And it's Antarktis

This is a Janina Kallo design. She's got a lot of shawl patterns up on Ravelry; most of them non-traditional in the sense that they incorporate asymmetry of design or shape. They're also perhaps a bit less complex and involved than the more-traditional type of shawl derived from Shetland or Eastern European lace patterns.



I started this a LONG time ago - last summer - but because I get distracted by other projects (for some reason, once I start a stuffie, I have to finish it. I don't know if that's because it tends to be a faster and therefore more-instant-gratification project, or if that it represents something "alive" and therefore is deserving of being finished faster). I used a Phydeaux Designs yarn - Beurre in a limited-edition color called Winterfell. It did not take the entire 430 yard or so skein (it was a sockweight yarn).

I'm happy with it. I like it better finished than when I was working on it, when the asymmetry really started to bug me. Also, blocking. Blocking does a LOT to make lace look nicer.

I finished this one over break and blocked it on the living room floor in my parents' house. One drawback to a house with no wall-to-wall carpeting like mine is it's harder to find good places to block. I have a set of the foam "puzzle pieces" that are sold for blocking (kind of like the foam things sold to soften the floor in nursery schools) but for a really large shawl, I don't have enough.

I tend to wet-block things: I wash them in just-barely-warm water with some kind of gentle detergent (here I used Murphy's Oil Soap but I have used shampoo at times), then rinse, then wrap it in a couple of thick towels, roll it up, and squeeze out as much water as possible. Then I pin it out somewhere, stretching to shape (this is important with lace) and leave it until it's dry. (You can really only do this with natural fibers, and it works best with protein fibers (from an animal's coat; cotton and linen are cellulose fibers). They say there's a way to block acrylic but I've never known it to work and I've also heard people talk about "killing" acrylic to block it, where you IRON it under a wet washcloth. I'd be afraid of melting it, and anyway, I mostly use acrylic for amigurumi, which get "blocked," so to speak, when you stuff them.

Here it is on. I didn't think it would match the dress I happened to wear to church but it doesn't look too bad with it:



And from the back. It came out bigger than I thought it would but that's partly careful blocking.



And today was the first day back at what is my "home" church. A couple thoughts:

- it was sort of nice, in an odd little way, to be able to fill out the attendance sheet (most churches I have belonged to have done this) and check "Member of this church" instead of checking "visitor" like I did the past three weeks at my parents' church. Oh, I was a member there at one time but when I moved here I transferred my membership.

- also, it occurred to me: "I'm back with my second family." I guess I'm lucky in that I do have such a congenial and loving congregation to be part of that I think of it as that way.

- Perhaps ironically (or perhaps, "Coincidence is God winking at you") the sermon title for today was "Welcome Home."

- We sang a new-to-me hymn today. (We have a really good new music director and I think she's been working to stretch both the choir and the congregation). It was called Give to the Winds Your Fears. (The tune was familiar: good old Diademata, which I have known since I was a small child). Apparently the hymn is an old, old one, based on Psalm 37 and originally written in German - a short history is here. In our particular hymnal, we have just what are verses 1 and 2 (first stanza) and 6 and 5 (second stanza) of the original Wesley translation but I think those are the most important ones. And it struck me: I am one of those people who always has to fight to avoid worrying, who has a hard time trusting and saying "It will work out as it's meant to work out" (I would argue that's probably the biggest sin I commit on a regular basis: not trusting enough). At any rate, I found it meaningful and I hope we sing it again.