The alpaca shawl is downstairs drying on top of my ping pong table right now.
Truth be told, I bound off all the stitches on Saturday. For 24 hours, it sat balled up on the server next to the basement stairs. It was waiting for somebody to take it downstairs and wash it and block it. I knew I didn't have a hope of Dan taking it downstairs. Dan never even sees items sitting on the server waiting to go down. The trick is to block the doorway; then, he'll take it downstairs. So, the shawl sat. I did manage to log into Ravelry and mark my shawl as 100% completed; ah, it is funny how much joy that brought me!
When Nan left me a comment about checking in to see if the shawl was done, it provided the nudge I needed to pick up the shawl and take it downstairs. Thanks, Nan!
I washed it. Then, conditioned it (since, I felt it was a bit scratchy for alpaca. The mill had erred in following the instructions given and mixed the leg fur with the soft body fur. It is the leg fur that is a bit scratchy since it's courser to ward off the elements [per my understanding - by no means am I a farmer]). Then, the hard part started. I pinned it to a sheet folded in half. I pulled and pinned. Then, pulled and pinned some more. By the time I was done, my back was screaming and Jake was whining from having his play time be interrupted (yes, I suppose he is spoiled).
Yet, it was all worth it (unless, of course, you ask Jake. He's not sure yet).
Pictures!
Better pictures coming soon, once it dries and I can bring it upstairs into the sunlight.
6 comments:
Ohhh..Ahh.. ;)
I hope Jake forgave you for the time you ignored him!! A few extra pats, tosses of his fetch toy and a milk bone should bring him around to accepting your apology! It was worth the time you invested. I hope the conditioner softened it up for you, it looks so cuddly, I want it to "feel" cuddly for you too!
Congratulations, that's a beautiful shawl.
Thanks for stopping by my blog and your nice comment about the little bears. It's been fun to come and visit with you.
Gosh, do I understand rightly that you had this yarn custom milled for you? It's a beautiful shawl and the alpaca will be so warm and cozy to wear. Looking foward to the pictures outside :)
Thank you, All! I'm looking forward to wearing the shawl.
But, to answer your question Mr. Puffy, no, I did not have this alpaca specially milled for me. Rather, it came from a local PA alpaca farm. Since the farmer hadn't quite gotton down the art of spinning at the time, she had it milled. It is still a beautiful yarn - just not as soft as other alpaca yarns.
Hurray, looks lovely.
Congratulations! It's very pretty! I'm a fan of alpaca also. :)
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