The Bewitching Belinda

Yes, my Belinda shawl is done!

I took it over to Red Purl this evening and was able to snap a few ok, a lot of pics! The shawl also received its fair share of ohhhs and ahhhhs. (Thanks again, ladies.)

Amy also likes to have new knits on the dress forms. I'm happy to oblige. I told her I had to have it back for the fair, but now I'm considering leaving it til next year. I think I probably have enough things to enter this year without it. (And I can only put one item in the miscellaneous category.)

I got the shawl blocking Tuesday. Looks about the same as last time, doesn't it. But there is a second layer under there. It was a little harder to block as I had to make sure both layers were stretched out. Not surprisingly, they were slack in opposite directions and it meant a lot of pulling. This is probably the most aggressive I've been blocking anything. It was really stretched out. But it can take it; and using the blocking wires helps to spread the stress around.

The result was even better than I hoped for. I didn't exactly pick up every single stitch on the edge, so I was worried it may come out wavy or ripply on the edge. But no, it was great (Yeah!) and the edges looked crisp and clean.

Gratuitous picture just because I can't resist.

This pin is available for sale at Red Purl and made a nice combination display with my shawl. (Pins need something to hold together to look good; they look rather pointless sitting on a counter, if you ask me. Give 'em something to do! I say.)

It's sterling silver and looks really lovely on the shawl. Just a little out of my current discretionary spending range. :(

Another thing I can't resist are these "see through" pictures. I find the left particularly demonstrative of the faux plaid pattern, but they're both nice.

Are you curious what it looks like the other way round? (I did, after all, make it with the right side facing out both ways.)

Project Stats
Started: 27 Apr '10
Finished: 14 Jul '10
Pattern: Belinda by Kay Gardiner and Ann Shayne from Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines (library copy)
Materials: Fleece Artist Mini Kid (mohair/nylon), 2 skeins ($50.35)
I don't see the plaid illusion so much this way; it seems more like the lighter pooling colours just give a general glow through the purple. I really like the vertical ribs on this side that run contrary to the length of the shawl. Having both sides really gives some nice options!

And now the scoop on the Belinda Club. Amy and I have nailed down the dates and some other details.

There will be 4 meetings of 1-1.5 hours each on Thursday evenings: Aug 19, Sep 9, Sep 30, and Oct 21 at 6:00 pm.

The cost is $40 plus materials and book, Mason-Dixon Knitting Outside the Lines.

Only experience needed is cast on, knit, purl.

Description – A “club”…not quite a class, more than a knit-a-long. This beautiful shawl is fairly simple to make, but may require some cheerleading to get it done! I’ll bring tips from my experience, problem solving skills if you run into trouble, and we can spend time together just knitting and pushing each other forward. I’d suggest strongly contrasting colors to really bring out the effect of this two-layer shawl. (Note: the store sample was done as a color-pooling shawl. I will be happy to share my experience with the color pooling, but this is not a color pooling class. I do not recommend trying it unless you feel able enough to do it on your own.)

If you would like to sign up, talk to Amy at Red Purl. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fun together!