I’m working on getting the border applied to the entrelac shawl; I’ve got about 2/3s of the first side done. Let me tell you something. This sucker is big!
I knew it was going to be, of course. I wanted it to be big, I planned for it to be big. This is huge! This could be used as a carpet in a small room, or as a tent in a small backyard. You could upholster a sofa with this thing. It is soft, all enveloping and smells faintly of the citrus shampoo I washed the yarn in post-dyeing.
It is going to be awesome!
I’m liking the border lace pattern a lot, now that I’ve finally got it memorized. I admit it did take quite a few iterations before I began to see how the lace actually worked. I did add another couple of garter stitches to the edge and I like the effect. As you can see, I decided to go with the natural color of the wool rather than try to co-ordinate another color and I think this looks great.
It strikes me that the whole piece would be a wonderful tutorial/practice piece for knitting backwards. I do this quite a lot anyway, but entrelac just screams for it and it does make working the border quite a lot less annoying than otherwise. In fact to facilitate the whole knitting backwards thing, the garter stitch on the border is purled on both sides, rather than knitted :)
You don’t get the scope of this piece when you’re just working on knitting the border lace because the whole piece is never entirely unfolded - especially not now when we’re beginning to get some very warm temperatures as summer draws closer. A lap full of wool can only be tolerated for so long!
Still progress is being made and I am hugely enjoying this project :) My only problem is figuring out how in the world I’m going to block this thing - anybody got a spare football field?
Maybe I can just pin it out on the roof….
No trackbacks yet.
It’s looking REALLY good, Robbyn! Gorgeous, and it isn’t even blocked yet.
Beautiful, I can just see a mermaid swimming through this:) 
Ev - It may remain unblocked for a while too, until I can figure out how to manage that. Maybe, some nice warm, dry day, I’ll take it over to my dad’s where I can spread it out on a sheeet in the back yard - since, you know, he has a back yard :)
Ambermoggie - Oh that’s wonderful - since the whole color idea was based on water/sky/shore! Mermaids in my shawl - whee!
I think it looks great too. :) The natural border really sets off the blue.
Perhaps you should call it “Ariel” in deference to mermaids?
Gorgeous! I like how the blue gradually changes.
Bron - The other possibility of color was to have dyed all the border yarn in the deepest shade of blue - the color of the bottom tip of the shawl.
I think the natural cream looks nicer but I’m also wondering, as I look at the picture of it spread out over the kitchen floor - if the border should be a bit wider?
Maybe I should call it Hagrid - the giant shawl!
Marcy - Thanks :) I had hoped the colors would be clearer and the transitions smoother, but I’m very pleased with it as it is.
Wow! The blue is just beautiful.
Opal - All thanks to Easter egg dye tablets :) Who have thought? Heh…
this is breath taking. you always give me so many ideas..and hints on things..thank you. :) 
Flutter - ::bowing and blushing profusely:: Why thank you :) I’m so glad to hear you find useful things here once in a while!
no blushing! it’s people such as yourself that have helped make me a knitter. help me see that i CAN possibly do what you do….some day i will do it well..until then i will live vicariously through folks that have wonderful ideas…and can play leader. you do it well..i am the timid knitter. hopefully in the winter i can do an entralac piece myself. you make it see an obtainable prospect. 
that is spectacular- *almost* as perfect as a certain periwinkle shawl that works overtime here and is the most prized piece of knitting ever!!
how nice the natural yarn looks- sometimes ‘less is more’ is really the proper choice isn’t it?
umm, a sweater finished and the pretty shawl almost done too- i can’t wait to see what is next in the queue-
stay happy you talented person-
Wow, that looks gorgeous. I’d like to try entrelac one day and this is a really effective use of the technique because the blocks are large and the pattern comes out so clearly.
wowowowwowowowow~~~!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That looks superb! Go Robbyn, GO!!!!!! Beautiful work, as always!
Barb - And what makes you think I have any idea what’s next in the queue? Heheh… Actually I’m probably going to try to get a head start on Dulaan 2008 stuff :)
Anne - I love entrelac :) Every time I do it, it seems like magic.
I think, in general, I agree with you about the block size - larger is way more interesting though if I were seriously interested in color work, I might go with itty-bitty blocks for that :)
Nat - LOL! Thanks for the cheering - I’m going to need it before I get this dad-blamed border finished!
Wow that thing IS huge! I just love the colors. It definitely reminds me of the shades of the ocean.
Lisa - Yup, it’s big all right :) Funny thing is, when I try it on, it desn’t look nearly so big any more - LOL!
But it doesn’t look silly either - it looks appropriate to my size - which is what I was after in the first place.
Gorgeous shawl. That is amazing. The yarn is beautiful.
Tandi - Thanks very much :) I hope to have the shawl finished before too much longer and a pattern up some time this summer. I’ve been putting off writing it though - lol!
