The miracle of blocking

I have a confession to make. Since I started swallowtail, two Sundays ago, I've not been able to put it down. So, not only did I have Swallowtail Sunday, but Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc, etc - you get the picture? All in all, exactly a week after casting on, I was binding off - which took considerable longer (the pattern increases from 2 stitches in the first row to almost 330 in the last).

Here it is unblocked, just off the needles, looking all crumpled and lumpy...



and here it is in all its stretched and smooth beauty.



And just for good measure, a couple of 'serving suggestions'.




To say that I loved this pattern would be understating things slightly. I couldn't put it down. I wanted to see how the next pattern repeat would turn out, then how the next lace chart would turn out and so on. The finished article was blocked within 45min of leaving the needles (I had to soak it and hoover the floor first) because I was in such a hurry to see how it would look.

Finally here is a close up of the different patterns: the budding lace body, the lily of the valley border and the peaked edging.


The finished article is lovely to wear, warm but not scratchy (100% cashmere), very versatile and destined to be a staple of my wardrobe. I may even need another in a different colour...