FO Post: Crown Prince

So this post is a long, long time coming.  I first cast on for Crown Prince from Knitted Lace of Estonia in early summer of 2010.  My friend Ethan and I cast on at the same time.  He finished probably... a year ago?  At least?  And due in part to moving to Japan, and in part to my own laziness, everything but the blocking of Crown Prince was finished by around this time last year.  Then I moved to Oberlin, and I doubted the capacity of my blocking boards - they ended up being the perfect size, actually - and I stuffed my poor shawl into a bin for "later blocking".  Meanwhile, I knit and blocked many less insane and beautiful lace projects, and Crown Prince started to wonder whether I had forgotten about him.

But no matter; all is right now.  It took every last inch of those blocking boards, but last week I soaked, threaded blocking wires, and pinned this bad boy out.  It was actually embarrassingly easy.

And holy crap, he is huuuuge.  And square.  I find square shawls pretty difficult to wear, which probably makes sense since our anatomy is not square and last time I checked knitted shawls are meant for people and not robots or puppies.  I read somewhere that square shawls are traditional, and so is folding them in half to wear them as triangular shawls.  It doubles up the fabric, which I like, and hey, triangular shawls are my favorite anyhow!

Looking back on it, this was probably one of the most enjoyable projects I've ever knit.  Once I got used to nupping pretty much every row, it settled into a nice rhythm.  The yarn I used, Jaggerspun Zephyr, was a dream to knit and nupp with, and I am beyond pleased with the end project.  It's soft, slightly crispy, light, and warm.  I would definitely use Zephyr again.

This is definitely how I'll be wearing this shawl.  Also, I was looking through my Ravelry project this morning and realized that this is my seventh project of fourteen from Knitted Lace of Estonia.  So I've knit half of the patterns without really meaning to... oops!

And just to give a sense of the "holy crap this thing is ENORMOUS" that I get every time I look at it, here it is in its full, square glory.

Pattern: Crown Prince Shawl from Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush

Needles: Size 5 US Addi Turbo Lace

Yarn: Jaggerspun Zephyr Wool-Silk 2/18, 1.25 cones (probably 1700 yards?)

Modifications: None.