The Lost Points Shawl is done done done, and I've never been happier to finish anything, EVER. Partly because it's a wedding gift for a friend to wear and she's getting married this weekend, but also because now I will never ever have to knit anything with railroad yarn ever again. I'm going to throw myself a party. It was a learning experience - I did get to see what knitted railroad yarn actually looks like, and it's not bad; the fabric is light and airy, and this'll be a fine, summery item for steamy South Carolina. And I just learned that the string parts are matte and the little blocks between are shiney, so they have a sequin-y effect (huh, see what you learn when you read kit descriptions?) Oh, you actually want to see the sucker? Well OK, then.
The points were a surprise - since the whole thing is knitted in the round, they have no shape at all until you take them off the needle, so it wasn't until the other night that I saw them at all. Thanks to Juno for the kit, and to Cari for hosting a lovely knitnight on Tuesday which let me quietly bind off the majority of the stitches.
Specs:
Pattern: Lost Points Shawl
Yarn: Southwest Trading Company Bamboo, Southwest Trading Company Melody (1 ball each)
Needles: Size 8 Denise Interchangeables with 40" cable
Time: About 2 weeks, give or take.
I bit the bullet and blocked - my first real experience with wetting and pinning. Though I really liked Kat's idea about ripping open a cardboard box and using that, I ended up taking Em's more low-impact suggestion of flinging it over the shower door. First I wet the shawl with a spritz bottle on a towel on the floor, spread it out a little, then threw a beach towel over the door and pinned it out to that. It was like magic - really, how come nobody ever talks about how it's like MAGIC? My favorite part was taking all the pins out, it felt like that montage scene in the Matrix when they're finishing regrowing all of Keanu's muscles.
Happy wedding, Mags - so sorry I can't be there. Wear it well!