The blocking board that is! And I love, love, love her!! I tried to capture the beauty of these colors with various lighting, but I really don't think any of these photos really do her justice. Probably because of the silk in the Helen's Lace, she has a depth of color that has to be seen to be truly appreciated.
I can see myself knitting this again, and I am not a big fan of knitting something more than once. Even under the pressure of the Olympic deadline, I really enjoyed the pattern, and watching the lace come together. Getting past that 375 stitch cast on (especially if you have to do it more than once) is the real kicker! The Helen's Lace worked up beautifully in this pattern, but I did double it, and went down one needle size. Even with that, she blocked out at 70 inches along the top and almost 36 inches in length. Since I've never worked with the Blackberry Ridge Silk Blend Lace Weight called for in this pattern, I can't comment on it, but I will say that you need a fairly hefty lace weight yarn to make this work well. I would even venture to say that a sock weight would probably work*. I used about 1350 yards of Helen's Lace, but that was doubled, so you can get a guestimate on your needs from that.
I learned two new techniques while knitting Ene. First, the knitted cast on, which I really liked. I think I am going to use it for my Bloomin' Feet socks. The pattern I chose actually calls for a backwards loop cast on, which I really, really hate! Second was the three-needle bind off. More skills in the knitting repertoire!! Woo and Hoo!!
*Stunning evidence of how well the sock yarn works can be found here!
Comments (11)
Wow! What a difference in the color outside in the sunlight!
Just stunning! I love the picture of it draped on the stone bench. You did some beautiful work there Leah!
Posted by Karen | February 28, 2006 12:22 AM
Posted on February 28, 2006 00:22
What a beautiful shawl! She is so rich in color and looks like a very lovely shawl to wear. Good work!!
Posted by margene | February 28, 2006 12:49 AM
Posted on February 28, 2006 00:49
Oh Leah!!! The ENE is just GORGEOUS!!!!!!! What a beautiful shawl - great job girl!! JUST LOVELY!
Posted by Esther | February 28, 2006 2:05 AM
Posted on February 28, 2006 02:05
What beautiful colors and a beautiful shawl. Sounds like an extremely successful and fun project! Congratulations on your gold.
Posted by nona | February 28, 2006 2:11 AM
Posted on February 28, 2006 02:11
I meant to comment on your last post, but you were too quick for me. Very, very well done. You won your gold medal and you got a beautiful shawl in the process. Result!
WOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!
Posted by Mandella | February 28, 2006 4:15 AM
Posted on February 28, 2006 04:15
ene is sooooo gorgeous! just stunning! well done!
Posted by jacqueline | February 28, 2006 10:31 AM
Posted on February 28, 2006 10:31
YAY YAY!! She looks so beautiful! Congratulations!!
Posted by Gracie | February 28, 2006 2:32 PM
Posted on February 28, 2006 14:32
Your Ene is gorgeous!! Such a lovely colorway... it works so well with the lace pattern. Congratulations to you on your Olympic gold! It's an absolutely beautiful knit. Take care, Leah! :-)
Posted by chris | February 28, 2006 11:36 PM
Posted on February 28, 2006 23:36
Leah!!! Ok, so my vision is still blurry in the right eye and now the left is patched but even so, I can see the stunning glory that is Ene through my cornea-less fog. Absolutely wonderful job there my friend! I'm so happy you finished, won gold and now have this beautiful shawl to strut around in. Maybe you should strut it around at work for those people knitting tubes on those rings...after all, it is the same *wink*
Posted by amanda | March 1, 2006 10:37 PM
Posted on March 1, 2006 22:37
Wow! That's stunning, and I'm so glad to see how the berry Helen's Lace knits up. Beautiful work.
Posted by terby | March 14, 2006 8:11 AM
Posted on March 14, 2006 08:11
I love your shawl! It came up when I googled "ene's scarf helen's lace"
I have one lonely skein of Helen's lace and I'm trying to find good project for it. So far, your scarf is the one that I like the best. Do you think it would be possible to do it with one skein? I noticed that you said that you used 1350 yards--just over one skein.
BTW, I saw that you are doing Grace. I finished that this fall and I LOVE the sweater.
Posted by Laura | April 2, 2006 4:07 PM
Posted on April 2, 2006 16:07