Thanks all for your comments yesterday on my blocking shots! I used blocking wires I got from Knitpicks along the top and down the center. There was a question as why I did it down the center. I’m not sure – because I saw Anne do it in one of her blocking shots? It gave some stability to the blocking? I don’t know for sure, but I’ll do it again.
There probably won’t be true FO pictures (in the form of a photoshoot with me and the shawl) for a while yet, but I thought I’d throw you a few pictures and some of my impressions of the project while they’re fresh in my mind.
The first and biggest thing to tell you is that it didn’t turn out the way I had hoped. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but it’s the truth. And it’s not the fault of the pattern or the yarn or anyone really but me. And Wendy, I guess, because she knit what I thought was the ideal version.
When I was looking for a new shawl, I stumbled upon Wendy’s Moth and fell in love! Look at those CORONAS! I’m not sure what she did to get those, but clearly I didn’t do it!
When it came time for me to bind off, I remembered that Wendy had wrote she had gone up a couple of needle sizes because the pattern said bind off very loosely and she usually binds off pretty tight. I’m the same way – I bind off VERY tight, so I went up to size 8 needles and started to bind off. (I knit the shawl with size 6s.) It was evident pretty early on that my bind off wasn’t loose at all. So I went up to 9s and it seemed okay and I bound off and if you’ve ever bound off like 500+ stitches when I was done I wasn’t going to do it again, tight or not tight.
I knew right away when I started blocking it that it wasn’t going to work the way I had wanted. And I won’t lie to you – I was disappointed. I had a vision and this wasn’t the vision. The whole time I was knitting the shawl I could see how it was going to look. All pinned out it was a bit smaller than I had hoped as well. I got the 36″ the pattern called for in the length from top to point (and I would’ve liked it go a bit deeper) and I lost about 10″ on the span – mine only goes to about 74″ and the pattern calls for 84″. I also didn’t get much of a point at the bottom – not sure why?
Now, of course, I COULD rip out the bind off and redo it and reblock the whole thing.
Another new thing for me with this shawl? I’ve never knit lace with lace weight yarn. I’ve always used a fingering weight – even sport weight. I’m used to a SUBSTANTIAL shawl. You feel it when it sits on your shoulders. This shawl is so delicate and light and it wasn’t what I was used to. Don’t get me wrong – I love the yarn! I loved working with it, I love the color of it, and I think it’s perfect for the shawl. I will absolutely use this yarn again. But it’s something I have to get used to.
Through this project, I’ve discovered that knitting is more like writing than I thought. When you write, nothing ever turns out the way you envision it in your brain. The words take a different turn, the characters build lives of their own; a story, when it works, becomes what it needs to be DESPITE the writer. One of the things that attracted me to knitting was that you COULD get what you’d envisioned! You could MAKE it be what you wanted it to be. This morning, as I threw my new shawl over my shoulders and felt the delicate softness of the lace, I realized that knits have a mind of their own as well. And that it’s perfectly okay with me.
I’m sorry it didn’t turn out exactly as you envisioned! It’s hard to spend that much time on something and then be disappointed. I will say that yours is still absolutely gorgeous!
I’ve encountered the same thing in my creative life – whether it is knitting, writing, painting, drawing, raising children. . .
When you learn to be flexible and accept the results, you sometimes find, serendipitously, something even better than what you had envisioned. It sounds like you have learned that lesson well. Your shawl is beautiful.
If it’s any consolation, I like your scalloped edge better than Wendy’s coronas. I understand the disappointment of not getting what you thought you would after all that work. But I think your Moth is absolutely stunning. And I’m glad you’re okay with letting this shawl be what it wants to be. Based on your recommendation, I may use that yarn for my MS3.
It’s surprising how much warmth something so delicate and light can generate. It’s beautiful.
That IS a gorgeous color.
Seems to me that much of creating is about giving up control a bit. Or maybe that’s just my approach. I will never be the person spending hours in the kitchen perfecting the apple pie.
Amazing how differently two people’s interpretations of ostensibly the same pattern can be.
i was looking at the blocking shots and loving how the shawl looked almost rounded at the edges and bottom- like an actual set of moth wings. i like your version much better than others i have seen for this reason. i’m glad that, even though you were not thrilled with the result, that you’ve embraced it for what it is. beautiful. good job!
i love your shawl. the color is so beautiful, and i love the pattern.
It is really neat when a project takes on a life of its own. I really found this in painting, too. There is always,for me, that moment of doubt and then you have to leap and let it be what it wants to be. Very cool that your Moth was such an organic process! It is really beautiful.
I too, prefer your version especially its smooth rounded edge and think your shawl is really beautiful. As for the difference, my guess is that Wendy knitted the whole shawl looser and then she had more to play with in the blocking process, but what do I know.
