The long weekend was great!  I had a stellar weekend!  First and most important I finished knitting and then painting “Painted Ladies”.  The shawl has changed its name from Painted Butterflies to Painted Ladies and the fabric has gone from being entirely creamy and natural – beads and yarn – to an intensely coloured fabric, with only the pearly beads to remind us of its original colours.  The name change came about as I was humming an old rock song the whole time I was painting – “…Painted Ladies and a Bottle of Wine….”.

I love the way the Cashmere/Silk took the dye, the haze created by the cashmere made for soft edges in the colours and the silk core added to the colour intensity.  I am in love with the Handmaiden Silk/Twist – it took colours beautifully – the silk twist added an unexpected highlight of colour.  This added an unexpected depth to the pattern.  I should have used a coloured bead – the pearl bead might be too white.  But each time I knit, bead and paint I learn.  I think that I will write this up as a pattern.  The half circle shawl shape has a very pretty drape.

The loop finish that I added to the long edge works great as a point for pinning the shawl!  I do love the look of the beaded I-cord, but the knitting is slow as you have to knit into the back of every stitch.  There is a bead on every row – how does approx 700 beads on that edge sound?  I underestimated the amount of beads I needed and had to break the yarn and add more about two-thirds of the way through the edge!

Happy Knitting

Lynette

PS –  More about the weekend tomorrow!