I am requesting your opinion!  In my last post I discussed a shawl that I have been working on.  Originally, the shawl was knitted from one skein of yarn and the edging from a second ball.  When I decided to lengthen it, I needed to add in yarn from the second ball to the body of the shawl.  Then I noticed that there was a difference in the intensity of the colors between the two skeins.  They are both of the same colorway, and there is no dye lot listed.  This was not an issue at all when one comprised the body and the other the edging; it was not even noticeable.  

Here are the questions I am posing:  Is this difference noticeable people other than myself?  Should I keep going with the second ball, which will make 5′ of the shawl in one skein, and the last 1′ and edging out of the second ball, or should I just frog it and wear the short version the way I had originally knitted it.  I notice the difference now, but I am not sure if it will be evident to others.  Any advice you can give will be very helpful!

This weekend I was so excited about finishing my shawl.  I laid it out to do pre-blocking measurements and discovered that when stretched it measured only 60″ instead of the 78″ that the pattern called for.  I picked it up and tried draping it around myself, only to find that it was indeed too small.  There were a number of factors which influenced the smallness of my shawl:  I decided to knit it on size 6 needles, instead of size 7 as the pattern dictated, because the pattern looked nicer knitted at that gauge.  That would normally not make a lot of difference in the size, but when I measured the needle in my gauge checker, it only measured as a 5, even though it was labeled as a 6.  Sigh.  The other contributing factor, and this one is the one I blame most, is that the yarn is 55% silk, which does not stretch. 

So, I frogged the edging on three of the four sides of the rectangle and decided to knit more repeats of the center pattern.  After I finish with that, I can once again knit the edging.  I really wanted to be finished with this.  I even started another shawl, because I thought all I needed was to block this one.  Now that one sits on the back burner while I once again knit the green shawl.  I really dislike having to rip out so much work, but I am a perfectionist and would not be happy with spending time and money on a shawl that would be unsatisfactory.  It really is of no use to me if it is not wearable.  I will post pics when it is finally finished. 

Well, I am feeling better after my bout with the flu and trying to get back on schedule.  It has been a long week, and I have been so bored lying around but have not felt well enough to do much else. 

I do have a finished object.  Before I became ill I started tatting a bookmark for a friend, and I am happy to say that I finished it today and will send it off to its destination tomorrow. 

And, after I finish a bit of seaming and blocking, I should also have pictures of the finished shawl I knitted in those wonderful moody shades that remind me of the camping in the mountains on a foggy morning. 

Posted by Heather’s husband:

I came home from work early on Valentine’s day with the influenza (diagnosed as such by the doctor on Friday).  Heather, being the loving wife that she is, took excellent care of me!  Unfortunately I repaid her by giving her the flu.

As a result she is out of commission for a bit.  She probably won’t be getting a lot of knitting or blogging done, but she’s anxious to kick this as fast as possible!

For those of you who want a sweat treat for Valentine’s Day, go check out Chocolate Lollipop, Anna Maria Horner’s new fabric line from Free Spirit.  I cannot wait until this fabric is available for purchase!  And I think I already found the perfect pattern, if only I can win it on ebay…but more on that one later.