Who knew I had the discipline to knit a lace shawl? When I joined the Ravelympics for motivation even the most optimistic parts of me were skeptical. A shawl in 16 days? I’m lucky if I do my laundry once in 16 days let alone a few THOUSAND stitches. But I did it and past the finish line successfully!! So here she is, in all her silky alpaca glory

Pattern: Kiri Shawl by All Tangled Up

Yarn: Alpaca with a Twist – Fino

Needles: 2mm/3mm Knit Picks Options

Notes: I read the pattern through a few times to decide if I liked the charted or written instructions better and I went with the written. I enjoy non-charted projects more because when I’m memorizing the pattern I can read it faster and retain the row in my head easier than a bunch of squares with squiggles. After the first few repeats, I was in love with lace and in love with Fino beyond measure. The sheen of color the baby alpaca has is incredible! At $30 a pop it’s an expensive fiber but one that I will buy again and again.

Oh, and I tried a blocking technique that failed to impress me. Everyone knows about using string as blocking wires right? I followed the directions to a T after Jules reminded me of the cheaper alternative. While I did get a straight nape line, the amount of pins I used would have yielded the same results anyways. I’ll save the time next go around.

Modifications: I used 2mm needles for the body of the shawl and 3mm to bind off. I did exactly 12 repeats.

I saw some knitted polar bears in a baby boutique window. $60 for this cute little guy-yikes.

I apparently have a tiny head, some might say baby sized!

Get it? I’m a Valkiri