Greenwood Fiberworks

The 24 Hour Knitting Project

A knitting project finished in 24 hours? Yes! It is possible. How do I know? I just completed one.

Now, I have to say that I even surprised myself at how quickly this project went together. All the specs are up on Ravelry. It is called "Sarah's Easter Shrug." I found an easy lace shrug pattern called "Little Silk Shrug" in Pam Allen and Ann Budd's Lace Style book. I used only one skein of Incatops Alpafina that I purchased from Webs some time ago. I dyed it with the natural dye, Logwood, to a lovely lavendar color.


I started while getting my hair done, then took it to an informal dinner that night. I came home and knit a little more that evening. When I awoke the next morning, I realized that if I stretched the lace out to where I would block it, I already had the necessary length. All I needed to do was finish off the garter stitch edging and block it before sewing up the ends. I pinned the shrug to the floor (my usual blocking technique) and my daughter Sarah dried it with a hairdryer. Here's a picture of her at work.

It took only about 5 minutes for the lace to block. I sewed the ends of the shrug together and knitted the garter stitch edging while supervising my children's piano lessons. Somehow they seem to escape and not practice well if mom isn't watching. I'm finding that this gives me a good excuse to spend and hour or so knitting or spinning while attending to my motherly duties. It also makes the time much more pleasant. Somehow, I don't hear the complaining as much when I'm having so much fun knitting. Gotta love multi-tasking!

Best of all, Sarah loves her shrug. Even Emily, my teenager who wasn't too keen on the project on the needles, really liked how it looked when Sarah tried it on. Isn't it cute?

Now, I need to help teach Sarah how to sew the dress this shrug is supposed to go with. She has never sewn before. I am trying to muster up all the patience I can. Maybe we will get started on it this week.