Thursday 20 August 2015

Sea Glass Shawl Finito

I told you about starting the sea glass shawl a few weeks ago. I crocheted the first two rows of motifs, plus a couple of motifs on the third row, in the car. I wanted to make sure I had enough yarn to finish, so I then brought the shawl into the house to weigh and weigh the remaining yarn. A quick calculation and I was able to determine that I needed to buy another ball of yarn. A bit annoying as it comes in 100g balls! I only needed to use it for three motifs and the edging so I have a lot left over. Never mind, I will use it for something else; maybe a nice lacy scarf.

Anyway, it didn't take long to get all the motifs crocheted and joined. They're actually joined as you go, on the last round. At this point I needed to consult the pattern to see how to work the edging. Now in my first post about starting the shawl, I said that I was using a 3.5 mm hook. And in this post I said that I'd made a mistake and should have been using a 3.25 mm hook. When I consulted the pattern about the edging, I discovered that I had been right all along; it says to use a 3.5 mm hook. It's bad enough to think you've been mistaken but to realise that you've mistakenly thought you were mistaken is a little worrying!

You'd like to see the finished shawl now, I suppose. Here it is before it had the ends sewn in and been blocked.


What a difference blocking makes to lace work especially. It really opens out the design and makes it, well, lacy. This is the dress I'll be wearing with the shawl to the wedding. It has lots of beading at the neck so I didn't do any beading on the shawl.



These pictures were taken this morning when it was nice and sunny. We've actually had some better weather recently. But it is getting cloudy now, we've had a few showers and it's very windy. Hopefully it doesn't knock the power off again. Our power was out for several hours last night even though there was no apparent reason for it.


I'll get more pictures at the wedding so you can see the whole ensemble, shoes and all.



At the stage when I realised that I needed another ball of yarn, I was really temped to add an extra row of motifs to the shawl. I'm very glad that I didn't; it's plenty big enough once it's been blocked.


A close up of one of the starfish motifs.


I always thought that starfish had five legs but it's not uncommon for them to have six. In fact, they've been known to have just about any number of legs up to twenty-three!


Please let me know what you think of my shawl. I love reading your comments. Thanks for them all and a big welcome, too, to my new followers.

If you don't already know, have a look to see why I say finito.

35 comments:

  1. That shawl is absolutely stunning!
    I am actually learning to crochet, I'm just practicing double crochet and I can't seem to get a straight edge, It's annoying, and then I see you... do this. Just wow! Gorgeous!
    I hope you have a great weekend, Tammy x

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    1. Keep practicing and you'll soon get the hang of it.

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  2. The shawl is lovely, and I love the colour. You will rock at the wedding!

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  3. It is georgous! Love it paired with your dress.

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  4. hi gillian...a lovely ensemble of the shawl and dress...each color is a stand-out...it takes time and patience to block the shawl properly...and the result is awesome...with the shawl's color you'll be able to mix and match with many outfits...congratulations on a beautiful project...wishing you a fine weekend..take care...sally

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  5. I have finished all the motifs as per the pattern and am just starting some more because I am not sure that it will be big enough. How much did yours "grow" when you blocked it? Could you drop me an e-mail and let me know please? Thank you so much! Your shawl is absolutely beautiful!!!! The colour is gorgeous and it looks fabulous with that dress! Hope you enjoy the wedding! Mine is for a wedding too! xx

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    1. I'll email you tomorrow.

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    2. Please share the answer! It is always interesting to know such details about how yarns and projects/stitches behave. Your shawl looks excellent, by the way!

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    3. My shawl started at about 55” by 17” before it was blocked. After blocking, my shawl is now 72.5” wide and 24” deep.

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  6. That is gorgeous Gillian, love the pattern, LOVE the colour and I can't wait to see the photos of the whole ensemble. Well done!
    Caz xx

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  7. It's so beautiful, Gillian. You did a wonderful job with it. Wear it well.

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  8. Your shawl looks wonderful! Wish that the weather will be better next time, especially for the wedding day!
    Birgit

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  9. Very pretty - you are so talented.

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  10. Wow, this is beautiful work, Gillian! And a great choice of yarn.
    Amalia
    xo

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  11. I love this, it's so pretty, and looks really good on your dress, you'll make a smash at the wedding! : ) xx

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  12. It's beautiful and such a pretty colour.

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  13. How pretty, Gillian! It turned out wonderfully. I love it.

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  14. I think your shawi is beautiful, I don't think there would be much of a difference to the hook size anyway and it doesn't really matter for a shawl, it looks perfect I love it. :) xx

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  15. Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, so delicate and pretty xx

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  16. The shawl looks so delicate and lacy. I'm sure you will get lots of comments when wearing it. Thanks for sharing and have a blessed day.

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  17. oh my, that is truly beautiful, you are so talented x

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  18. It looks wonderful!! :) Perhaps you can make a matching braclet with the left over yarn?

    Take care
    Anne
    Crochet Between Worlds

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    1. Possibly. Or maybe a small clutch bag. Have to finish some other things first!

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  19. I really like the color. and it is elegant. I wish I could crochet something I wear like you!

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  20. Gorgeous, Gillian! I don't crochet much (I knit more than crochet) but shawls scare me - I'm afraid of dropping so many stitches and getting so frustrated. You're braver than I am!

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  21. Beautiful shawl. I love shawls.

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  22. Your shawl is absolutely gorgeous Gillian, I don't know how you manage to crochet in the car but you make a great job of it. Blocking makes such a huge difference to lace, my first lace project got me hooked on blocking. I hope you enjoy wearing it. Hx

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  23. Oh my goodness it is so gorgeous. Well done!
    Meredith

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  24. it's just gorgeous Gillian, and I love the colour. One of these days I would love to try and make something like that.

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  25. Woow, fantastic! ♥ A wonderful shawl. Blocking is annoying but it's so worth the effort when you see how much lace patterns profit from it! I'm sure you will get lots of compliments on that shawl :-). Have a good day! Nata xxx

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  26. This shawl is really gorgeous! I have seen the pattern, as well ands as I have some Drops lace yarn in my stash I am tempted to try it, as well. But there are other projects I want to finish first. I am curious how you will look at the wedding. Viola

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  27. Great job Gillian!
    I would be quite unable to do something like that myself!
    Thanks for for your visit to my blog :)

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  28. That's a work of art. Love the intricate work, great job.

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  29. Dear Gillian, wow, you did such a great job! I love how clear the pattern has become with the blocking. And that blue colour is just stunning. It's the sort of shawl that will go with just about anything! But I don't think you should just save it for very special occasions, try and wear it whenever you feel like it and you will see how much wear you will get out of it. I think this pattern would also look great in a mauve colour!! Totally love it!!!!
    Enjoy your weekend!
    Ingrid xx
    Myfunkycrochet.blogspot.be

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