Finished Object! Knitted Manta Ray Cover

This week I finished the lace shawl I was knitting. The basis of the shawl was an 'equation' which we were given in our knitting class. You begin at the centre of the longest edge and keep increasing on alternate rows until the shawl is as large as you wish. You can use any kind of pattern on the two panels. As I'm impatient, mine is really a bit smaller that I'd like, but never mind! The final object is more of a neckerchief than a shawl.

For the lace pattern, I chose a Chevron and Eyelet Lace from my 'Vogue Dictionary of Knitting Stitches' - have I mentioned how much I love this book? It looks a wee bit dated now, but is an absolute wealth of stitches.

I had previously attempted to use a different lace pattern, but kept getting in a mess. The chevron and eyelet worked well because it used only multiples of stitches instead of multiples plus x stitches, so I was able to put stitch markers between the repeats to help me keep track of where I was. This was absolutely invaluable.

I had assumed that the pattern would give me a nice zig zag on the cast off edge but sadly not. Next time I might try a different lace pattern for the last part so I have a variation from the straight edge.

The yarn I used was Artesano Inca Cloud, a 100% Alpaca yarn which I purchased for £1.20 a ball at Mandors, meaning that this knit cost less that £2.40 as I used less than 2 balls. The wool is beautifully soft, and I love the rich colour. It also blocks very well. Incidentally, the post title is thanks to my husband, who described the shawl thus when I had it pinned out for blocking.

My knitting class comes to an end next week, but I am determined to crack sock knitting by then. I turned the heel of a sock this week, so once I finish my first one I just need to knit the matching one before I forget how I did it!

K x