Sure, it's a little tedious. The soaking. The stretching. The spritzing. But the feeling of mastery over your knitting? Whoo, that's priceless.
Pattern: One Skein Shawl from Knitter's Review
Yarn: 1 skein Elann Peruvian Baby Lace Merino, Color 2055 (Ruby)
Needles: Size 6 Denise Interchangeable circs
I opted for garter stitch rather than stockinette — other than that, I kept to the pattern, such as it was. Very simple, a really good introduction to basic shawl construction, and the result is something I'm definitely going to wear (the color in the top pic is much truer — it's a deep, rich red that didn't bleed at all in the pre-blocking soak.) And one skein yielded the perfect size shawl for me, small girl that I am.
I can't say how much I love this yarn - it was great to work with and amazingly soft. My only criticism would be that it had a tendency to knot, but even that was manageable. I've got another skein in black, and will try to improvise a more lacey pattern for that one.
On another design-related note, I saw this photo last night and have become well-nigh obsessed with the sweater's motifs.
That winsome dude's in Beirut, and I found the pic while cruising music blogs sometime in the PM. I wish he weren't wearing the dang jacket, but I think I can figure out the repeats if I need to. I've been trying to place the country where this might have originated, but I don't have the slightest clue. Is it Norwegian? Swedish? Latvian? Anyone out there who's familiar with folk motifs have any suggestions?