Sunday, November 03, 2013

Rheingold Wrap: The Saga Ends

Six years.  Six long years later the Rheingold wrap is done.

As you may recall, I bought the kit from Virtual Yarns with the intention of knitting it for my wedding.  I would have made it, two, except that we moved the wedding date up by three months.  When it was not done, in my despair I cast it into a bin.

There it sat for two years until pity on the beautiful thing freed it for another go.  That is, until I started getting sore hands.  Another two year sentence freed the wrap again, only for it to be cast aside due to an error. It's the only error I can see in the garment.  I skipped a row in the second pattern repeat on the second half.  The error was only detected after I'd knit another few inches, and I was too distraught to tink it all back.  Or to look at it.  So back it went until I decided to finish it.

Damn it.

When I took the wrap out of jail for the last this past April, eight of the twelve pattern repeats were finished.  I worked on it with the monogamy it deserved until the knitting was done, even adding two more pattern repeats.  Then I found that I'd lost the finishing instructions.  After three emails to Virtual Yarns, they ACTUALLY emailed me a copy!

I did make a few other modifications:

14 pattern repeats
Grafted center seam in two colors
Applied i-cord edge in Lapwing
Modified color scheme for fringe
Sewn in lining of a silk/cashmere pashmina wrap

The finished wrap is about 66" long, excluding fringe.

Oh, and check it out in the final picture.  We've had a girl! I actually finished the knitting while in labor with her.  How's that for a labor of love!