Dreambird Shawl Finishing Touches

As of this morning my Dreambird is officially finished. Well, almost… it’s all over but the drying.  I had to put off blocking it a little longer than I expected as we had people over and a lack of space to spread it out, but today I finally got it out on the blocking mats!

I was totally over the moon with the finished product, even before blocking.  Have a look:

Gah, so gorgeous!!

Yarn info:
Scheepjes Invicta Colour (color 959)
Scheepjes Invicta Extra (color 1401)

After taking the above photo I decided that the neck edge was a little too jagged for me, so I decided to do a small edge of garter stitch along the neck to even it out.  It took me a few tries to get it the way I wanted it because I didn’t want to put a thick edge on the side of the feather, but I definitely think it was worth the effort, it really finished it off nicely.

The edge still looks slightly jagged in the photo, but that was also before blocking. You can see in the photo below that it smoothed out nicely once it was soaked and blocked.

Unfortunately, my phone had to go in for repairs (BOO!), and since I was too warm and lazy to drag out my DSLR my blocking photo is less than stellar.  I never realized how awkward it is to hold a tablet to take a photo.  It really makes me question the logic of all those people I see on holiday taking photos with ipads.

The photo was Instagrammed to death but you can still get an idea of how it looks finished off.   I’ve decided to hunt for a neutral colored set of foam mats (not the blocking mats, they are just too darn expensive) but some sort of play mats that don’t have the numbers.  I’d like a neutral background for blocking photos.  Although, I suppose I could put down a sheet or something but I need new ones… because reasons!

One thing a lot of people have been asking about on the knitting groups on Facebook, is what does the Dreambird look like from the back, how do the color changes line up and how visible are the double stitches.  I decided to take some photos to show what mine looks like from the back (again, pre blocking) in case anyone out there is interested.

This is what the back of mine looks like.  Obviously it’s not as neat as the front as you get the mix of colors where you switch from your main color to the color for the feathers.  Also, on the neck end you can see the color switches, which you can better see in the photo below.  The double stitches are visible if you look closely but I knew from previous projects that they also work themselves out a bit during the blocking process.  Plus, I think no matter what you do when it comes to short rows, the double stitch will always be visible if you look hard enough for it.  The key is to be sensible and realize that not everyone is going to look as closely as you are or know where to look like you do.

I’m not sure how it worked out for others, but when switching from the pattern color to the main color, it went smoothly.  Not so much when switching back, though.  You can see the lifts where the colored yarn is carried up a few rows when you are starting the next feather.  There was probably a way to work around this but I wasn’t really that bothered as I have no plans on wearing the shawl inside out.  It’s not like anyone is going to see it, right?

Anyway, this has been such a great project.  When it’s dry I will get some proper photos of the finished product.  I have a model now, and her name is Susan Lucci.  I recently marathon watched my way through both seasons of Devious Maids and couldn’t think of a more suitable name for my new diva model.  Here she is on the way home with me the day I picked her up:

We are still getting acquainted but having her around should make getting project photos a LOT easier!  I don’t always feel like being in the photos myself but it’s still nice to see how things drape when being worn.

I already have the yarn for my next Dreambird project.  I was commissioned to make it using two different color changing yarns, so not only does the color of the leaves change but also the background.   Someone had a vision and I’m going to try to bring it to life. It should be really cool!  I’m so eager to get started… I will be back soon with more photos of this one and an update on the second one when I get started!

If you are interested in trying this project, you can find the pattern here on Ravelry!

This Dreambird is made with Sheepjes Invicta Colour / Invicta Extra yarn.  You can find a list of retailers that sell it here on the Scheepjes website.  It is also available worldwide Wool Warehouse*.

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