A very late birthday present: Echo Flower

For a long time I wanted to knit something for my friend Anna María but for some reason or another I never got to do it until now!

At the beginning this shawl was conceived as a KAL with Kristín Hrund and Gummi (we have knitted together already two shawls: Aeolian and Hyrna Herborgar). But the original plan was to knit a Laminaria. We began together and after knitting a few rows we all realized that we didn't like the way it looked so we aborted the mission and took the Echo Flower instead.

The problem was that December came on our way and our KAL fell asleep for a good while. In my case not only because December was terribly busy but also because I had to finish some other projects urgently!

Now, it is finally finished! And most importantly, I finally gave it to Anna... whose birthday was at the beginning of January but anyways!

So, here it is:

Echo Flower Shawlette

Details:

* Pattern: Echo Flower.

* Yarn: Einband.

* Needles: 4.0mm and 5.0 to cast-off

* Flower chart: 9 repeats.

* Nupps: 9 stitches.

* Cast-off: with double thread using the K2Tog method.

Notes:

* This is the second Echo Flower that I knit. The first one was made with Malabrigo lace, which I think was too expensive and nothing extraordinary (except for the color that was really nice, you can see it here).

* I think that Einband is much more nice (and MUCH, MUCH, MUCH cheaper and when it comes to blocking... it blocks BEAUTIFULLY and it holds the shape for a long time (unlike my experience with Malabrigo).

The Border.

* This pattern looks very complicated on paper, especially those 2-into-9 and 3-into-9, which aren't so complicated at all. Those are actually, in my opinion, the most fun part of the whole shawl!.

* For the body I decided to make 9 repeats. Since the beginning I knew I didn't want to make a shawl but a shawlette that would be worn around the neck. I thought that that would suit Anna María's style BEST.

The Body: 9 repeats.

* The nupps. I LOVE nupps. I could knit nupps ALL DAY, EVERYDAY! I made them of 9 stitches because I really like my nupps to stand out and be very visible. Besides, nupps are a great sign of handmade :)

The nupps: 9 stitches. And the bind-off: K2Tog with a double thread.

* The cast-off: I used a double thread, as indicated in the pattern, but I used the K2tog method instead of the P2Tog. I really don't understand why the latter one is proposed as a cast-off for this shawl. For me, K2Tog seems to work perfectly done with a needle one size bigger and very loosely.

* Blocking: I think this is one of the easiest shawls to block that I have made! It took me 10 minutes! I used blocking wires only for the upper section and then pins for every point.

Folded ad ready!

* And finally about the color: Anna María LOVES yellow. I think she is one of the very few persons that I know who loves it, and wears it a lot and what is best: It looks great on her. Actually, the day I went to visit her to give her the shalw she was wearing yellow! As you can see in the picture below! hehe.

Anna María wearing her Echo Flower :)

I have not been taking to many pictures lately... I still have a roll of film at home that I haven't developed and another one in the camera since December! It will be fun to see those pics that I barely remember!

These are some pics I took at the beginning of January. It is at an old cementery that is down town in Reykjavík. It is a really cool place to go for a walk...







I guess that now I will begin to take more pics again... now that days are starting to get longer and longer everyday!!