Finished: Flower Basket Shawl
The Specs:
-Pattern: Flower Basket Shawl, by Evelyn A. Clark, from Interweave Fall 2004.
-Yarn: Knitpicks Alpaca Cloud.
-Skeins: Two 50g skeins in the color "stream heather" knit doubled. 95g used total.
-Needles: Size 10 Brittanies.
-Start to finish: Spring 2005 - April 29, 2007.
Notes:
Started way back in the spring of 2005, this shawl has been lurking in the bottom of my knitting basket for a remarkably long time. It was the first lace project I ever attempted and I'm not ashamed to admit that it kicked my heinder the first time around. But what a difference a couple of years can make! I pulled this one out and finished up the remaining 3/4ths of the shawl in less than a week (much of this on a single Saturday I spent at home recovering from a stomach bug).
Put on your party dresses kids, it's a finished flower basket!
The Pattern:
I can't say I loved knitting this one, but the pattern was everything it needed to be: clear and free of mistakes. I found that using a large number of stitch markers and counting my stitches at the end of every row really helped keep things moving along smoothly.
The Yarn:
Nice and soft and insanely affordable. The alpaca makes this one Very Warm shawl.
Mods:
Way back when I started this one I must have decided that I didn't like how small the shawl looked in this picture, so I went up three needle sizes from a 7 to a 10. Time went by and I forgot that I had done this, so when I picked it back up again I decided to add two lace repeats to ensure that it wouldn't be too small. I used a short set of straight needles (not recommended, I could hardly get all the stitches on there at the end) so I had no way to know how big this shawl was until I bound off and held it up. Turns out that mine is a whole 14 inches wider than the original...larger than I had anticipated, but just fine with me!
Final Verdict: You have no idea how satisfying it is to finish this one up. Happiness all around!
Comments
Very beautiful. A wonderful match for your beautiful dress too.
Posted by: Heather | May 10, 2007 3:58 PM
Beautiful Flower Basket - I love your enlarged version! and such a pretty photo on the lawn!
Posted by: Pat | May 10, 2007 4:02 PM
Purty! That's an awesome dress, too.
Posted by: Rachel | May 10, 2007 4:03 PM
This is amazingly beautiful! Big wow.
Posted by: Asaknitter | May 10, 2007 4:06 PM
Lovely! I'm sure it is well worth the wait. And I agree - love the dress!
Posted by: Disentangled | May 10, 2007 4:14 PM
Stunning. I have an old lace WIP languishing here at my house. Thanks for the inspiration to pick it up again. :)
Posted by: nikki | May 10, 2007 4:14 PM
hi elli, this is a beautiful shawl, with your lovely dress, too. i'm not a big fan of knitting lace shawls but i do love this pattern a lot.
Posted by: blossom | May 10, 2007 4:20 PM
WOW. It's totally gorgeous. Love the dress, too.
Posted by: earthchick | May 10, 2007 4:25 PM
It is GORGEOUS!
Posted by: Deb | May 10, 2007 4:28 PM
I love it! The only thing that's really kept me from knitting it was the small size...I wanted something bigger, so I thought I'd go with a different 1st lace project. Do you think it's simple enough for a beginning lace knitter?
Posted by: libraryliz | May 10, 2007 4:41 PM
That is gorgeous! Fantastic job!
Posted by: tiennie | May 10, 2007 4:50 PM
How simply gorgeous! I love the dress also!
Posted by: beckie | May 10, 2007 4:56 PM
So pretty! And that dress, FAB! What a better way to show off a pretty shawl than with a pretty dress!
Posted by: yaiAnn | May 10, 2007 5:06 PM
So beautiful Elli! I actually like that it turned out bigger than the original pattern - I always thought that it was a little too small. Pretty dress too :)
Posted by: Wendie | May 10, 2007 5:13 PM
wow, beautiful! I'm really blown away by your styling and photos!
Posted by: Steph | May 10, 2007 5:14 PM
love the shawl and what a pretty dress!
Posted by: claudia | May 10, 2007 5:33 PM
This is one of the prettiest FBS I've seen in blogland. It's just beautiful!
Posted by: Liz K. | May 10, 2007 5:33 PM
Oh gorgeous shawl and you look so lovely too!
Posted by: Sasha | May 10, 2007 5:53 PM
wow!! so beautiful!!
*and can I come and steal your dress?*
Posted by: yuvee | May 10, 2007 5:58 PM
Just gorgeous!! oooo, just, wow! It looks so good as a "full" shawl rather than a little shawl-lette. I applaud you as I attemt my first actual Lace weight project. I've knit lace before but the smallest weight yarn was fingering. You give me hope!
Posted by: Dawn | May 10, 2007 6:03 PM
stunning!
Posted by: rohanknitter | May 10, 2007 6:11 PM
Absolutely beautiful!
I've been looking for a new shawl to knit! I even have the yarn, JaggerSpun Zephyr in Peacock. but I think I'll go single strand as it's for my Mum and she's quite small, don't want to swamp her ;)
Thanks for the idea.
Posted by: Ella | May 10, 2007 6:55 PM
Wow that shawl is gorgeous and it looks wonderful with your dress. I sooo want to make one now, espceially with the affordable alpaca cloud!!
Posted by: nubiancraftster | May 10, 2007 7:49 PM
That is amazing! I really like the alpaca doubled. It gives the finished product a nice (perceived) mass. Great job!
Posted by: james | May 10, 2007 8:22 PM
Lovely, and so are your photos!
