Dear Ann,
All good things must come to an end, even if they are very, very long good things. Today I bid a fond farewell to the knitting of my Tokyo Shawl, and a warm welcome to years and years of wearing it.
On the train home from Boston on Saturday, I knit the last gently slanting rows, and wove in the ends. As soon as I dropped my grip in the front hall, I washed the shawl in the kitchen sink, squoze out as much water as I could, and activated my blocking wires. It was only when the shawl was off the needles and lying flat that its architecture: three columns of stacked blocks, separated by two long diagonal sections, became clear. Taking advice from our reader Carol M., I lined up the edges of the shawl using my blocking roll’s grid for reference. I only used 6 wires for the whole thing; I was tired, and the shawl really was being very cooperative. I flattened down all the garter edges, and waited until morning. My sleep was the sleep of the shawl-satisfied.
Rarely has a project turned out so close to my expectations, in every way: color, fit, size, weight. It’s floaty and silky but not delicate or lacking in heft.
The Tokyo Shawl’s diagonal lines, formed with only two increases and two decreases in every other row, create a bias fabric. I’m always freshly surprised at what a difference it makes to knit a fabric on the bias.
See that nice drape at the neck? It wouldn’t be the same if the fabric were knit on the straight grain, nor would the shawl hug the shoulders as nicely. I cannot explain the physics, but it’s a totally different fabric behavior.
(The way it will often get worn, all bunched up.)
It was very satisfying to knit that cushion-sized pack of yarn down to these nubbins. (Note: the yarns are Isager Spinni wool and Isager Alpaca 1, two laceweights that are held together throughout.) They’re going into my bag of Isager nubbins. Surely there will be a project someday for all these bits. (I’ve had my eye on Grace Anna Farrow’s Dusk for ages. Might have to supplement the leftovers. Or just knit another Isager project and generate more remnants.)
(Some folks have sock drawers.)
Seeing as how we are fully into the muggy days of June, I folded my Tokyo Shawl the way it wanted to be folded, and tucked it away in my Konmari Shrine, um, scarf drawer, which contains only the most joy-sparkiest wraps and drapes that I possess.
On to the next good thing: my Fort Tryon Wrap is going with me on more Amtrak rides this week. Plenty of room in the scarf drawer.
Love,
Kay
Lovely shawl and beautiful model. I am always amazed by the transformation caused by blocking.
I totally agree! Blocking is the black &white darkroom of the fiber world. Just magical. Absolutely beautiful shawl, Kay!
Dusk looks like a hap. If you’d like to expand your hap/shawl queue and fill your shawl drawer to overflowing, go look at (and order?) Kate Davies’ new hap book. Just sayin.’
Oh believe me I know! Hap fever is upon us!
The Fort Tryon Wrap link goes to the Tokyo Shawl page, fyi. 🙂
Your Tokyo Shawl is beautiful!! I wish I had your tenacity!
Very nice, especially the zigzag bias nature of it.
And Kaffe, what have you done with him?
Kaffe can’t go on the train so he’s waiting.
Funny, he learned to knit on a train… 🙂
Zing!
Fort Tryon wrap:
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/fort-tryon-wrap
The shawl is gorgeous (so is the model)! The leftover yarn might be enough to make a matching cowl for Olive. . .just sayin’ ;-).
When you say that the Tokyo Shawl was a satisfying knit, it actually gives off that feeling by just looking at it blocked. It’s really gorgeous and totally worth all of the work that you put into making it. Wear it in good health.
LoveDiane
Beautiful! Just beautiful! Going into my queue!
Beautimous! I forgot to tell you that when I was recently in NYC I dreamed that I was in Knitty City buying Isager yarn to make GAF’s Dawn …
It is gorgeous! I would so wear that. Live in it, actually. And it is true about a bias stole … I made one and it wraps and swathes like a dream. Congrats on a real keepsake, Kay.
Your Tokyo is so gorgeous! I’ve been watching closely, sorely tempted to make one. How do you feel about the Isager yarn. Is it neck-friendly? I’ve spent too much time on shawls that itch and never get worn.
Ah, Lynn, that is the question that I never feel I can answer for another person. At one time I was so sensitive to wool that this Isager would have bothered me next to the skin, especially near the face. Now, my sensitivity has worn off to the point that I would gladly wrap my head in it, or sleep on a pillow covered in it. If you can wear wool comfortably, I don’t think either the Spinni (wool) or Alpaca 1 (alpaca!) will bother you. It’s very lightweight and “dry”–meaning, to me, that it doesn’t have any lanolin. The Alpaca has long hairs that kind of lend a fuzz to the whole fabric. Super soft, much softer than the wool. If I make another one, and I just might, I might make it with 2 strands of the Spinni instead of 1 Spinni and 1 Alpaca 1.
Like bias binding for the neck and shoulders? I’m cranking out the last color in Fort Tryon. It is a wonderful design.
It’s a purling workout and I’m only on the first round! #teamPurl
Beautiful! and wear in good health, as my late mother would say.
Knitting on a long train ride …. that’s usually prime reading time for me. But yes, it could be prime knitting time as well!
Go Kay!! Congratulations on a successfully completed (and BeautiFul) Tokyo! Woot woot.
I can see why Dusk is on your to-do list. It has that hap quality about it — as in an everyday shawl, wear everywhere shawl, and, as an extra bonus, it has a hint of Shetland hap about it as well. And, since my current project is the Lerwick Harbour full hap, you can probably see why I’m intrigued. Yes, I am mightily intrigued.
