Monday, August 17, 2009

Ishbel is finished and it is Bee-yooo-tee-full!


If I do say so myself! Here is the history of my lovely shawl, the Ishbel. From everything I read, it is the shawl pattern of the year with thousands being knit according to Ravelry!

The BFL fiber started out as roving purchased at Rhinebeck last year from Briar Rose Fibers at the end of my wonderful day there.


I started out spinning on my spindles and then when I purchased my wheel in February, I finished off the rest of the 17 oz of fiber. As you can see from the photo of the drying skeins, there are many many shades of green in the fiber, so I had to be careful which of the spun yarn skeins I put into the project. As it turned out, I ended up using both wheel spun and spindle spun yarn in the shawl, because the colors worked best.


Knitting up the lace had several false starts, but finally I rolled along to the end. While knitting it, you can hardly see the lace pattern and it was hard to believe that it would end up so beautifully!!

Here it is all spread out on the floor, finished, but unblocked:


I don't have blocking wires or blocking boards, so I used the carpet in the spare bedroom with towels and glass headed pins. The stripes on the towels were my guides.

Now the lace was starting to reveal itself and all its beauty, like magic.


Ta Da! The finished shawl. The camera doesn't capture the colors as well as some of the other shots. The photo above is close.

Isn't she pretty! The details: This is the large size of the pattern, knit on size 6 needles. The final dimensions are 63" from tip to tip, and 27" from the top to the bottom point.

7 comments:

Nancy McCarroll said...

That is so impressive; you did it from start to finish every step of the way. Your knitting is so professional, and I cannot imagine how you did the spinning and all other steps to completion. Kudos to you, my friend. If seen outside the eye of the camera, I'm sure those colors just pop. Lovely!

Terri said...

It is beautiful! I have knit two Ishbel's with commercial yarn, you have inspired me to make one from handspun.

Steffi said...

Oh,yes,she is pretty! That could even be an understatement - I think "breathtaking" and "awe-inspiring" and "stunning" are all appropriate adjectives to describe your shawl. Congrats!

lunaticraft said...

Bee-yooo-tee-ful is right! Wow! And using striped towels as a blocking guide? Brilliant!

Lupie said...

All so beautiful! The shawl and your yarn are awesome.

Kathy Put said...

I keep looking at that pattern; it's so lovely, and yours is a marvelous choice of fibre and pattern. I love the subtle striping.

Iron Needles said...

That's really something, Liz. I am very impressed. From Rhinebeck to your shoulders! I have been thinking about an Ishbel, but then I have been thinking about a Clapotis, too. I have been thinking about a lot of things...