Nicola's Right!

Nicola commented yesterday that I love my lace; she's so right! 

I went to Michael's yesterday and found beads very close to the beads I used. They're slightly lighter in colour, but not enough to be noticeable. I decided to take my time finishing the last few rows; it didn't help that I had a kink in my neck, but a nap and some pain killers took care of that long enough for me to finish this project. The shawl came off the needles at about 7:00 last night, with much fanfare on my part. 

John has been following it's progress from the beginning and suggested that it might be easiest to block this one on the bed; the bed is also the largest piece of "floor (blocking) space" in this apartment. When he got up this morning (I was already up), he stripped the bed and let me know that it was ready to use. I do love him! (He has since taken the sheets to the laundry room and has two loads running... gotta love a man who does the laundry!) It took me over an hour to block it and I'm not sure just how many pins I used; suffice it to say, there are a lot of pins holding this shawl in place!

I probably could have blocked it more severely, but I don't think it needs it. It's quite a large shawl already (approximately 42" long and 56" across). As much as the bed is the perfect place to block this shawl, I'm not sure I like using it. The height is not the easiest on the back, if you know what I mean. An hour hunched over, putting pins into a piece of lace is pretty hard on the back. But it's done and I love it even more!

Now, I'll let the pictures do the talking...