An adventure in color

This project was brought to my attention by one of the customers at Westport Yarns, Marianne.  I LOVE knitting projects like these that are "outside the box".  It quickly became a class, then two classes.  Fourteen intrepid knitters are following me down the line. (Pun intended.)

Linientreu loosely translated means "faithful to the line" or "in line".

Per the designer, Ute Nawratil, "‘Linientreu’ (‘In Line’) is a semicircular shawl, alternating equilateral triangles and simple garter stitch rows. The triangle modules are joined by knitting (no sewing necessary!) The right triangles at the border edge result from short rows." Kudos to the designer for coming up with such an imaginative design.

Lang Yarns

I knit Linientreu with Lang Mille Colori Baby (Fingering: 100% Wool, 208 yards, color #52) and for the contrast color I used Cascade Heritage Sock (Fingering: 100% Merino Wool, 25% Nylon, 438 yards, color #5618 Snow). I was inspired by another Ravelers project.

Although there was some purple in this colorway, for the most part it was a departure from my usual purples. I chose the Snow as my contrast because I really wanted a dramatic contrast.

Here were my first three triangles, after blocking. Before blocking the triangles are more 3D. Think bra cup and you'll have an good visual.  I always read other ravelers experiences when embarking on a new project.  Several knitters blocked the project along the way to assure themselves that the piece would lie flat.  I was assured.

While knitting outside this fall, I noticed that my shawl bore all the colors of the season.  I took this artistic photo to remember the moment.

Here's a before (top) and after (bottom) blocking comparison after knitting the long section of sixteen triangles.  Cool, huh?

Thursday I finished the bottom border.  

The triangles at the bottom are knit with German short rows and went quickly.  I enjoyed seeing the colors play out. Only once did I mess with the order of the colors.  What I mean is, I knit with the Mille Colori Baby as it came from the ball rather than cutting here and there to get more of the colors I preferred.

When I was knitting the first set of stripes there was a faded yellow that was coming along in the ball - I did not like how it was going to look.  That was the only time I cut out a color.

There was just a little more to knit at this point.  The designer included a top border to make the shawl edge uniform.  It really made a big difference.

The shawl measured 21" down the center and 52" across the wingspan before blocking. Once again, it blocked out beautifully.  The final dimensions were 26" down the center and 67" across the wingspan.

I enjoyed knitting Linientreu.  Seeing the colors enfold was part of the fun.  Working the triangles modularly was a bit fiddly at times, and worth the effort. I made minimal modifications, which can be viewed on my project page.

Wait till you see what I'm considering next.....

Harry can't wait to find out.  He wants to know now.