Sometimes “bleh” finished objects (FO) happen to good knitters. It does not matter how good the pattern is written, how fantastic one’s needles are, or how beautiful the yarn is sometimes the execution just does not pan out. This is what occurred when I completed the Seashell Shawl. Francoise Danoy is currently one of my favorite knitwear designers. Her designs are so up my ally. They incorporate basic structures with texture changes, or interesting color work, and/or lace detailing. I hate to even have her name in a blog post with the word unimpressive. However, I believe I should be transparent about my knitting adventures.
I started this project during one of the many road trips I took over the winter holidays. I used some of the teal alpaca yarn I bought in Peru a couple of summers ago. This yarn is so soft against the skin I knew it would make a lovely shawl.
The Seashell Shawl pattern is very knitter friendly. The directions are clear and straight forward and there is an option for making a thicker shell border if desired. I loved how pretty the shells came out. The are very unique looking and such a delicate touch to the ends of the shawl.
So what is the problem? The short row shaping came out so terrible that I think the whole shawl looks well… bleh. Looking back at the directions, and others comments on Ravelry, I realized I wrapped the yarn when working the short rows. That was not what the instructions stated. 😞 I was too focused on creating my beautiful shawl that I didn’t take care to pay attention to the details. I think the wraps created a really sloppy look to the finished object. I tried to straighten it out a bit by aggressively blocking the piece, but it did not seem to help.
I love this pattern and the design, but my execution was unimpressive. I may go back and frog the body of the shawl to get a neater overall look. In the meantime, I have my eye on this lovely piece.
Has “bleh” crafting ever happened to you?
Until Next Time,
-Whit-
knitsbywhit 
Many times, but I’m a ripper. I learned long ago to if it doesn’t make me happy, rip it out and do it over till it does make me happy. Once it was an entire Aran knit fishermans sweater back pice that took months. Go ahead, rip it out it only hurts till its back on the needles. 💕
Oooo that sounds painful. However, if you are going to work so hard on something you better like it right?!
Painful to rip. But if you don’t, you may never wear it. A beautiful color and the border is pretty. Have you tried German short-rows before. They make a very nice transition and with the solid color of the yarn may work better. Just a thought and good luck.
I have not. I will do some research on those. Thanks for the suggestion!