I think the difference is in the way she blocked the Corona’s. If you look at her blocking pics, she really stretched it out,using 7 pins to keep each Corona stretched. She said she’s an aggressive blocker. I’d say she stretched that whole thing almost to the breaking point. 😉
If it means that much to you-redo the bind off, then stretch the heck out of it when you block it. One thing I’ve learned in my 39 years of knitting is that if I’m not happy with it, it’s worth the trouble to fix it so I am. If I don’t, I mutter frustratingly to myself every time I wear the thing.
In the meantime, I love your shawl. It turned out beautiful.
Beautiful shawl. I love the edges on yours, the soft roundness goes with the very light weight lace. On the chair, at least, it looks like it’s meant to be that way. I’d leave this one the way it is and wait for the next one to go for the coronas. I’m sure there will be a next one, right? 🙂
My knitting always takes on a life of its own but I thought that was because I wasn’t a very experienced knitter.
what a lovely shawl! i didn’t get to comment yesterday… and now you’re making me crave a corona..
I’ll bet it’s slight differences in yarn, too. I have some of that Alchemy Haiku — it is FINE FINE FINE. Hm, yeah, I am so technical and precise and good with words. Heh.
I love it, Cara. I love the color, I love the round coronas, I love the little moth wings. It’s an amazing pattern. You’ve learned some things and have a lovely shawl to show for it instead of something… ugly. Too often those “learn from” projects go the other way.
It’s beautiful… it may not match the shawl you had in mind, but it is beautiful.
I know what you mean about Wendy’s edge. I was kind of hoping for an edge like that on my moth as well. If it’s any consolation, I used a size 10 needle to cast off and mine still look just like yours. Your Moth is lovely anyway- even with wavy coronas.
Cara, I love everything about this shawl. It’s stunning, and that color will look amazing on you.
Knitting always seems to take on a life of its own – often in spite of the pattern 😉 That’s one of the things I love about seeing various finished objects all over the interwebs – there’s no ‘better’, no ‘worse’ … just ‘different’.
I think you’ve done an incredible job on the Moth, and it looks stunning … but if the finish is going to gnaw away in the back of your mind every time you wear it, then go back and fix it 😉
It is beautiful, even if it’s not what you envisioned. I think it’s true in any creative endeavor that the finished product probably won’t be what you intended when you began. When it’s exactly what you had in mind, it’s magic; when it’s something beautiful but different, it’s still magic, a different kind. Of course, it can also be all kinds of wrong, which is a pain in the butt if often instructive. (“Doctor, it hurts when I do this!” “Don’t DO that!”)
I do go on. It’s a wonderful shawl.
Well it is truely gorgeous if you ask me!!
I agree with everyone else — it is completely and utterly gorgeous!
Even if it didn’t turn out how you envisioned it, your shawl is still very beautiful! Lace weight does take getting used to, both while knitting and wearing it. But the end products are always worth it!
Maybe I’ll try lace again…
I agree with you about liking Wendy’s corona’s better. They were what originally caught my eye about this shawl. I think that all she did differently was to pin out each individual point while blocking, but I’m not sure.
Maybe you’re too close to it. Put it away for a little while and I bet that you’ll come back to it with appreciative eyes. Much like a piece of writing. Great job!
I really love the color of your beautiful shawl. It reminds me of the luna moth.
I think it’s beautiful. I’ll go over and look at Wendy’s after I write here because right now I don’t believe you about the flaws–it’s gorgeous.
I’m using my first laceweight too–it does seem very delicate (something I don’t consider myself to be!)
It’s a difficult lesson to learn, but one that is worth it in the end. To change the things we can, accept the things we can’t change, and be wise enough to know the difference.
Your shawl is beautiful. I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoy looking at it.
So our stories AND our sweaters are smarter than we are? Crap. I’m doomed.
The shawl looks lovely. Looking forward to the FO shots so we can see it in action.
Dude! I bet you couldn’t see the needles, they flew so fast. It’s lovely and reminds me of a Luna moth.
Dude, it really is ugly, bad color, terrible knitting, bleah. Tell you what, send it to me, ‘kay? Then you won’t have to look at it. I know, I’m a saint 😉
Actually, I agree with everyone else — absolutely gorgeous.
The differences between Wendy’s Moth and yours are striking, but I have to say I like yours better. The curves are not as dramatic, but they are soft and inviting. Love the color too.
Beautiful! You are inspiring me to keep plugging away on my never-ending lace shawl.
Isn’t part of the fun of knitting never really knowing exactly what’s going to slip off the needles in the end?
I love the color you chose by the way, so energetic and vibrant!
It is so beautiful Cara-the color, the pattern and your execution of it, gorgeous! Wear it with a smile!
Just gorgeous! You sure knit this one really fast! Love you sentiment on knitting and writing.
