BEDROOM SHAWL

Last winter I started to make an Elizabeth Zimmermann "Ribwarmer" vest (from The Knitting Workshop) with this nice grey yarn I had in my stash. I loved the way it felt--even though it's acrylic--but I ran out and couldn't find any more, not even another in a close shade. I had been doing a bit of nightly knitting before going to bed, sitting up in bed propped up with pillows, but my shoulders were chilly. So I decided to use that yarn and make a simple triangle shawl with the grey yarn--essentially a garter stitch washcloth pattern (k1, kfb, k to end) until I ran out of yarn. I got to 150 stitches across and bound off. It was nice and warm, but a teensy bit smallish.

Inspired by the way Wendy Johnson had added the lace edging to her Pinwheel Sweater, I thought I could add a lace edging to make it a bit larger while also learning how to attach lace and do more lacework. I looked through a lot of books and online, with limited luck in finding an edging that you attach as you go and that turned a sharp corner. Then I took A Gathering of Lace out again and found an edging (Shaped Triangle) that looked like it would work--though I had to adjust a bit for the much smaller number of rows (and a number that did not divide appropriately)--lots of graphing! I didn't have any other grey to even come close in color, so I first tried a very light,clay-ish shade. I got one side done--and ran out of yarn and didn't have any more.



Frog time!. Then I thought I'd try a pink (didn't like any of the colors I had) or a blue--and found this one skein of turquoise acrylic yarn, a bit fuzzy and very soft. After much ripping out at the start, I got into the rhythm--and remembered to use life lines. I finished it today--with one inch left over after binding off. I had tried putting on the top edging (with a slightly darker turquoise yarn), but didn't like the way it was coming out. It is not meant to wear in public, just at home.