Swallowtail for the Crochetress!

I finally finished the swallowtail shawl I was knitting for Shilpa aka Crochetress @ Ravelry. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I have always thought that I can not knit the same pattern twice and I will be bored to death and I surprised myself by knitting the swallowtail again for her. She had this gorgeous mohair lace-weight yarn and asked me if I will knit her this shawl. I am glad she asked me to. I enjoyed working with this yarn. It is by far the softest yarn I have worked with and the color is gorgeous too. Here are a few snaps of the shawl after completion:

This is before blocking:




and, here it is after blocking:






The next photo shows the color close to reality.



Stats:

Pattern: Swallowtail shawl by Evelyn A. Clark
Yarn: Expressions by Kaalund Yarns
Needle: 3.75mm

Now, for some close-ups of the lace pattern:



Here is a close-up of the budding lace:



Here is the Lily of the valley and scalloped edging:



I enjoyed knitting this because I got to knit and I didn't have the pressure of another finished knitted item languishing in my cupboard. The practical side of me always wrestles with the creative side, arguing about how impractical knitting and crochet are as hobbies in a warm-weather country like India. I tell my practical side that I will keep the finished items for a while and then give it away to someone else who will find a use for them. So, when Shilpa asked me to knit this for her, it was the perfect opportunity for me to keep both the practical and the creative sides happy and that is what I did.

I also finished a long-stitch piece recently. I think I started this a year ago and left it to hibernate at the back of my craft cupboard. I recently bumped into it while cleaning the cupboard and I finished it this time. This is one of the Anchor Stitch Kit in their Flash Frame series. I leave you guys with pictures of the finished frame. I did not frame it as it will be traveling across the globe to someone as a kindness package.