I finished something! ~ guest blogger WillyG

Yay!  I finished something for the KAL!

I know, I know, it's not even a full week.  Like I said before, I was on vacation. But it really is a simple knit once you get going, and as lace goes,  pretty easy to catch/fix mistakes.  (And I did so.)

This shawl is all about imperfection.

See the little plying error?  I had a few of these.  As I got further into the shawl, I figured out how to tack these to the back of the fabric as I knit, but earlier on there are a few oddities to keep the perfectionists busy.

I also noticed as I knit that the color transitions came out a bit stripey for what I had envisioned. Someone overlooked this factor when he was blending the colors!!  But that's okay; I have several ideas for how to remedy this next time.  And there will be a next time.  This was superfun!  I already bought more of the same type of fiber in a different colorway...

Into The Whirled dyes the best colorways, no?

Now for my favorite bits about this shawl.
I love the fabric I ended up with - light and a bit drifty, but not so airy that it annoys me.  For some reason, I like my knits to have a denser fabric than many people - even when it comes to lace.  This turned out perfectly, and I'm delighted I was able to spin it.  WOOT!  Milestone right there.

I also love the color blending in the first section, more by default than anything.  The fibers were longer than the color blocks in the sea foam sections, so the olive crept in.

I'm also in love with the undulating movement created by the simple lace patterning.  For the lace newbies, it takes a bit of blocking to smooth out the natural bumps that form in the fabric, but once you do that it really pops.

I think the simple pattern shows a variety of yarns beautifully; I can't wait to see yours! And once again, happy May!!