Dogged

In what I might call these dog days of summer (because it is hot) I have been doggedly determined to finish my Belinda shawl.

Of course, I had the first half done. The hard half as far as trying to make all those colours line up. I was looking forward to working with a solid colour and not having to worry about that anymore. (And it's been great--I haven't had to tink back a row even once!)

What I wasn't looking forward to was those long long rows that are necessary to make the pattern perpendicular to the first piece. But after finishing half of the second layer, it isn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be! (It does help to be doggedly determined, though.)

The rows for this second half have 208 stitches (compared to about 66 for the first) and when I realized that wasn't any more than many sweaters in the round need, I stopped worrying about it. It's not that many stitches, and just covers a long distance because of the large gauge.

Alright! Ready for some mock ups of how it's going to look? Here it is lying on a solid background (as it will across my back):

And now a couple shots held in front of a window so you can imagine what it might look like with nothing behind it (as the part hanging off my arm will look):

So far it definitely looks like it works better with the dark colour on the bottom. When it's on top, it just dominates the shawl and the other colours have a hard time showing through.

I started the second half last Saturday (the 3rd), and was really determined to have it done by this Friday. I can't remember why now though. Hopefully there wasn't an important reason I'm forgetting!

I did want to get it done soon, however, so I can hang it at Red Purl to promote the club I'll be leading on this shawl. No firm details yet but it looks like we'll meet four times over about three months, starting mid or late August. I'll let you know when Amy and I work out the knitty gritty.

Meanwhile, I am knitting two together and double yarning over like my life depends on it!! Despite the heat, I am still loving working with this mohair yarn. It's really nice...