I Made It!

I am so, so proud of this shawl, so I hope you'll all forgive my indulging in a photo-heavy post.

Pattern: Shetland Triangle by Evelyn Clark in Wrap Style
Yarn: my own handspun (merino/corriedale), approximately 400 yards
Needles: 32" US 6 (4.0 mm) Addi Turbo circular
Started/Completed: August 8, 8 a.m. est/August 10, 4 p.m. est
Mods: added one body chart repeat, for a total of nine repeats
Dimensions: 57" x 29"

Knitting with my own handspun was truly an incredible experience. On the one hand, I got a very good look at how inconsistent my spinning was (this yarn was only, I think, the third I finished on my wheel), but I love the rustic look it has knitted up. There was definitely a different feeling to the process of knitting this shawl knowing that I made not only the finished garment but the yarn I was using. I can see why spinners often wind up knitting with nothing but their own handspun.

And yes, this is the fastest I've ever knit a shawl -- although keep in mind that (a) it's a very easy pattern, (b) it's a smaller shawl than others I've knit, and (c) I did knit for about eight solid hours on Saturday. Had the Olympics started on a Monday, it would have taken me much longer. Still, I'm thrilled with the results and kind of amazed that I was the third person to finish in my Ravelympics event, the Shawl Relay. (I guess that makes me a bronze medalist?)

Miscalculation

I may have overestimated the time it would take me to knit my Shetland Triangle.

Yep, just a bit.

Blocked pictures soon.

Bordering on Obsession

With approximately 12 hours to go until the Ravelympics begin, I am in a mad dash to get as much as I can get done on the border of my mystery shawl. Here it is after a couple hours of work last night (yes, I knit lace at the meeting of the Hurricane Knitters!):

It's really starting to look huge, but the sad thing is that I'm not even halfway done yet. I'm under no illusions that I will finish this tonight, so this shawl will go into hibernation starting at 8 a.m. tomorrow morning, when I will be casting on for my Olympic project.

Speaking of the Shetland Triangle, it looks like I'm not going to be the only one knitting it -- Jen cast on for hers (in a gorgeous color of DIC Smooshy) at knit night last night. I'm trying to convince her that it's easier to knit lace from a chart than from written directions (at least I find it to be so). I was getting quite jealous and wanted to cast on my own last night, in spite of the fact that I had a lap full of lace already. In any case, I have everything ready to go, and I will be casting on at 8 a.m. sharp tomorrow.

Those of you who did not make it to Hurricane Knitting last night missed a visit from a special guest: Rufus the wonder dog! He's a lot bigger in person than I thought he'd be. I wish I'd had the foresight to get out my camera and take some pictures with something for scale, but I was too busy giving him scritches. Thank you to The MWP for facilitating the canine visit!