Summit Conquered!

It's been a long long long trip getting this Summit done. It wasn't tedious or strenuous or even trying on my patience. I tackled this like you tackle a garden. All the work is not done in one day, or even one season. Everything in its time...

Enough Zen. By the time I decided this shawl was long enough (and it wasn't because I was sick of it, or because I was running out of wool; it just felt like it was time), I will admit I was only too happy to cast it off!

Neither the cast on nor the cast off are very pretty in this pattern. the designer insists on the backward loop cast on, and I can't figure out why. It's got to be the messiest one you could pick, and I haven't figured out why she thinks it's the only one that will do. But oh well, I'm not going to fuss about it.

The cast off was also a little different as you had to chain some loops to cross the gap where the yarn overs are. I either made mine too tight or I should have chained three stitches instead of two. She recommends puttingProject Stats
Started: 14 Aug '10
Finished: 26 Feb '11
Pattern: Summit by Mandie Harrington (free)
Materials: Fleece Artist Blue Face Leicester 2/8 in Smoke (free/trade)
the stitch on a crochet hook to chain two and then putting the stitch back on your knitting needle. How much better to do the chains with your knitting needle: Knit one stitch; slip it from the right needle to the left needle; repeat those two steps--BOOM two chain stitches. It's not the fastest chain stitching, but it's less awkward than getting out a crochet hook when the knitting needles are already in your hands.

When I was finally done casting off, I worried about how to block it. I have no sinks right now that would fit it! Then I realized I could use the washing machine as a really big sink, with the added bonus that the spin cycle would get the excess water out and produce the perfect wetness for blocking. Worked like a charm and I'm going to have to remember that quicker for other big projects! The other issue was the space to lay it out, but the judicial relocation of the couch took care of that.

I was dreading the blocking, I'll admit, because there were all those curves on the long edges. When I was bemoaning this to Troy, he did a quick calculation and pronounced that three pins to a curve would only require 108 pins. He thought I could manage that easily.

I decided to cheat a bit and just pass my blocking wires in and out twice at the apex of each curve. It's not perfectly perfect, but it worked. And I'm really not sure that after a little wear you'll be able to see any difference. Yeah, blocking wires!!

But enough of the details!! Let's have some pictures!

Hey, you!

You might call this style "over easy."

I thought maybe belted. (Celtic, Troy thought.)

Broken wings.

A surprise for me was that I could wear the shawl easily as a scarf. Nice double duty: I can wear it to somewhere, but then if I'm cold there I can wrap it around me. No need to carry something extra.

Thanks, Troy, for taking the pictures and for being so "directable." ;-)