Finished Object: Stripe'aganza

It seems like Brioche is EVERYWHERE at the moment. I love the look of it, all squishy and neat. And after my initial struggles, I even enjoy the soothing repetition of knitting it. So, when I saw Julie Knits In Paris's gorgeous Stripe'aganza I knew I wanted to make it instantly.

I was tempted in by the brioche most of all, but also the idea of a shawl knitting in lots of different directions and styles. I don't know about you, but I find the last few rows of shawl knitting really drag - when you have anything from 200 to 600 stitches on the needles at a time. So, the premise of knitting the shawl in smaller sections and portions really appealed to me.

I also really loved the colourful shawls Julie used for the images of the pattern, so I knew I could go colourful and bold. Speckles ahoy!

I dug out some very old, deep stash Knitting Goddess Sparklynne in gold, some Lamby Toes in Excited Party Pony and a self dyed white with pink and brown speckles.

From the first moment, I loved how the pinks and gold played together, and I knew it was going to be one special shawl. I absolutely adore stripes too, so it's fair to say it was love at first sight. I whooshed through the stripy section and got nice and deep into the brioche. I can honestly say I have never been more grateful for my Addi interchangeable needles. They're the type with the lifeline holes built into the cords, so it made adding lifelines an absolute breeze. It's actually the first time I've ever used them, and I was really glad I did. I had to pull back a few times after getting to enthralled in binge watching Netflix and goofing my brioche.

This shawl was so incredibly fun to knit - I love the constantly change in directions and patterns. I never had time to get sucked into monotony, or long rows from hell. It was simple enough to be TV knitting, but complicated enough to keep my brain focused.

And the finished object? I LOVE it. It's bold, beautiful and bright.