Time flies too, too quickly. I can’t believe it’s already July. This month is full of fun and challenges. I have a big bite of my dissertation proposal to finish and polish before it goes to my dissertation chair, Zooey is turning ONE (how is that possible already?), I turn 32, and we traveled this week to see some family members that we don’t see often enough. One of these family members is my brother’s girlfriend, Brenna. She was kind enough to meander around the yard taking pictures of me in this giant shawl, Nuvem.

nuvem-3It’s a miracle that I kept going through those insanely long ruffle rows, but I told myself that the ball knits up just as quickly even if the row is really really long. I was finishing a ball (236 yards) in about 2-4 days depending on how much time I had available to knit.

nuvem-4Each row took slightly over 7 grams. I left a little over 12 grams to bind off. Judging from other Ravelry users with helpful notes (thank you!), that was enough. I had one gram left over!  I went up 3 needle sizes for a bind off and bound off somewhat loosely.

nuvem-2This shawl is a lovely 58″ by 68″ size. I was a little worried that it would seem too thick to wrap around my neck since Classic Elite Mountaintop Vail is more like a fingering weight than a lace weight, but it feels fine wrapped any way.

nuvemI ended up using one skein each of slate, steel, parchment, sand, and adobe (from center out), and I used two skeins of camel since I knew the ruffle would gobble up a ton of yarn.

Here is a second representation of its size:

nuvem-5Seems like it could work well as a personal blanket too. I put together the 32″ and 24″ cables in my set of Addi Clicks to knit most of this project when it quickly overwhelmed at 40″ needle. The stitches had little room to move at the end, but the way they were packed on the needle and ready to go made them knit quickly.

nuvem-6I blocked it lightly by hanging it over my shower curtain rod and steaming it gently. Alpaca does not have as much elasticity as many wool fibers. I thought it best to avoid a wet block for this project. I’m pleased with the result, though I could still work on a couple of tiny spots with ladders from working on one 40″ circular at the beginning.

Summer, take your time. Let’s keep it slow.

If you feel like pattern shopping, my birthday sale only goes till the 14th of this month. Use the code Happy32 for 32% off all of my paid patterns.