Tuesday, October 16, 2007

Agatha

Agatha is finished, blocked, written up, PDF-d, and the pattern is for sale in my Etsy shop! Woot!

I finished knitting Agatha over a week ago, but blocked her during a humid spell, and she took four days to dry (it probably didn't help that I'm now blocking in the basement, and the weather is considerably cooler now). Then (Murphy rears his ugly head) my digital camera had some temporary hiccups, so a photo shoot was out of the question. However, all is well again now, so I was (finally) able to insert photos into the pattern and turn it into a PDF file.

Agatha's Stats:
  • 3 skeins of ShiBui Knits Merino Kid (not brushed, DK weight) in the colour Mulberry, 218 yards each (used ALL of it!)
  • 24" deep from top edge to bottom point
  • 50" wide from edge to edge, as shown in photo below
  • Two weeks of often interrupted knitting time
  • And yes, I designed and charted her, and wrote up the pattern
  • Lace stitch pattern in body of shawl based on pattern 76 in Estonian lace book Pitsilised Koekirjad, by Leili Reimann



This was a fun knit, and the stitch pattern was easy to memorize and read. I'm pretty proud of the transition into the border - I had some false starts on it, but am happy with the final solution.

Yes, I'm blowing my own horn a bit, but it's exciting to be publishing my first pattern! Darn it! Squee! I can only hope that if anyone actually buys the pattern they find it logical and easy to follow. No test knitters were harmed during the making of this pattern (tee hee - okay fine, I don't have any test knitters - the only knitters I know personally are way to busy for me to even ask). Anyway, I hope to get over myself sometime later today, but will enjoy the giddiness for a few hours more, if that's okay. ;-)

Oh, and there may be (cough) coordinating socks (cough) in the future. I've finished one, and am working on the second. The socks aren't the same colour or yarn, but they do use the same lace pattern.


I'm knitting them out of Crystal Palace Maizy in Hibiscus, and LOVE IT! This stuff (82% corn fiber) is incredibly soft - even softer than Merino! With only one sock done, it has already become my favorite sock yarn - and that's saying a lot considering some of the gorgeous luxury yarns I've worked with.


While there are some lovely solids, I'm not that thrilled with the print colours that are available. However, I can't find anything in my stash that comes even close to being as soft. And, the 18% elastic nylon keeps them springy and bouncy, and helps the lace keep its shape. Yummy. I'll keep you posted as to how they wash. Oh, and they've already been claimed - they fit my Mom perfectly.

14 comments:

Angelika said...

That design looks absolutely doable. Nice job. Keep on designing.

Laura said...

Congratulations on publishing your first design. :-) It's lovely. The stitch pattern and border transition are wonderful. The sock is looking pretty cool, too.

Laritza said...

Beautiful shawl. Congratulations!

missalicefaye said...

What a lovely shawl--everything flows so beautifully! Congratulations!

SheepsPyjamas said...

Woot, that's gorgeous! Nice job, congrats!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful shawl - great job!

Suna Kendall said...

You rock, with both the shawl and the socks. I want to start on it right now, and that will make all the other projects I have in line QUITE jealous. Thank you for sharing the pattern.

mel said...

That is one gorgeous shawl!! Love the coordinating socks too :)

LUL said...

That is a very beautiful shawl!!! Congratulations.

Colette said...

Congratulations on a beautiful pattern. I love shape and that the pattern used for the body flows so nicely into the edging.

Anonymous said...

Wow. Agatha is gorgeous. I love the transition from the main pattern to the border. Congratulations. And thank you for writing the pattern.

mel said...

Really lovely shawl!! Congratulations on publishing your first design :)

Sunflowerfairy said...

Beautiful shawl.

It will be added to my "to do" list!

Anonymous said...

Hi-
I want to start this on my trip to Cancun tomorrow morning.

Your ETSY website says I might have to wait 4 days for the pdf.

Any chance you can get it to me by midnight tonight, March 15?

I will pay by paypal.

Margaret
(Can you reply via Ravelry?) Thanks!