The Thoughtful Shawl Project: Shawl Six

Shawl Six: Brush Creek Shawl by Carina Spencer

It's time for another Thoughtful Shawl post!

Shawl six is this absolutely beautiful shawl by Carina Spencer that I knitted back in 2015.

This shawl is a definite keeper. It's made of two of my absolutely favourite yarns and I love the elegant, light lace of the design. 

The soft grey with flecks of pink, yellow and blue is Confetti on The Uncommon Thread's tough sock. I've been in love with this colourway for years now, and this is actually the second skein of it that I bought (I now have a third in my stash - waiting for the perfect project). The deep blueish grey at the top is Old Maiden Aunt's Selkie on her cashmere/merino/nylon base. This is another yarn that I've bought multiple times - I love the subtle colours and soft blending. Finally the third yarn is a ball of Lang Yarns Jawoll that I picked up from The Yarn Cake in Glasgow. 

I love this shawl, it's full of favourites and special memories and I know that I could never lose in from my collection.

The only problem I have is that it's a smidge on the small side - so it tends to be a Spring/Summer only shawl - but I think that a heavy block might open up the lace and add a little width. 

I'm going to give it a nice long soak and give it a big old stretch to ensure I give this little shawl the love and wear it deserves. 

What is the Thoughtful Shawl Project?

I saw a post by Jennie of tinypaperfoxes about her 39 shawls project, it sparked something inside of me.

Like Jennie, I have an absolute wealth of shawls, but wear the same ones regularly which means that I own unloved, neglected shawls, just like Jennie.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project is my journey to reassess and explore my shawl collection and decide whether to frog, donate or keep. 

You can read the whole post about the project here: The Thoughtful Shawl Project or you can browse the other blog posts about shawls here: Previous Thoughtful Shawl Project Posts.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project: Shawl Four

Shawl Four: Sister Joan by Sivia Harding

When I first began my Thoughtful Shawl Project, I immediately earmarked my Sister Joan as belonging to the 'to keep' pile. I expected to give it another blocking to make the edges nice and crisp, but other than that, this shawl was good to go. However, things change.

I remember knitting this shawl, endless nights in front of the TV watching Rob playing video games, this shawl has seen monsters, zombies and explosions. How many pieces of knitting can say that?

I remember the slow, meditative process of beading this shawl. The clear beads shining like raindrops against the gently tonal greens of Malabrigo Sock. 

And most of all, I remember how much I loved making this shawl. From reading the sweet story about it's naming and conception, to picking the yarn out at my LYS. From sliding endless clear beads through my fingers to knitting every single stitch.

I knew this shawl was special.

So, when I began giving away shawls and seeing the joy in their faces as I gifted them something handmade and loved. I knew, that although I still loved this shawl, there was someone who would love it more. Someone who would wear it more. And mostly, someone who deserved it more. 

Karen has been my friend for a long time now, she's supported me through a lot. The usual grown up worries, relationships, money, job, illness. She's one of the strongest women I know, and a constant inspiration to me. Plus, she appreciates the finer things in life like custard and RuPaul's Drag Race. 

So, it took very little convincing for me to realise that Sister Joan was destined for her. Just like its namesake, Karen is kind, generous and considerate, and most definitely knitworthy!

So, I parcelled up Sister Joan and set it off on a new adventure to live with Karen. I knew from the absolute gleeful response I got to the gift that I'd done the right thing. No matter how much I loved the shawl, the yarn, the beads - Sister Joan never really belonged to me. I was just looking after it until the right person came along!

....and then cast on another one ;)

What is the Thoughtful Shawl Project?

I saw a post by Jennie of tinypaperfoxes about her 39 shawls project, it sparked something inside of me.

Like Jennie, I have an absolute wealth of shawls, but wear the same ones regularly which means that I own unloved, neglected shawls, just like Jennie.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project is my journey to reassess and explore my shawl collection and decide whether to frog, donate or keep. 

You can read the whole post about the project here: The Thoughtful Shawl Project or you can browse the other blog posts about shawls here: Previous Thoughtful Shawl Project Posts.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project: Shawl Three

Shawl Three:  Dauphine by Maria Magnusson

Back in 2013, I was an avid subscriber to The Knitter magazine. I was still very much a beginner knitter, but the contemporary and bold patterns in the magazine really spoke to me (my feelings on the magazine in it's current state are VERY different. But, let's not get into that rant today!).

As soon as I saw the beautiful Dauphine shawl in Issue 56, I knew I wanted to make it. I loved the easy way it draped around the shoulders, and the elegance of the lace and cables. I began making plans to make the shawl.

I started browsing online wool shops, and was (as usual) drawn to deep shades of violet and soft hues of lavender. But I felt an urge to steer away from my usual and safe colours. I found a gorgeous sunny yellow Artesano 100% Alpaca 4ply yarn. The soft halo and egg yolk yellow really grabbed me.