Posted by: leslie | May 10, 2007 8:44 PM
Beautiful! All of it...that shawl and your dress. I'm sure it must have felt good to finish that knit.
Posted by: Bee | May 10, 2007 9:14 PM
it's goregous!! talk about a fantastic shawl two years in the making!! lovely job!
Posted by: margaux | May 10, 2007 9:19 PM
What a beautiful shawl and your dress looks so pretty!
Posted by: lyn | May 10, 2007 10:10 PM
Beautiful! I actually love this pattern. It is so easy to memorize and goes by so fast.
Love it.
Posted by: isel | May 10, 2007 10:12 PM
Great job! Knitting thin yarn on large needles sure makes a big shawl!
Posted by: grumperina | May 10, 2007 11:08 PM
Well, that is fabulous! And it compliments your dress beautifully. I have that pattern in my queue, perhaps I should move it up!
Posted by: nova | May 11, 2007 12:19 AM
This is my favorite FBS yet - great party dress, too! You are a stunner!
Posted by: Julia | May 11, 2007 12:28 AM
That is so beautiful, the color especially. I really love your dress, too!
Posted by: my favorite yarn | May 11, 2007 2:02 AM
soOoO pretty. Wow, I love it in that shade of blue.
Posted by: Julia | May 11, 2007 2:22 AM
WOW!!! I LOVE you version, this will have to go on my wish list!
Posted by: Ana | May 11, 2007 6:28 AM
Wow! That is wonderous. I think it's been about a year since my first attempt at lace - maybe I too should try again.
Please, tell us more about your beautiful dress as well!
Posted by: Mandy | May 11, 2007 7:11 AM
I like it even better more open like this (larger needles). Lovely colour on you.
Posted by: Emily | May 11, 2007 7:14 AM
Gorgeous! I love that you got all dressed up for the photo shoot -- I certainly hope that after you were done you took the shawl out and showed it a good time!
Posted by: Sarah | May 11, 2007 7:55 AM
Lovely! The size is perfect!
Posted by: Moe | May 11, 2007 8:04 AM
Beautiful!!! I like it bigger - the functionality of the original size just didn't look feasable.
Posted by: stacey | May 11, 2007 8:28 AM
beautiful. It is a good match with the colourful dress.
Posted by: handknit168 | May 11, 2007 8:30 AM
Your shawl turned out beautifully. And what a cute dress!!
Posted by: carrei | May 11, 2007 8:44 AM
Awesome! This is great to see because I'm about to start my own Flower Basket Shawl and I love seeing how people have modified patterns with different yarns, needle sizes, etc.
Posted by: Kelly | May 11, 2007 9:04 AM
Good call on sizing up--twice! That's a great color, too. It looks wunnerful, esp. with that dress.
Posted by: Stephy | May 11, 2007 9:21 AM
SWOON.
Posted by: Messie | May 11, 2007 9:58 AM
I love it bigger--it's beautiful!
Posted by: Vickery | May 11, 2007 10:09 AM
i love how LARGE it is. great!
Posted by: j a r e d | May 11, 2007 11:05 AM
How gorgeous! Both the shawl, AND the dress!
Posted by: whitney | May 11, 2007 11:11 AM
From germany: 10 points including the dress :o))
greets, Eva
Posted by: Eva | May 11, 2007 11:14 AM
Lovely shawl!
Posted by: Lucy Sweetland | May 11, 2007 11:35 AM
lovely! Plus, congrats on finishing an old UFO, and on the knitting smarts you've gained since you set it down. :)
Posted by: pamela wynne | May 11, 2007 2:37 PM
LOVE. IT.
Posted by: Jae | May 11, 2007 3:33 PM
Gorgeous! (LOVE your dress.)
Posted by: brooke | May 11, 2007 5:44 PM
The shawl is smashing! I am glad to see that the Alpaca Cloud works even using size 10's - I just did a shawl on size 4's (for my sister) and was wondering how I would choose to make one as big as I would like it to be for myself (someday, should I ever get around to it). And isn't that blocking just magical?
Posted by: Karen Lauterwasser | May 11, 2007 7:10 PM
Very pretty, and I also love the dress!
Posted by: Meredith | May 11, 2007 9:51 PM
Wow, it's gorgeous!
Posted by: Emily S. | May 12, 2007 4:03 AM
...and it's gorgeous!
Posted by: Elemmaciltur | May 12, 2007 7:05 AM
The shawl is beautiful and I love how well it matches your dress.
Posted by: Jo | May 12, 2007 8:07 AM
The shawl is beautiful!
Posted by: Jen | May 12, 2007 1:43 PM
It's beautiful Elli! Nice dress, too. I wish you well to wear it, and congratulations on finishing! X
Posted by: Philippa | May 12, 2007 6:21 PM
Stunning! It looks especially perfect with your pretty dress. I really need to make me a flower basket shawl.
Posted by: Erin | May 12, 2007 6:28 PM
Hot-cha! V cute and sexy. You're the best knitter in the universe.
Posted by: Rae | May 13, 2007 11:01 AM
Glorious! And I covet that dress.
Posted by: Sarah | May 13, 2007 1:03 PM
It looks wonderful, and I love the larger size of it.
Posted by: Christy / Not Hip | May 13, 2007 11:53 PM
Beautiful and inspiring. I know what you mean about the difference between a beginner lace knitter and later. I've been at lace for almost a year and Evelyn Clark's patterns used to boggle me, but now I really enjoy it!
Posted by: DonnaC | May 26, 2007 8:32 AM