Paris Pi

This shawl is based on Elizabeth Zimmermann's original Pi Shawl in Knitters' Almanac and the pictures I saw online "Sleeves in your Pi". I'd found some red mohair in the new year sales and bought it all, with no real idea what I was going to do with it. It ended up being perfect for this project.

It's a circular shawl with only six rounds of increases (YO, K1), at increasing intervals. Those who know their maths will have already figured out why it's called a Pi shawl. Those who have done all in their power to expunge that particular memory will not care. I will neither bore the first group nor confuse the second with the explanation.

The whole shawl pinned out for blocking

I designed and made it so I could wear it to Paris at Christmas, a trip that is a very delayed 21st birthday present from my parents! Yay mum and dad! The lace Eiffel Towers and representations of the blue, white and red of the French flag around the border (that's not easy to do in only one colour) gave it the name "Paris Pi". I charted the whole thing myself and for an initial attempt at lace knitting, I'm not too disappointed. I wanted to use the tendancy of the stitches to flare out after the increase round to create the curve on the base of the tower... It was more of less successful ;-) If I did it again, I'd find a way to make less of a bump from three to five stitches on the tower. I think it looks a bit too much like a space ship the way it is now.

Eiffel Tower, ready for takeoff...three...two...one...

Everyone at Bible Study is used to having me knit now and they were always interested in my progress. Or at least they did a good job of pretending to be interested - sometimes that's just as good. The first time Dave and Han saw it finished we were watching 10 things and Dave made a comment about big red things that has forever ruined either the movie for the shawl or the shawl for the movie. I'm not sure which.

I'll admit that there are times when it looks a little strange on the needles. The most common question was, "Where does your head go?" It's not immediately apparent.

This is where my head goes.

Playing Little Red Riding Hood
"Why, Grandma, what big teeth you have!"

Apart from frogging the sleeves a few times...grrrr...it was a fairly quick project. It took maybe two months, start to finish. Blocking was done on a corner of the lounge room floor on top of a bed sheet, as I didn't want to leave a big red circle on the carpet thankyouverymuch. The yarn has a tendancy to shed, leaving red fuzzy trails wherever it goes, but I suppose that can't be helped.

Me with my shawl and my neighbour Ushi, who was gracious enough to tell me I looked very European wearing it.

I'm so pleased with the way it's turned out. My first lace project, my first EZ project and my first shawl. It's so much fun to wear and it makes such pretty shaddows in the sun!