Knitting: Garden View Shawlette

Believe it or not, I have been knitting a few things that weren't for charity, and this shawlette is one of the projects I recently finished. I made it for my mother, who tends to get cold sitting in church during the winter months.

It was my first shawl project, and I did run out of steam about 3/4 of the way through it. I suspected that I would. But I made myself pick it back up and finish it, and I'm really glad I did. It turned out beautifully.

Since most of my family isn't big on handwashing delicate items (I'm not either), I made this from acrylic.

As you can see, I laid it out on my ironing board and used a steam iron to block it. You've never heard of blocking acrylic before? Don't worry, I hadn't either. I found out about it on Ravelry and was pointed to this excellent article about it from Bead Knitter. This blocking method helped me to get it stretched to the correct dimensions - and stay there.

Here's a closeup of the leaf-pattern edging that makes this shawlette so pretty.

If you're interested in making one, it's a free pattern on Ravelry called Garden View Shawlette. It's really easy, and it's a great first shawl project.