Ocean Depths Laminaria

Here is my finished Laminaria shawl!

Pattern: Laminaria by Elizabeth Freeman
Yarn: Claudia Handpainted Silk Lace in color Ocean Depth (100% silk)
Needles: from US2.5 to 4
Started:  April 14, 2010 (it ended up hibernating for quite a while)
Finished:  February 12, 2011
Finished Dimensions: 62 inches wide by 34 inches high.
Modifications:
1.  I did 4 star chart repeats, and reversed the direction of the star stitch to mirror the texture on either side of the spine.
2. I did 9 blossom repeats.
3. I transitioned from a US2.5 needle at the star chart, to a US 3 and then to a US 4 needle by the second or third blossom chart repeat – the lace didn’t seem as airy as I was looking for with the smaller needle, even though the yarn is very thin.  I’m very happy I went up on the needle size, because it made the final shawl very light and open.
4. I added an eyelet to row 5 of Edging Chart 1, to avoid the ‘alien face’ appearance in that edging section. (If you view some other projects on Ravelry you’ll see what I mean! One knitter even named her shawl ‘Le Cri’ because it reminded her of Edvard Munch’s painting!)
5. I added pale blue silver lined beads to the edging charts – wherever motifs were coming to a point, and in a few other places as well.

I’m ever amazed at the miracle of lace blocking – you take this lump of undefined knitting and transform it into a thing of beauty.  It always delights me –  I think that’s one of the main reasons I love knitting lace shawls so much.

Here it is before blocking:

And here it is blocking:

I didn’t force the blocking too much, since silk is pretty fragile when wet.  But because I had gone up needle sizes, and worked double yarnovers in the second half of the shawl, I was able to really open up the lace without stressing the yarn too much.

I’m very, very happy with it!  I think it will look fantastic with my black gown, too.