Wedding knits

Oh, right! I’ve been so distracted waiting for Jane Austen Knits to get published that I have somehow neglected to tell you about all the OTHER secret knitting I was doing!

My sister got married in August, and that prompted a total of 3 knits — some secret, some less so. I might as well blog about them all now!

For myself, I knit the Gingko Shoulderette Shawl — a lovely, simple pattern requiring just one skein of sock yarn.

Gingko Leaves

 It’s a basic triangular, neck-down shawl with a stockinette body and a sweet little gingko leaf motif on the border. My favourite part? The little tip at the bottom point, in the photo above. Just… mmm.

Gingko border

The yarn is Three Fates Terra Sock, purchased on Etsy because it was such a perfect match for my dress. I rather suspect that it’s better as a sock yarn than a lace yarn (because of the nylon content), but it was a pleasure to knit with, regardless. Here’s the Ravelry project page.

._________._._________.

For my sister, I knit the Damask Shawl by Kitman Figueroa — a stunning pattern, extraordinarily well-written, and probably one of the most gorgeous things I’ve ever knit.

Nupps! Lace! Silk!

I blogged about this shawl earlier, but that was before I had finished-object photos, so let me just give you a little yarn-pr0n now, and refer you to the other post and Ravelry for all the juicy details.

Oh, I love this pattern

Such a graceful, scalloped edge

The shawl needed a perfect closure, of course. I opted for a nickel swirl pin made by Romi.

._________._._________.

And, last but not least… my wedding present for the happy couple:

The wedding gift

This is a variant on the Sock Yarn Blanket, knit mostly with Koigu mill ends, plus bits and pieces of other meaningful projects’ leftovers.

For some reason, the best photos I got of the afghan were from before I added the black border...

I had started making these mitered squares about 2 years before the wedding — long before the actual ceremony, and long before I had any intention of giving it away.

Sock yarn makes for a lovely, drapey blanket.

What you have to know about this blanket is that:

1) My sister is, and always has been, a fan of all things rainbow. Which is why there are photos like this from her wedding, and like this and even this, and also why I knew pretty much as soon as she got engaged that the afghan was definitely going to have to go to her.

2) It takes a lot of 4″ squares (and some 8″ ones) to make a blanket.

Not even all of the squares...

3. When each square has a minimum of 4 yarn ends to weave in (2 black and at least 2 coloured ones) that makes for a LOT of ends.

Yarn ends

4. I don’t care. At all. Because in the end, this afghan makes for really awesome wedding photos. And it couldn’t possibly go to a better home, with a more rockin’ couple!

Rockin' couple