More Knitting to Share

I finished my Shipwreck Shawl several months ago, but didn't have a chance to block it until last week. For those that don't know, blocking is when you pin damp knitting into a specific shape and allow it to dry. Once it dries it will stay the shape that it was blocked to. Most lace needs blocking before it looks the right way.

This was my first project that I blocked, and so I asked my friend Deb to help me out. She is an expert knitter, quilter, and sewer and any time I have a knitting question she is my "go-to-gal". We also enjoy knitting together once a week while our kids are in school. :) Love you Deb!

Anyway...it was SOOOOO amazing to see this shawl grow as we blocked it. I was pretty nervous when I finished knitting because it was only about 3 feet across, and in the pictures on Knitty it was at least double the size. But, as we stretched the yarn accross Deb's queen bed, the pattern emerged and it was so lovely! I couldn't believe it when the shawl grew to be about the same size as the bed!!!

Here are some pictures. The first was taken before we pinned it out. You can see it is already very large - and the patterns from the various sections are much more visible.



Here is a close up of the center after it was blocked.



Here is a close up of the edges with the beading. I strugn and knit close to 5000 beads into the outer section of the shawl!!!



If you have a hard time seeing the details, you can click on any photo to view a larger version.