It took a while but

I'm through the texture portion of the shawl.  About 2/3 of the way through I finally got it.  The pattern is columns of 3 stockinette stitches and one purl, in alternating rows.  You don't have to remember which stitch you are supposed to start with, so long as what you are doing makes a purl stitch to cap the column of three stockinette stitches on the right side of the work.  That thought made it so much less fussy and I am a bit disapointed that I did not see that earlier.  That is what happens when I get to wedded to the idea of the written word in patterns and forget to understand just what the stitches I am making are doing.     

From here on it is all garter stitch and colourplay.  I came across something interesting as I was goofing around looking up Point Blanket information.  Some sites say that indigo was the last colour used and some say black.  I suspect it was both.  

What it makes me wonder about though is, is my yarn dark enough?  You can see the blue I choose in the picture, a classic royal blue, the colour of dry indigo dye perhaps, but not the colour that indigo is, once a fibre is dyed with it.  I may have to dip into the stash of navy that I ordered for the Leftie shawl, navy being our modern replacement for real indigo.  I do have lots of navy and I do like the blue I have, so there is something in favour of both of them.  I think I am going to have to wait and see how it plays out.  

Though the knitting is down to the very few last rows, 2 ridges or 4 rows in each colour and the same of the background colour in between plus a slightly thicker bind off section, these last rows are long and are taking a lot of time.

There is only 1 downside to this shawl.  The point marks, which are done intarsia style have produced a fair number of ends that need weaving in.  Its not that I will mind, but rather that I mind,  you know?  An otherwise gorgeous simple project, with a dozen weavy ends.  I debated about not doing them, but I kind of like the historical significance.  No one will ever ask about them, I am sure, but them most people won't get the association to the Hudson's Bay Company of Canada.

It does keep it historically correct so I suppose I shall focus on appreciating that in the hours it takes to weave the darn things in.

And when these are done, It will be blocking season.  Big blocking adventures.  I am swamped with finished things waiting to be blocked.