral scented, too. I soaked the shawl for about 15 minutes then rolled it up in a towel for about five minutes. 

It took awhile to get the shawl pinned and it was a bit bigger than the mats I had so had to improvise by adding towels. Not a problem. It is now all blocked and drying. 

The only problem I had was figuring out how to keep the straight edge straight. Any ideas? Also, I need someone to show/tell me how to use the blocking wires properly. Don't think I did. :)

We leave Wednesday for CA and Thursday morning I will be taking over the shawl to my friend's in San Francisco before she leaves to Sonoma. Can't wait to see it with her wedding dress.

wedding shawl update

Wow. It has been a long time since I have posted anything about my knitting. I have been desperately trying to finish knitting my friend's shawl that she will be wearing for her wedding. It is coming along nicely. I really like how soft it is and how simple but pretty the pattern is. I am getting close to finish. I have the week to get it done and the weekend to block it. We will be leaving for CA on the 23rd. I will be sure to take some pictures once it is done and I feel the need to document my first lace blocking attempt. I really hope I don't make a mess of it.

I have blocking mats and wires that I ordered from KnitPicks. I think I have some pins. I am all ready to get to it.

Wish me luck on getting this done on time!

Stage 6: In the Mountains

I haven't knit since the Team Time Trial. I guess it was just too much for me. :)
For the KAL we were to count our stitches knit in an hour. You must remember that I am knitting lace, but I was able to contribute 1074sph to Team Quickstep's average. Not too bad.

So, today I plan to get back on the bike and knit at least 1 repeat of the lace pattern.



The yarn I am knitting is Classic Elite Yarns Silky Alpaca. This is the first time I have used it. I love it. Very soft, easy to work with. I can feel the warmth on my fingers as I knit. It is working out perfectly. Plus, the color is perfectly matched to the swatch that my friend lent me to find yarn. The colorway is French Vanilla. Love that.

No more procrastinating. Time to knit!

Stage 3 2009 TDF

Interesting stage today. The cross winds took many riders by surprise and caused a gap to form when Team Columbia-HighRoad punched it up. Hincapie said it was because they got angry that no other sprinter teams were coming up to help. Worked out well for them, Cavendish went on to win his second stage. Many of the main contenders for the overall win were caught in the chase group except for Miller and Armstrong. Cancellara made the gap and got to keep the Yellow Jersey one more day. Lance Armstrong with the .38 min gap moved up from 10th to 3rd overall. Good day for him.

So, the project I am working on is coming along nicely. One of my very best friends is getting married in September and I am knitting her a shawl to wear. I think it is looking quite nice so far, but still a little small. :) 

The pattern is the Luna Moth Shawl by Shui Kuen Kozinski and I am using Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace in French Vanilla. I absolutely love this yarn. So soft and easy to work with. It is going to keep my friends shoulders nice and warm. The wedding will be in Sonoma and reception/dinner in San Francisco, so it will actually get to be used unlike here in Texas.

It is going pretty well so far. I just finished the third repeat of the lace pattern. Only four more to go. I ned to buy myself some blocking wires!