More Finished Objects: Shawls

I've been busy knitting and, therefore, not blogging. Since my last post, I've completed four shawls: A Little Jazz, Peruvian Central, another A Little Jazz, and a test knit I can't talk about yet. I've also knit a sweater for my oldest grand-nephew and a jacket. This post is about the shawls.

A Little Jazz, designed by Samantha Roshak, can be worn as a shawlette or a scarf. The first one I knit was a Christmas gift. This one was knit in Dream in Color Starry in a unknown colorway (possibly Honeymoon). It's a pretty rose color. (As always, click on any photo to enlarge.)

A Little Jazz is an easy, fairly fast knit---all garter stitch. It is con- structed with "no-wrap" short rows. Although I knit it as the pattern stated, I think it would be as easy or easier to end each short row with a wrapped stitch. I started the shawlette on 20 October and finished on 10 November, and it was not my main knitting project during that time. This shawlette used 446 yards of yarn, a few yards less than the full skein.

Next up, and another blip in my "race to the finish" (an attempt to finish a number of projects that have been languishing on the needles for a while), was a test knit. The Peruvian Central Shawl is crescent-shaped shawl with a garter-stitch body. Mine was knit in Alchemy Juniper in the Autumn Ecstasy colorway and used two skeins of yarn.

I wanted this shawl to be usable as a scarf or shawlette because I knew the recipient would most likely wear it as a scarf. For that reason, I blocked it in a rather unusual way, as shown in the photo to the right. The photo was taken at night, under artificial light, which washed out the color. The resulting shawl had a 60-inch wingspan and was 13 inches deep, and the recipient loved it!

I started Peruvian Central on 21 November and finished on 26 November, so it, too, was a fast kniit.

The third shawl was another A Little Jazz, this one for me. I call it A Little Jazz II. This one was knit with Fiesta Baby Boom in the Spring Chill colorway. I cannot get a good photograph of the yarn color variations, so this photo is the one on the front of the pattern.

Based on the size of the first A Little Jazz, which was knit on a US5 needle, I knit A Little Jazz II on a US6, since I am 7 or 8 inches taller than the recipient of the pink A Little Jazz.  A Little Jazz II used 438.5 yards of the 440-yard skein, and I was holding my breath during the the last half of the bind-off, hoping I would not run out of yarn. This shawlette is not as deep as the pink one: 9.5 inches compared to 10.5 inches for the first one. I started A Little Jazz II on 10 November and finished on 10 December, and it was not my primary, or even my secondary, knitting project during that time. It's a great carry-with-you-and-knit-anywhere project.

I'll post about the final shawl, a lovely lace confection, when the pattern has been published.

What have you been knitting?

Susannah