FO: Fiery Salsa Shawl

Here she is in all her glory.

The pattern is Fiery Salsa by Alina Appasova. It's a freebie, and the second of Alina's patterns I've done. (I made Indian Feathers several years back). Salsa is very similar to Feathers, working from the bottom up. And that's probably the hardest part of this pattern - the 400-some-odd cast on, and a lengthy set-up row.

Once the lace pattern is set, it gets much easier - though the long rows are a bit of a slog. Of course, as you near the end of the lace, you're decreasing, so the pace quickens. And once you're through the lace, it's just short-rows of stocknit. Compared to the lace, that absolutely flies.

To me, it's really more of a scarf than a shawl - coming in at  11 inches deep by about 60 inches wide. The top edge is suppose to have an i-cord bind off, but I couldn't be fussed with that so I just did a couple rows of garter and my usual stretchy bind off. It rolls a little, but that won't matter when its wrapped around a neck.

 The instructions say it can be beaded, but it doesn't really give you any advice on where or how (it also includes nupps, which I couldn't be bothered with this time around), so I took a look at what a few others had done and decided on the pattern you see here. I love adding beads, not only for the look, but they add a nice bit of weight to a shawl and affect the drape considerably.

The bead I chose is a matte gold, but foil-lined so it has a nice touch of sparkle.  I know some people prefer matching the beads to their yarn colour, but if I'm going to take the time to bead it - I want it to show! I think the gold contrasts nicely with the turquoise Alley Cat (which is a bit more greenish than the pictures show).

It used almost all a full skein, and knit in just five day it was a satisfying project. All and all, I'm extremely pleased with it. And so was my soon-to-be former colleague. I'd say that was a knit well knit!