It is so lovely. What a boring world it would be if we all knit the same. Sorry it wasn’t what you invisioned, but it is still just as lovely.
Knit the Mystery Stole 3
I love the soft curves in your shawl…..very soft, very you!
That is gorgeous! The color makes me think of a luna moth (speaking of moths, of course). Mind if I link to it?
cara it’s very beautiful; i just love the light pouring through the fabric in that one photo. tight bindoffs are a drag, i know. try those bindoffs hints i sent you . . they really work for me and i am tightest bind-offer ever (even though all my other knitting is fine, isn’t that weird?)
and hey, did you ever see wnedy’s shawl unpinned?? i wonder if those coronas actually stay that way . . . whenever i pin stuff that drastically, it relaxes back an extra-lot and over time, it becomes just what it wants to be after all.
And once you get used to the laceweight and fingering weight, knitting with worsted feels like wrestling rope into submission.
It’s all relative, isn’t it?
I actually like that scalloped edge better than the big coronas! I think the type of bind off that you do in this one is what really makes the difference, not just the needle size. I did the p2tog bind off (as opposed to the passing stitches over each other regular bind off) and my coronas came out more like Wendy’s (http://seedstitchfo.blogspot.com/2006/10/wing-of-moth.html).
I’m sorry that it wasn’t as you envisioned it (although I’ve seen pics of both and I like yours at least as much if not more). Give it a little time though and I think you will like it more and more for what it IS and not what you IMAGINED it would be.
Beautiful! And, well put about things turning out differently than you expect they will. Congratulations on a beautiful creation!
The good thing about perfection is that there’s many ways to be perfect. I love your version so very much, I do.
Thank you for sharing the bit about projects developing a mind of their own. I think real art is like that. Crafts, maybe not so much. It looks lovely to me.
It is beautiful Cara!
I am taking a step outside my comfort zone to do MS3. It is quite a different experience to just enjoy the knitting without knowing much about what it will be.
It’s beautiful, I so love the colour. And, like others have said, I prefer your soft scalloped edge.
I’m attempting my first laceweight with MS3, and all I’ve done is the swatch thus far. But thanks to you, I may have to buy the Bee Shawl too.
Anne was curious to know whether my coronas stayed as they were after I took the blocking pins out. I blocked my Moth last September. Here’s a photo I took of it this morning after hastily spreading it out on my office chair:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wendyknits/797765359/
Lovely, lovely job Cara.
I’m glad you like the shawl despite its lack of conformance to your vision. I have a hank of Pebble Beach STR that has been ripped out 5 bloody times because it’s not turning into the socks that I want… your ability to love what you ended up with is inspiring!
Even though it didn’t turn out the way you imagined, it is beautiful. Wear it with pride!
When I was binding off my first shawl (Shetland Triangle), my friend recommended the crochet bind-off with a large crochet hook to get the bind off loose enough. It works like a charm!
That is my husband’s favorite color of green so if you REALLY can’t stand it, I’ll do you a favor and take it off your hands. I think it’s lovely. I’m about ready to bind off my Shetland Triangle and hope it will turn out half as well. I may even be forced to try some of that yarn, just for the color. And I too like your edge just as well as I like Wendy’s. It looks more graceful to me. I like, I like.
Ann Carpenter in Dallas, Texas
Love it, and can’t wait to see your bee shawl. I’d seen Wendy’s version, but it didn’t really grab me–I’m allergic to mohair, so I tend to gloss over mohair projects. I didn’t realize that yours was even the same pattern, the yarn texture is so different & the color is so vibrant.
Well, I think that the shawl is truly lovely but if it was mine and I felt about it the way you do, I’d most likely rewet it and block it more aggressively.
::gasp:: So beautiful!
That is the most beautiful piece of knitting I have ever seen, congrats to you and your talent!!
Maybe the blocking wire down the center helps to make sure that you stretch each side evenly and don’t skew the shawl one way or another?
Either way, it is gorgeous. Don’t be too hard on yourself – it is too easy for all of us to be the most critical of our own work.
How funny, because I actually prefer yours! I’m sorry it’s different from your vision, but I’m glad that you’re ok with that!
The moth is so attactive….to light….oooooooo….Love the green, of course you have done a beautiful work here!
so, for some reason, your images are blocked when I read your blog at work, so I finally am able to see your shawl from home – and OMG, it’s SO beautiful!!!!
wonderful, wonderful job! 😀
glad you had fun at Kabuki! 🙂
Meg
so, for some reason, your images are blocked when I read your blog at work, so I finally am able to see your shawl from home – and OMG, it’s SO beautiful!!!!
wonderful, wonderful job! 😀
glad you had fun at Kabuki! 🙂
Meg
Just fabulous! Just what I needed, more projects to start! Your work is so inspiring, thanks for being such an inspiration.
it’s beautiful, ethereal…