Swallowtail - done
Thank you everybody for your suggestions about using a crochet hook for the nupps. I will definitely try that next time. And I will also look into alternative ways of knitting nupps, as Allison suggested.
With everything that knitting those nupps was a royal pain in the butt, I love the look of them and I am pretty sure there will be more nupps in my future. For one thing, I am enamored with an Estonian lace pattern and and just added "Pitsilised Koekirjad" to my wish list.
In spite of a couple of minor issues – both to do with mangled nupps – I am happy with the way my Swallowtail shawl turned out. Not so crazy about Misty Alpaca, I have to admit. Too slippery to knit with and a slightly different texture in the finished item than I have come to expect from merino, merino/silk, and cashmere blends. Or maybe it's a bit too thin, I'm not sure what it is, but I don't think I'm going to use the other two balls of Misty Alpaca in my stash.
So here is Swallowtail, which surprisingly took me only one week to finish. Okay, I did knit compulsively.
It's a very small shawl, and I knew that before I started. Still, I'm not quite sure how I'll use it. Interestingly, there is a discussion going on in the Ravelry forums right now about lace knitters knitting lots of shawls they'll never wear. It seems that lace is addictive, regardless of the end result. Me, I want to use my shawls. The first one turned out too small for a shawl and the wrong proportions for a scarf, but I do like it and will probably use it as a scarf.
Lace has really grabbed me and I've already cast on for a new shawl: Ene's scarf. I hesitated to start it because of the brutal cast-on: 375 stitches. Since I'm becoming interested (obsessed?) with lace shawls, I want to learn different construction methods, and that's one of the reasons I chose Ene's scarf. It's another triangular shawl but knit from the sides towards the center, as opposed to the top down construction of Swallowtail.
Happy Sunday, everybody.
Comments
Yes, nupps are painful ... but I just love how they look on a shawl! My Ene shawl is also a bit too small ... I just use it as a large scarf. The Swallowtail pattern is really very lovely ... I should make myself one. :)
Posted by: Agnes | August 5, 2007 9:53 AM
Lovely, Francesca, just lovely!
Posted by: Maud | August 5, 2007 10:15 AM
Oh, that is lovely! You're right, nupps are a pain in the neck, but they turn out so pretty!
Posted by: Lorette | August 5, 2007 11:10 AM
Just beautiful! I also knit mine small and use it as a scarf on top of my black wool winter coat.
Good luck with Ene. I have a fair number of shawls under my belt but I had to restart this one twice before giving up :( I just finished a shawl this morning and I might just try tackling Ene once more.
Posted by: allison | August 5, 2007 11:47 AM
DAMN...your Swallowtail is gorgeous! Great job, I can't wait to see progress on Ene, what yarn are you using?
Posted by: Bea | August 5, 2007 12:26 PM
Wow, that was fast! It looks beautiful and I hope you'll be able to use it the way you want.
Posted by: soknitpicky | August 5, 2007 12:34 PM
Wow, that was so fast. It looks so pretty, I bet it's soft too.
So is it better to have to cast on a million stitches and end with a few or the other way around? Discuss.....
I would go for the cast on a lot and end with a few. Jedi mind trick myself.
Posted by: Briana @ Horse Hound Knit Spin | August 5, 2007 12:55 PM
A week? Is that all? You're too quick for me. It's gorgeous.
Posted by: Marina | August 5, 2007 2:33 PM
Your Swallowtail is so pretty! Certainly a great way to spend your week... :)
Posted by: Mary-Heather | August 5, 2007 2:56 PM
Wow... I can not believe you are finished. That was so fast. It really is lovely. Congrats.
Posted by: kitty kitty | August 5, 2007 3:16 PM
Absolutely Beautiful!
Posted by: Wannietta | August 5, 2007 3:43 PM
you may not like the yarn, but the results are great!
Posted by: karen | August 5, 2007 3:55 PM
Swallowtail looks fab! I want to start Ene and probably would've already if it weren't for the fact that I can't figure out what I'm supposed to do with the second skein of yarn after I've cast on 375 sts over double yarn. Does it get worked every other row to avoid weaving in a tail? And what if I have a single skein with enough yardage for Ene itself? See, enough to stop me in my tracks. Get me a sock, quick!
Posted by: Bobbi | August 5, 2007 6:22 PM
so awesome and fast!! I'm so behind on lace knitting and ravelry reading since I went for a roadtrip this past weekend. (of course, did manage a good amount of straight stockinette :) ) I can't wait to get back into it. Beautiful job on the shawl!
Posted by: May | August 5, 2007 7:14 PM
How pretty.
Posted by: theresa | August 5, 2007 8:47 PM
Bellissimo! Anch'io sto pensando di rifarlo in una versione piu' grande.
Posted by: Zita | August 5, 2007 11:47 PM
beh nella foto e' bellissimissimo!
quando ho letto la parola nubbs, sono andata a chiedere al marito cosa significasse, l'espressione della sua faccia mi ha portato ad interpellare Mr. Google ed ecco risolto il mistero. Sono per caso le cosiddette "noccioline"? Io le faccio usando l'uncinetto realizzando maglie basse che si chiudono tutte insieme. si lo so non si e' capito niente^__-
Se compri Pitsilised Koekirjad scrivici una bella recenzione, la foto di copertina e' interessantissima.
grazie
lore
Posted by: lore | August 6, 2007 6:30 AM
Wait, I barely had a chance to blink and you're done with this shawl already?I got through one pattern repeat in a week and I thought I was kicking @ss! ;) It's lovely!
Posted by: Nonnahs | August 6, 2007 2:56 PM
This is just beautiful. One of these days...she sighed wistfully. These is the first time I've heard of Nupps, I had to go and look it up. From what I can tell you did a fantastic job. Definitely wear it when you're drinking hot chocolate (did you add some Swiss Chocolate Almond Liqueur?) in the heat - 98F eh?
Posted by: Barbp | August 6, 2007 7:23 PM
That's so pretty! You're knitting is so even! Nice pattern, too; I especially like those little bump-like things in the border.
Posted by: domesticshorthair | August 15, 2007 8:02 AM