Res Completa: Ishbel the First

Because no one seems to be able to make just one of these and, in fact, I have already made a second.



Pattern: Ishbel, by Ysolda Teague
Yarn: Habu Textiles A-1 Tsumugi Silk, ~265 yards of color 38
Needles: US 6 circs
Start to Finish: April 4-8, 2009

Mods: Because I didn't have as much yarn as was called for in the pattern, I did fewer stockinette increase rows, then fewer (horizontal) repeats of the lace pattern. I would tell you all about the extensive math I did in order to figure out exactly how many increases to cut out, but in the end, I was 6 stitches off so just did some decreases on the last row to get to the number I needed for the lace. Oh well.

Notes: First of all, this yarn was awesome and unlike anything I've ever used before. I won it during Chris' blog giveaway earlier this year, received it when we met at Stitches West, and was thrilled to knit with it. It has such a neat texture, kind of crunchy and soft at the same time, and almost looks like a tweed. Because of its laceweight-ness, it made a light-weight Ishbel (my second is the heavier weight version), and it will be perfect for wrapping around the neck on a hot day (when I go to Turlock. But I'm sure it'll be great on cold San Francisco days, too). I didn't do such a great job pinning out the bottom into points, so a re-blocking is in order, but here is what it looks like stretched out anyway:



Being still a little green in the lace department, this was a wonderful project to wet the feet a bit. Plus, 1,058 Ravlers can't be wrong...this is one fun and adorable little shawl.