The Purrfect Yarn: lustre

I thought that it might be a fun idea to round out the year with a look at what I knitted in 2017.

So, let's get into it!

In 2017, I finished 26 projects in total. This is an improvement of 6 projects from 2016, and it was an absolute bumper year for shawls.

Of the 26 projects, a massive 11 were shawls. That means 42% of my knitting time went into shawls. The one thing I swore I would never knit as a beginner knitter!

So, let's take a look at them!

The first shawl of 2017 was the beautiful Aisling by Justyna Lorkowska. I actually started this shawl way back in 2015, but the edging really got me. I found the cabled pattern really hard to wrap my head around, and the huge amount of stitches was really intimidating to me. But I buckled down, stuck on some This is England and bashed out those many, many stitches. I'm really happy with this shawl, the pale colour is some gorgeous glittery Sparkleduck yarn. It shimmers so wonderfully under the lights. It's also a lovely big, drapey shawl.

My second finished was was The First Light by Veera Välimäki. I have complicated feelings about this shawl. It's knitted in the most beautiful, silky Stranded Dyeworks singles yarn, but absolutely no amount of blocking will make this shawl sit nicely on my shoulders. It feels very tight around the top of the shawl, and granted I do have fairly broad shoulders but I'm disappointed by how inelastic the top edge is. I wonder if it's possible to gently unpick it and reknit? Or perhaps it should be regifted to someone with more narrow shoulders!

2017 really was the year of finishing longterm WIPs. The gorgeous Vedbaek by Karie Westermann was the third shawl I tackled. I originally started this in 2015, but managed to convince myself the design was harder than it actually is - although I suppose this is a good indication that my knitting skills are definitely improving over the years. I knitted this out of some beautiful Malabrigo in the Candombe colourway. However, despite ordering two skeins of the same dyelot they came out so wildly different, it's hard for me to give this shawl the love it deserves. It's mostly my own fault, I should have alternated the skeins as I was knitting, but I didn't realise they would be so different that they looked like different colourways. It means the shawl has a big pale green strip towards the bottom, while the rest is a sort of grey, purple with flashes of deep green. It really is a shame, because it's a gorgeous shawl until the last three or four inches.

This humble looking shawl is Lustre by Amélie Bernier. But to me and my closest friends it's known as my prayer shawl. And there's a reason for that. It's become my go-to shawl in times of sadness, stress, anxiety and pain. The soothing rhythm and chunky squish is like a salve for the heart. If I'm knitting this shawl, you can guarantee my life is less than peachy.

And that's the case recently. My mum has been struggling. She was diagnosed with an autoimmune disease recently and that's triggered an incredibly serious and severe bout of depression. My family is in turmoil. So, I felt like it was time to revisit my old friend, Lustre.

There’s so much I could say about this shawl, but nothing as much as telling you this is my third time knitting it. That should tell you how much I love it.

It’s become my go-to project for when I’m feeling stressed or sad and need a simple, comforting project to pour my feelings into.

I made it for the first time in 2014: Prayer Shawl and then again in 2015 Prayer Shawl the Second.

The 2014 iteration was knit in beautifully warm, soft Artesano aran with pops of a Debbie Bliss silk blend. I knit the shawl while I was on holiday in Loch Lomond, Scotland. It was my husband's birthday and I'd booked the trip for him. But a few days before the trip I was suffering with terrible stomach cramps and nausea. But I decided to soldier on through it, because who wants to spoil a birthday surprise, right?

Wrong. Absolutely wrong. I pushed myself hard to enjoy the trip for him, but spent most of the time curled up in the foetal position, crying in pain and begging for mint tea to stop the sickness. And the moments I wasn't crying in pain, I was knitting this shawl and putting every bad feeling and thought into the soft, squishy stitches and hoping it would ease my turmoil.

Side note: I did manage to enjoy a trip to the wonderful Yarn Cake in Glasgow. If you get the chance to visit, do. The cake is wonderful and the atmosphere is just as cosy as you might imagine being surrounded by cake and yarn feels.

When I got back home, I was diagnosed with a serious kidney infection. I took my medicine, got better and learned never to do a seven hour car journey when feeling like crap again!

I knit the second Lustre in 2015 with my lovely friend Karen. We had both been going through incredibly difficult struggles with our health and personal lives. So, I thought a KAL with this beauty would soothe both of our problems. Karen was a much less experienced knitter than me, so I perhaps should have accounted for that when choosing a pattern - however she did eventually find the rhythm with me. And she made the most beautiful mustard and yellow shawl. I think the wonderful thing about co-knitting is how much closer it binds you to the person. From shared failures and triumphs you bond over the stitches and it's really wonderful.

Each time I stumble, this pattern has soothed my heart. Both the knitting of it, and the subsequent wearing. It’s a beautiful pattern and it makes my soul feel rested and soothed. So when times got difficult for me this time around, I knew immediately what I had to do.

I wanted my 2017 Prayer Shawl to be exceptionally cosy and gentle on my fingers to knit. So, I immediately thought of one of my favourite yarns. Malabrigo Worsted is just so buttery soft and warm, I knew right away that it was my dream pairing. The gentle stitches of the Lustre combined with the beautifully squishy Malabrigo.

I also had been dreaming of a beautiful neutral with a really bright pop of colour. So I ordered three skeins of a soft, biscuitlike taupe colour and one skein of an outrageously bright berry pink.

I packed up my yarn and pattern in my favourite project back and took in on holiday with me to Ardnamurchan. And I spent hours knitting it while away. I chatted and knitted, I watched sheep and knitted, I listened to the waves in bed, stargazing and knitted. It was my constant companion. And once again, it did its job perfectly.

Every stitch melted away a worry or a sadness. I don't know what it is exactly about this shawl that's so magical, but I thoroughly recommend you try it for yourself.

Because it truly is magical.