"Haruni" shawl by Emily Ross

WIP: Haruni shawl
Originally uploaded by Asplund

It's really exciting casting off some 700 stitches crowded on a needle: suddenly it's possible to actually see what the project looks like!

My modifications:

1. This shawl is 18x2 repeats wide (instead of the original 12x2). One of the many things I like about the design is that the size is easy to change.

2. Instead of casting of by crocheting and adding chains, I simply cast off as usual but very loosely.

3. In the middle there are three stitches instead of one, simply because I wanted a chunkier "stem" for the leaves. Contrary to what I expected it wasn't necessary to make a double decrease when changing charts for the border.

4. Instead of garter stitch at the beginning and end, I have used stocking stitch and slipped the first stitch. The reason for this is:

5. I just picked up stitches along the hypotenuse to add a border and will turn to Victorian Lace Today for inspiration.

It seems two skeins of wool-silk "Viva" from Wetterhoff will be sufficient. So, what do you do when you have bought three? Return one? Of course not; you buy one more to have enough for another shawl. Plus two skeins of another colour you can't resist.