A rewarding evening

I have just accomplished the most epic knitting episode of my life.  I have spent hours and days knitting a ridiculous amount of stitches--rows and rows and rows long, growing and growing with each one.  Before I knew it, I was getting only one or two rows done in an evening, until finally I realized I was at the end.

In joy I cast off yesterday and made the first attempt of blocking.  As the night grew late, and I realized that the edge would not stretch properly, I gave up, unpinned the whole thing, and I headed to bed.

Today, I made the second attempt after I got home from work and stuffed food down my throat.  As I pulled and stretched the fabric as I could, though, I came to realize that I had made an error and needed to undo that final row.

So, slowly and painfully, with the now wet wool on my knees, I undid the final row and re-cast-off 463 stitches with larger needles in order to make the edge stretchy and less tight.  It was a long process, taking me nearly two hours....

And then came the third and, thank goodness, final attempt at blocking.  I was glad that my effort paid off immensely, for there it lies before me now, looking exactly as it should!  What a project it was.

And I think I pulled it off fairly well, if I do say so myself.

I have completed my first shawl.

It looks absolutely gorgeous!  Apparently, according to the directions, the pattern used traditional Shetland lace motifs, though the shape of the shawl is not traditional being triangular and not rectangular.  The merino wool and silk blend yarn draws out these lace motifs marvelously.  (I made the pictures black and white to enhance the pattern.  Unfortunately, I chose to block the shawl on vibrantly-pattern beach towels because of their larger size.  I only have nine blocking squares, each about a foot long, and since the shawl's wingspan is about six feet....)

I have to admit, I didn't expect my interest to stay so well-grounded in the project the whole time.  It was surprising, but I enjoyed it all the way through.  Maybe it was working with that wonderful and soft and delicate yarn?  Or the constantly-changing pattern?  Or looking forward to my mom's pleasure in receiving it?

I'll just have to make one again someday.