A Finished Hemlock

I started it on April 21 and finished it on May 28. I'm not usually that dedicated to a project but this one I just couldn't put down. In fact I needed to work on a summer sweater for a class that I taught but I was a bad teacher and didn't keep up with my students. They forgave me because they were interested in the Hemlock progress too. It turned out just as wonderful as I hoped but I admit that I had grave doubts when I took it off the needle and tried to spread it out and it just wanted to be a blob. I've heard others say that knitted lace doesn't look like anything (some rude comparisons have been made) before it's blocked but when it's your own blob of knitting it is kind of worrying. I wondered if I had put in all those hours for naught.


I soaked it in the tub in tepid water for about a half hour and then pinned it out severely on rubber mats (obtained from Sam's Club) and magic happened! I wish I had gotten a picture of the blob but I was so anxious to see if it would work that I just soaked it and pinned it and forgot. Here's the pinned out picture and the after it's all dry pictures. I used 7 grams less than 2 skeins of Cascade Eco Wool and knit it as big as the chart - 70 rows of the feather and fan pattern. Those rows got very long at the end. I used my scale and weighed the yarn before and after rows to estimate how far I would be able to knit. My object was to get the biggest afghan I could with the yarn I had. I used the crochet cast off because it was easier and used less yarn. The afghan measures 62 inches in diameter across the peaks and 52 across the valleys. I love it! It's such an addicting knit that I'm already planning my next one and have the yarn all ready.