As I estimate the yardage needed for a 60 inch square Dusk (4420 yards of lace weight yarn), I am pretty sure you will need more nubbins if you hope to finish it…
Applauding and cheering! That’s a beauty,and so is your model <3. Although I rarely take on the massive garter stitch projects, the Fort Tryon Shawl is so good I may not be able to resist.
It’s stockinette and rev st st if that helps, dearie.
But yes, massive. I need massive knitting in my life.
Some people have sock drawers… Even my winnowed-down scarf drawer dwarfs all other drawers! I have generations of them and miss the ones that were left behind. We are now living in what I think is the epicenter of scarves. Such joy! I have said without irony, “You can’t go to the bank without a scarf, they won’t take you seriously.” And I was probably right.
Yes! I remember when scarves were a sign of eccentricity or old age or that you had been to Paris and wanted everybody to know it. Now I do not feel dressed without a scarf in any weather. Although I do find all my old “carrée” silk scarves hard to wear in a flattering way. I always come off looking like a Boy Scout.
Well, if you wore your hair in a ponytail you could use a square scarf as a decorative tie around the base of the ponytail (covering the elastic which is actually securing the tail). If I hadn’t tired of long hair for myself I would still do that.
Did you work from the Japanese version of the pattern? I’m asking because outside of a rather expensive kit, it is the only place I could find the pattern.
Your finished shawl is absolutely gorgeous.
Yes, it’s a pity the pattern isn’t available as a download. We should start a petition. I have a rather awkwardly formatted English translation of the pattern, but it worked fine. Got it in a kit from Conversational Threads when at Vogue Knitting Live in January.
It’s beautiful, so well made, and everything a shawl should be. The bias fabric does make a difference.
That shawl drawer? It’s a good thing I’m a continent away and will likely not ever be at your home. The drawer would be empty when I suddenly left with a large bundle under my jacket.
I love “simple” patterns that turn out so beautifully.
That’s a very beautiful and useful item! Simple yet nuanced. I couldn’t quite picture it in action from the WIP shots, but now it’s clear that it will become a reach-for accessory. Autumn fiber-fest worthy, perhaps? Really good job on the shoot also – kudos to you and your model 😉
Also a very pretty sparky scarf drawer 🙂 I KM’d my sock drawer about 10 months ago, and…it is still KM’d. This may not sound remarkable, but it really, really is.
No, I TOTALLY get how remarkable that is. My t-shirts and shorts haven’t stayed Kon Mari’d but otherwise it’s really stuck. I think the t-shirt problem is that I made the wrong choice of storage spot–t-shirts on shelves just don’t work, so I will have to free up another drawer. The bird’s eye view is critical to KM maintenance, I find. I maintain the scarf drawer in its fresh state because I truly love looking at it and seeing all the scarves of my life looking so relaxed and pleased with themselves. When I take off a scarf, I’m actually a little excited about folding it back up and putting it in its slot. #getinformation
YES! I sometimes open the sock drawer just for the little rush!
LOVELY shawl!
I was so disappointed when I read your first post about the Tokyo wrap and I realized you couldn’t get the pattern easily. Can you imagine my joy and happiness when I found the kit a couple of weeks ago tucked in a rather hidden corner in a yarn store here in Germany? I can’t wait to cast on, but have to finish a couple of summer projects first.
Congrats! I think the kits might also be available on the Isager website? Saw that somewhere but haven’t verified. The other place I’d call is the Yarnery in St. Paul, MN, because they are my Isager queens. Great selection of yarns and patterns and they might could hook a person up with a Tokyo Shawl pattern/kit.
People who have declared 2016 the year of the yarn fast really should not read your blog. At my (advanced) age I should be mature enough to be able to appreciate beauty and not be compelled to acquire it. I’m not. So Dec 2015 to May 2016 was my half year of yarn fast. I found my kit at
https://estore-sslserver.us/knitisager.com/epages/8a82804a-30cc-48c7-ba7b-d862514f56d5.sf/sec986f8a97df/?ObjectPath=/Shops/8a82804a-30cc-48c7-ba7b-d862514f56d5/Products/KitTokyoSh2Med
Beautiful shawl, beautiful model! Dusk is on my list, too – as is Dawn, and Smoulder. After your original posts about Volt, I bought the Fine Line book, though I have so far only ogled patterns. And imagine my surprise this morning when, noodling around on Ravelry trying to think of what stash yarn I could use, I found a lovely Dawn generously made by you, in cashmere, for someone else. Very kind!
Gorgeous! You definitely have a knack for finding humungous shawls to knit.
Btw, I almost was in Boston too, since my cousin’s son (who’s my fave among faves) was picking up a defree from MIT, Sunday. But alas, my dog had a prepaid $200 test at the Humane Society Monday morning.
Absolutely gorgeous. My friend always called the Isager booth at Stitches “The Beautiful Booth”.
You inspired me to dig out the Tokyo kit I purchased last November at Knit New Haven…cast on April 1st and I am on 2nd to last section!! Yahoo! Would love it if you would share Carol M’s finishing advice.
I have a floral dress to wear for our son’s graduation this Thursday.
Tokyo (the wrap) is delightful. So stylish. Love it on Carrie (sorry mom). Looks like alotalot of knitting, though. Have had a great time absorbing the meaning of ‘the hap’ and seeing them unfold on Kate Davies’ site. Wonderful. Such a functional, cozy piece of wardrobe, across borders and traditions…
The lovely Tokyo Shawl deserves to be KonMari-ed. So beautiful to see it in action on your lovely handknits model and especially to see it spread out in a photo. I’ve long wondered how the bias shaping plays out at the short edges.