Sherilyn

I finished my Sherilyn shawl over Christmas vacation and have worn it several times since. Between the lovely Ysolda pattern and beautiful color and subtlety of the handdyed yarn, this may be my favorite thing I knit in 2012!

The great thing about finishing this shawl during vacation is that I was able to block it at my parents' house. (Due to my recent move, there isn't any floor space for me to block anything at home right now.) This meant that my mother got to help me pin everything out. She's a fiber artist herself, a weaver, but had never blocked lace before. I think she enjoyed the process once she got used to really pulling the lace open while pinning it.

There is something magical about blocking lace. You get some sense of the pattern while you're knitting it, but the lace doesn't truly shine until it's stretched during blocking. My favorite part of the whole process is removing the pins once the shawl has dried--the fabric stays in the exact shape it dries in. Truly magical stuff.

So now I have a big cozy shawl to keep me warm the rest of the winter. There is nothing like beautiful knitwear to keep the chill out.