Christmas Gift Project – Haruni Shawl

Yay, I can finally blog about one of my Christmas gift projects!  Remember the Mystery Project? My mother in law phoned us today to let us know that her package had arrived in France (whew! I was getting worried!) and she had opened it already. Tsk tsk, naughty!  That means I can blog about it now!

I made her a Haruni Shawl, which I can safely say is the most difficult thing I have knitted to date.  It required massive amounts of concentration and a lot of time.  I even took it to Canada with me to complete because I was so afraid I wouldn’t finish it in time to begin my next project.

I chose a really soft Alpaca wool from Drops, it was so lovely to work with.  I can’t wait to make something with this wool again!  I loved the color and my husband and I were sure that it would look beautiful on my mother in law.

Starting out it really didn’t look like much of anything.  I was knitting and paying strict attention to the pattern because I was so terrified to make a mistake.  The process for making the shawl is knitting it, then soaking it in lukewarm water, and stretching it out to make the shape.  Before stretching it out it’s really difficult to see if the pattern is forming properly, which rattled my nerves something fierce!

There were a lot of stitches involved, towards the end there were over 500 and I had to count each and every one again and again because I was so afraid I missed one or added another along the way.  Part way through I went and bought some stitch markers and that made life much easier.  I still counted obsessively but I was a little more confident while doing so.

I wish I’d taken more photos during the process but I was so busy working on it and trying to get it done that I just didn’t think of it.

While I was in Canada I took advantage of the space in my mother’s house and used the rug on her dining room floor to stretch and pin the shawl.  I also had her to help me, which made it a little easier. I could have done it on my own but it helped to have my mother there to tell me it really does look the way it should.

Yeah, I’m needy like that.

As I started stretching it out and pinning it, I saw the pattern starting to take shape, which was a huge relief.  It was like the moment of truth after a month of working hardcore to get this done.

This is the final product! YAY!  I was so proud of myself when I had it all stretched out and saw that I actually did do it right! Wahoo!  The color is different in this photo because I had to use the flash, the first two photos are a better representation of the lovely purple color.

When my MIL phoned this morning she said she loved it and was wearing it around all day yesterday.  I was tickled right down to my toes!  This was such a big project for me and was such a learning experience, it makes me really happy that she likes it and will wear it.

Even though it was difficult, I really enjoyed making this shawl.  I think it’s something I would definitely do again, either this patterns or others like it.  Especially in the alpaca wool, that stuff is awesome.

Merry Christmas, Nicole!  I’m so glad you like it! xoxo