Charlotte's Debut
Last night I finished the last touches on my Charlotte's Web Shawl. Putting all those tassles on took me a lot longer than I thought it would -- and used up a good portion of the yarn I had remaining from the project. I have some leftovers from the first three colors, but none of the last two.
When I first read the instructions I didn't think to hard about blocking this shawl. I figured my Spaceboard would do the job for me. Not quite. Charlotte has a wingspan of 76" and is 38" deep when blocked (or at least she is supposed to -- mine works out to those dimensions, but only if you include the tassles). The Spaceboard is deep enough but definitely not wide enough.
Good thing we have a queen sized bed in our guest room for Charlotte to stretch out on.
Pinning Charlotte down for blocking felt a lot like mounting a butterfly for a collection. Let me say that it is still remarkable to me what wool will do when exposed to a little strategic watering. When I came downstairs this morning to free Charlotte from her pinning, I half expected her to shrivel up into her pre-stretched state.
Here she is relaxing along my upstairs balcony rail. When I looked at this picture (taken in natural light, no flash) I was surprised at how much the red tones showed up in it.
And here she is basking in full Chicago morning sun. She's quite a large, dramatic girl, so it was difficult to find places in good light where I could show her off.
I hope this shot shows off the colorway to a little better advantage. I am so taken by how well all these colors went together. To me, they just seem to flow together. Thanks again to Matt of ThreadBear who spent the time with me to get this "Fall Comes to Northern Michigan" colorway put together.
Just one last picture before I run off to work... here's an up close look at the lace pattern.
As my first ever "serious" lace project, Charlotte was a lot of fun. I learned the importance of stitch markers, counting and how to think about the sort of texture that a yarn over creates. Because of all the color in the Koigu, it's also a very forgiving pattern. I made a lot of mistakes that I probably should have corrected, but didn't, early on in the pattern. If you look close you can see them, but most people don't get that close. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wants to try a big lacework pattern for the first time. The basic pattern is easy to memorize, it only takes 5 skeins of Koigu (making it a not-so-unreasonably priced project) and the result is quite spectacular. Even John, who normally doesn't pay too much attention kept coming over to admire Charlotte.
Of course, now that I have finshed a merino wool shawl, the mercury in Chicago is hovering around the 90 degree mark. It'll be a while before Charlotte sees too much action -- but I'll be ready when the cooler weather comes.
The shawl is absolutely lovely. Could you take a picture with it on please? I think I want to make one, but am not sure if an attempting to be chic girl like me would wear it. But I see a chic girl like you... I've never done lacework but love koigu sooooo much it would be a great project.
Gorgeous knitting and great pics--thanks for all the views.
Gorgeous!! I'm so excited about finishing mine now. My colors hover around blues/purples/greens with some brighter colors thrown in. I hate taking pictures of it though because it makes it a lot brighter than they are in person. I'm impressed..now I need to hurry up and finish mine!! :)
Stephanie -- I'll be happy to take a modeling shot. Today was so warm, it was hard for me to be outside just to take pictures. I'm not sure how chic and trendy Charlotte will be. (I'm not sure how chic I am -- geek chic maybe :-) ) I thought she would be lovely to go out with in the fall, maybe thrown over a black tank top.
My mother has also hinted that she wouldn't mind having Charlotte as a gift... but I'm not sure I am ready to give her up, yet.
Darling,she is simply stunning.Absolutely beautiful,She'll look gorgeous over a black top.
Beautiful work.
Georgeous shawl! You did nice work and great colors too :) Hope you get to wear it soon !!
Great job, as always. Thanks for all the pics. That colorway is spectacular. I'm not sure if Lisa wears shawls much (I've only ever seen one of the ones I've made for her being worn) but I think she's going to get one of those.
Wow! What more can I say?
Simply Stunning. It makes me yearn to do one too but then I seem to want to do all the same things you do! Maybe I have a bit of the Single White Female in me for your knitting....good thing I live 2000 miles away! ;)
Theresa, wow! That shawl is absolutely gorgeous. I'm about to start my first lace project (knit along with Rachael & others) myself, but I have also some Koigu lined up for a lace scarf, thanks to the TBFA fellas. Loved your Zodiac halter too.
Charlotte looks fabulous. This is the first place I've been able to see the lace pattern close up. Thanks.
Your Charlotte is beautiful !!!!
In my office you could sure use it now.
A/C is too cold. No need to wait for cool weather here. LOL
Houston TX
Your shawl is incredibly beautiful. SynchroBLOGnicity.... I am beginning my first two lace projects as well, and they are both shawls.
Thanks for the inspiration!
Beautiful job. I like how the colors flow.
Truly beautiful.
your Charlotte is just gorgeous! congratulations on such a beautiful shawl. seeing these pictures is making me want one!
It is so beautiful! You give me hope that mine may turn out as well. I love the colours you chose, and they do flow together seamlessly.
Stunning!! I love the colours - your version of Charlotte is just beautiful. And it is amazing how long it takes to fringe it, isn't it!?
Beautiful work, Theresa! The colors showed up so well in every picture. I would also love to see it on you. What do you plan to wear with it?
Gorgeous! Now I have to make one myself. Oh great, all that Koigu.
Wow, the shawl is so beautiful in the pictures, even more beautiful than it ever looked on anybody else's website. Truly inspirational.
I'm convinced after seeing your photos to try this pattern. It's absolutely stunning!