Finished! :)

The extra yarn I ordered came in REALLY quickly!  A week ago today, actually.  I'm proud to say that the shawl is finished.  I have a couple of hats to make to send with it before I pop it in the mail.  I really hope my cousin likes it.  The pattern (a beautiful one by Rowan) is called "Birch" and is available for free when you register at their website.  The pattern calls for a mohair yarn but I wanted something a little more "meaty".  So without further adieu, here is my lovely finished shawl:

Having never blocked a shawl before (this is my first one!), I didn't realize what a task it was.  I chose to pin it instead of using blocking wire but I'm happy with the way it turned out even though it took me HOURS to pin..  Pinning a shawl + OCD= Me kind of wanting to pull my hair out.  It wasn't so bad as to prevent me from making another one though and I actually have another one on the go.  Same pattern but in a medium weight yarn.  

The pattern was an easy one, I had the repeats memorized before too long.  A great pattern for my first try at lace knitting!

Coming up short.. eep!

So the beautiful yarn I ordered from The Wooly Rhinoceros came in a little over a week ago.  I should have taken pictures of the yarn before I started working on my shawl but I was so excited to cast on that I completely forgot about it.  The yarn is BEAUTIFUL.  I want to eat it.  Seriously.  The colours are so vivid and the way they fade in and out of each other is amazing.  I'm so happy with it.

The ONLY issue I've had?  I didn't order enough.  The lady at The Wooly Rhinoceros put a ball aside for me in case I needed it but I was fairly certain I would be ok.  GAH!  I guess I should have known better.  This being a time sensitive project (my cousin isn't doing very well from what her sister relayed to me the day after I got the yarn in the mail) I should have had the foresight to just order the extra ball.  I have my fingers crossed that I get it to her soon, or even better that she beats this and is able to wear her shawl for years and years to come.

Since I don't have the shawl finished, I won't post a photo of the whole thing but here is a nice close-up of the detail:

Because it's not finished I haven't blocked it yet but it is SO pretty.  A great first attempt at lace knitting AND I've been wanting to make a shawl for a while now but was afraid to (it being a larger project and I tend to have a touch of ADD when I'm knitting/crocheting- not to mention the fact that I need things I can easily put down so I can keep after my little one and make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble).

I'll make sure I post pictures once it's finished :)