Finally
So how much yarn did I have left?
Aeron kindly volunteered to model.
Fuzzy Wuzzy, yes that's me!
Perfect symmetry.
Two ways I wear the shawl: around the neck,
or tied around my shoulders. Really, there isn't an *outfit* that goes with a shawl. You can wear it with anything, but I like it best with jeans and a solid-color top.
Pattern: Kiri from All Tangled Up's Polly
Yarn: Rowan Kidsilk Haze in #589 Majestic
Needles: US9; US10 for bind-off
Finished Size: 81" x 38"
For 2 balls of KSH, that's a large size. But then again, I'm a merciless blocker. I stretched it out as far as it could go without warping the top edge. Also, I completed only 5 rows of edging and bound off on the 6th row. There are still points on the shawl, however. I used the bind-off from the Flower Basket Shawl, since the given bind-off wasn't stretchy enough, even with using US10.5.
I made my only mistake on the shawl: I mistakenly knit twice into a yarn-over, and later when I discovered my mistake I just k2tog. You know KSH is a monster to frog, and I wasn't about to get spanked by a strand of mohair. This mistake would come back to haunt me day after day, until I finally remembered an interesting fact about Persian rugs:
"To the Moslem weaver perfection on Earth does not exist--only Allah is perfect, so trying to achieve perfection would be considered arrogant," [John] Gregorian [author of Oriental Rugs of the Sik Route] writes. "Many Middle Eastern people accept mistakes as part of life. If a family is weaving a rug and dyes wool as needed with the result being the colors do not match or age in the same way, ultimately, they do not consider this to be an error. The rug is simply the way it is," Gregorian writes.
With the divine being perfect, we can only strive to do our best. Seeing the extra imperfect stitch, knit together with another, makes me smile now.
Off to Nuremberg she goes!
Reading: Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard. The Snow Garden, Christopher Rice. Much better than his first effort. Gilgamesh, the latest English translation by Stephen Mitchell. The Long Emergency: Surviving the End of the Oil Age, Climate Change, and Other Converging Catastrophes of the Twenty-first Century by James Howard Kunstler. BF jokingly sneaked Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose by Paris Hilton, et al into my stack of books. Mmm. I think I'll read it. Not.
Your shawl is gorgeous! Looks great as a scarf. Thank you for mentioning the "Persian rug" fact. I had heard that before, and it is always a good thing to keep in mind.
Beautiful! And thanks from me, too, on the perfection/persian rug story. Something I need to remember always.
So beautiful! I always tell myself that only Allah is perfect and try to remember to find beauty in every inperfection! Enjoy your Kiri! You make me want to try it again!
What a totally gorgeous shawl! I so love it in KSH.
Stunning!
I want an aeron chair at home!!
Wow, that was close! I love that shade of KSH! Great job!
It's gorgeous, as always. I love the modeled photos. Very chic! And the color has to be my favorite for KSH. Great job!
Beautiful!
What an accomplishment!! And in beautiful, but tricky, KSH. I especially like it as a scarf.
Lovely Kiri!
And it's nice to know I'm not the only merciless blocker around!
LOVE the Kiri! I'm so impressed by the size you got out of 2 balls of KSH.
What a beautiful shawl. It really turned out so lovely and you got a great size for only 2 balls of KSH. It's interesting that so many cultures have this theory of only G-d, Allah, or whomever they believe in as being perfect. I read in a knitting book somewhere that Navajo weavers (I believe) always put in a mistake, as only the Great Spirit (insert whatever religious deity you prefer) is perfect and shows the infallibility of humans. Very interesting perspective.
Oh your Kiri is so lovely! I need to try that pattern myself! Just beautiful!
Your shawl is heavenly! Thanks for the reminder about imperfections - very comforting!
Simply stunning!
So beautiful! But seeing how much KSH you had leftover nearly gave me a heart attack. I live in such constant fear of running out of yarn that I would have bought another ball just to be safe!
ohhh it is soooo beautiful! what a great blocker you are it looks absolutely even! love the color you picked for it:)
Beautiful! Love the shots, too. Hmmmmm, I have a couple balls of KSH hanging about ...
purrrr-teee! You done good. And I LOVE those hat kits you found. It's so very tempting to get one for myself....
It's really really beautiful! It looks so nice wrapped around your neck.
Looks great! Love the attitude about 'mistakes', too.
(delurking to tell you...) Yes, a absolutely beautiful Kiri - color, blocking (wow!) and pics, they're all eye candy for us. I appreciate the quote by Gregorian - it reminds me to sit back and enjoy the knitting process. Thank you, thank you for that.
Thank you for this and all other posts - just wonderful to read!
Gosh. That's simply lovely. The leftover bit makes my stomach hurt, tho...
Oh my! How lovely!
Gorgeous. I can't believe how close you cut it. That rivals Cara!
Gorgeous. Great job! The amish do that also with their quilts.
Kiri is beautiful! Jeans and a solid is my fav for Birch, too...something about the contrast between the KSH and jeans just works perfectly. I love the quote, Amish believe the same about their quilts, there is always one mistake.
It's really lovely - and wow that it only took 2 balls! I like the bit about mistakes too - anyway, you;d never notice one teensy mistake in a big shawl :)
Your Kiri is stunning! And yes KSH and jeans go well together. Bravo!
Love it! You do wonderful things with lace. I wish I had the patience! I have lots of plans for the spring though :)
so lovely! yey! and i completely agree about that imperfections thing - especially with kidsilk haze! after all, if you wanted no mistakes, you'd buy something machine knit. hand knit means unique, and yours is. and it's gorgeous :)
Kiri looks majestical in KSH Majestic! I really liked the way you blocked it stretched into decorative points.
This is a stunning piece, MJ! I love the way it looks on you :)
Your shawl is just lovely. I really like how you wear it as a scarf too. The comments were closed for the Monday post...so I thought I'd leave it here. You have great taste in yarn and books...love the KSH; ) And your Grace sweater is beautiful..looks so cozy!