Finished... kind of

well I posted a few weeks ago and asked yall to help me decide what to make for myself out of this wonderful luxurious Alpaca yarn, you may remember it but if not you can refresh your memory here. I really struggled with choosing just the right pattern and I had to really think hard about how to decide what was best for the yarn, and for me.

I finally choose this pattern here called the Pineapple Shawl. It was not in the original mix of shawls but I found that it fit best into what I needed and wanted in a shawl.

I finished it a few days ago but was reluctant to post pictures or a blog because really it needs to be blocked to show off its true beauty! The biggest problem is that we have had one cold day after the next and blocking is a wet process and will require me to pin the finished product to my bed. This means I will need a fairly warm day void of rain to be able to leave the bedroom door open and the fan blowing on high in order to vacate the room of the smell that I am told will come from my beautiful project.

If you want to learn more about blocking please check out this blog. It is filled with wonderful tips and tricks on blocking projects.

now for the few pictures I took. I was not very good at taking pictures as I was working the shawl. It really didn't take me long to complete it. I calculated it took about 6 hours total, and only 4 days. that was working on it a bit here or there in those 4 days time.

The first picture I took was the first night and it was only an hour of work.

I used no flash, but I wanted you to see the depth of black

The flash washed out the black a bit in this picture, but you can see the stitches a little better. The edges are curled up slightly which makes viewing the true splendor of this shawl a bit difficult until its blocked. Once its blocked I will have to post a new blog to show you all the wonderful splendor of it completely finished. 

I am in love with my pineapple shawl. It lays perfectly and is warm enough when I just need that something light over my shoulders. I love how pretty it is and how elegant it looks if I use my Great Grandmothers Cameo to pin it shut. Please let me know what you think. 

O and if your so inclined to ask  "Will you make me one?"  or any variation of said question...

The answer is  YES for a price! I charge $10.00 an hour for my labor plus the cost of materials. The cost of Materials is to be paid up front and you are welcome to choose any materials you want. I also charge actual shipping costs, so if you live somewhere in a distant land you will be charged the cost of whatever shipping agent I can find is the cheapest to ship the finished product to you. I am allergic to wool so I do not ever work with it. I however am not allergic to Alpaca, Cotton, or any acrylic yarn. 

Saturday edition

The weekends are a lot like the weekdays around here only nosier because thats when all the neighborhood kids are around.

We are not early risers in this house. More of the mid morning type, not really late but some people would seriously balk at the idea of getting up every morning between 8-9am. Some mornings I think getting up earlier then the kids would be nice, but on those mornings when I attempt it they just get up early because they hear me doing anything in the kitchen and hate to be left out! That makes it contrary for me to get up. While I love spending as much time as I can with my kids (why would I homeschool if I didn't?) there are times that I really would like to just be alone with my thoughts.

This morning is no different. I got up first this morning. let the dogs outside, did my morning work out and now am sitting here with my hot drink trying to write up this blog and having my thoughts interrupted by children running around behind me tossing the ball with the dogs rolling on the ground playing 'keep away' and making other noises. I just do not understand how to get those quiet moments without them hearing me. Its like they have supper mommy detection or something.

In other news... The shawl is finished! Expect a blog all about it with detailed pictures to come soon. I was going to try and have it done today but I simply do not think that will happen. We are having guests for dinner and I still have to block it. I will take pics of it before blocking, during blocking and after blocking but I wont put the blog together until it is all done and I can show the process. Of course there are not many pictures of it in different stages of starting and stopping because I started it and worked on it a total of 6 hours. There was a few days in between but total work time was only 6 hours and I just never thought to take a picture at the end of the night when I was nearly finished with it.

I hope all you lovely readers have a great Saturday.

The final decision

I made my choice on the shawl I wanted to start. It ended up not being any of the ones that I had posted pictures of. Go figure!

I took into consideration all the votes and I almost started the vintage pattern. I likely will still do the vintage one but just not in the black alpaca that I so desperately wanted to get my hands on! I love the vintage style and I agree with those that said it was so much like me. However it did not have quite the elegant style I wanted. I love the shape of the vintage style one. I wanted one that was round around the back, and had that flow to it. I wanted something that I didn't have to piece together later, which is the one thing that I hate about any square that you make. The pieces are a pain and it feels tedious! So while I loved the elegant shawl I posted I just could not imagine having to put all those squares together after having made them all.

So onto the style I did choose...

This is called a Pineapple shawl because the pattern resembles the pineapple in the center. I love how simple and lacy it looks and I think its elegant but could easily be worn with jeans and t-shirt. I started it night before last and have already come a good way. I only have worked on it for about an hour and a half so far, but here is a picture of the progress. 

The pattern is free, and can be found by going here. It is supposed to be an intermediate pattern but so far I do not feel it is all that complex. If you know how to triple crochet then it is fairly simple. I will post pictures and blog about the progress and the final process once the project is completed so please check back often to find out how it turned out.