Another FO!

Remember the shawl I was so coy about?  It's done.  Here's another of my stunningly inartistic photos:

It's the Creatures of the Reef shawl, from Fiddlesticks Knitting.  I was making it as a gift for someone who loves the sea -- hence the coyness.  I had a deadline of today (29 September) to get it done, and because I'd dawdled a little on it, I was burning the midnight oil last night!  I finished pinning it out on the blocking styrofoam about 1 am this morning, and was in bed VERY soon after that.

I know there was a big KAL for this pattern a while back, but just in case everybody in the world doesn't know about this shawl, here's my opinion. 
I think this is an easy pattern.  You do have to watch the charts every other row, because you're knitting designs into the lace instead of knitting lace patterns, but other than that, there's not much to it.  Every other row is just knit, so you can co.  You start with the cast-on at the bottom on the long edge and decrease as you go up. 

I have to say that the Fiddlesticks lace patterns are just wonderful to use.  The charts are large and easy to read.  Dorothy even does the work of counting the stitches between motifs for you.  I heart Fiddlesticks patterns.  Everyone should knit one.  I mean it.

Here's the shawl draped on me:

Dear Robert took the picture and managed to cut off one side and the bottom.  I love him anyway.

My dog spokesmodels weren't so cooperative today.  Here's what I cropped out of another picture -- Bouncer turning away:

Oh well.

There's something about finishing up a project like this that really bucks you up.  I feel all fizzy today.  If it weren't for my eyestrain-and-lack-of-sleep headache, I'd be bouncing all over.  Now there's the eternal question:  what next?  I started a shawl with some yarn I got in my Whose Lace Is It Anyway? swap but put it down when I decided I wanted to do this shawl as a gift.  I may pick that up.  I've got the second Sleepytime sock to finish.  And I think I want to go back and finish up the Spider Queen shawl I started a year or so ago.

Decisions, decisions.

Comments

[Tonni]

Beautiful shawl! What a great friend you are to gift this work to someone!

[Claudia]

YOU ROCK GIRL! It looks fabulous - I am always amazed how gorgeous those lace projects look after blocking. Congrats on keeping your deadline! Awesome. I can totally understand your late night activities - been there many times. But it's fun, too.

[Sandy]

Absolutely stunning! What a lucky friend!

[carriecarrie]

stunning! Your hair-do is really cute too - I haven't seen you in eons, so it might not be new, but I noticed how cute the cut is in this photo.

[Eloise at home]

Gorgeous color! Is that a seahorse I see in the design or are my eyes playing tricks on me?
Lovely!

[Rhonna]

You know, when I first saw that pattern, I wasn't sure about it. It seems like I lean toward florals and geometrics, I think. But it's starting to grow on me. :-) Of course, it could just be that I simply love that color . . .

And good heavens, but you're really turning out the lace!

[Desiree Scales]

Dazzling in person! I was so lucky to see it, just wish I would have tried it on, but I was too afraid to touch it. GREAT JOB!

[Suzanne Deal-Fitzgerald]

Wow. Wow. Wow.

What a lucky dog of a friend you've got!

And BTW, if you want to show your kids how to do the "spokesmodel" thing right, show them the new cover of "BARK" magazine.