I snapped it up and began waiting impatiently. 

When the yarn finally arrived I cast the shawl on immediately, I couldn't wait to adorn my body in silky, alpaca sunshine. Although I was an inexperienced knitter, I've never really looked at a pattern and thought "nope, no way. That looks too complicated for me." I've always been very much in the give it a try! category. So, the lace and cables were probably less intimidating to me than they should have been.

I knitted happily away, following the pattern. Back in 2013, I didn't know how to read my knitting, and so one of the cable twists is a row or two too long because I accidentally repeated the pattern. But, I didn't dwell on it. I had a beautiful, elegant shawl. All done and dusted and ready to wear.

Except, the yellow really didn't sit well with my skintone. That beautiful shade of egg yolk made me look sickly and tired. I should have stuck to my safe space and gone with purple. 

The shawl languished in the bottom of my shawl chest. When I started this project, I began to look at my shawls in a new way. Does it being me joy? Do I know someone else who would have more joy from it? Who would this shawl suit?

I knew almost immediately who this shawl should be rehomed with. It has gone to live with one of my very favourite people in the whole world. A lady who I didn't know, until I turned up a few days after Christmas day to give it to her, had dyed her fair hair bright pink! 

We pondered together whether her hair was too bright for the shawl. I suggested she embrace it and go full-on brights! She wondered whether it might be better suited when the colour had faded a little.

Either way, I know she will cherish the shawl. And I know she will rock it, bright hair or not.

What is the Thoughtful Shawl Project?

I saw a post by Jennie of tinypaperfoxes about her 39 shawls project, it sparked something inside of me.

Like Jennie, I have an absolute wealth of shawls, but wear the same ones regularly which means that I own unloved, neglected shawls, just like Jennie.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project is my journey to reassess and explore my shawl collection and decide whether to frog, donate or keep. 

You can read the whole post about the project here: The Thoughtful Shawl Project or you can browse the other blog posts about shawls here: Previous Thoughtful Shawl Project Posts.

2017 in Knits

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.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project: Shawl Two

Shawl Two: Holden by Mindy Wilkes

Back in 2013, I was a very inexperienced knitter. I'd learned to knit as a child. My grandma taught me how to knit and purl, while I stayed with her for two hours every morning during the Summer holidays while my mum was at work. But it was in 2013, while quitting smoking and looking for something to do with my hands that I really got back into the hobby. And then, as it does, the hobby became a lifestyle. I became not just a knitter, but a Knitter.

I'd stuck mostly to Hobbycraft's meagre selection of acrylic mix and luxury Rowan when I could afford it, but I'd been hearing whisperings of beautiful yarn dyed by people. Not companies, but people. In their kitchens, sheds or home workrooms. Soft, delicate and hand-painted yarn, yarn full of love. I headed to Etsy to browse around and soon found RosiesMoments. I browsed her webstore with wide eyes and an itchy trigger finger, desperate to get my hands on some of the most beautiful yarn I had ever seen.

I fell hard for the soft, pastel, sweetshop colours of Sugar Candy and sent it packing on its way home to me. When the yarn arrived, I fondled the skein for weeks, desperate to find a pattern that truly deserved to be knitted with a thing of such beauty.

I had a few stumbles with lacy shawls, that were far too advanced for a beginner like me, before finding Mindy Wilkes' lovely Holden. The whole shawl took me just four days to complete, it was both my first indie skein of yarn and my first shawl. If only I'd known then what I know now, that it would open a new world to me. A world where I ended up dyeing my own yarn, and being the owner of more beautiful shawls than I knew what to do with (hence this project!).

When I look at my Sugar Candy shawl now, I see multiple flaws. The picot edging is a mess. I dropped and picked up stitches most inexpertly all over the place and my tension is wonky - to say the least.

But I know I will never have the heart to gift or frog this shawl. It will stay with me as a reminded of what it started for me. Because this shawl was a key to a brand new world for me. And that's why I will keep it, and I will wear it. Wonky edging and all.

What is the Thoughtful Shawl Project?

I saw a post by Jennie of tinypaperfoxes about her 39 shawls project, it sparked something inside of me.

Like Jennie, I have an absolute wealth of shawls, but wear the same ones regularly which means that I own unloved, neglected shawls, just like Jennie.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project is my journey to reassess and explore my shawl collection and decide whether to frog, donate or keep. 

You can read the whole post about the project here: The Thoughtful Shawl Project or you can browse the other blog posts about shawls here: Previous Thoughtful Shawl Project Posts.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project: Shawl One

Shawl One: Messalina by Kay F Jones

I remember seeing this shawl all over instagram when it launched. I immediately fell in love with the snuggly looking cables and squishy garter. I must confess to generally feeling very anti-cable. I love how they look, but I find it difficult to get into the swing of them. I either find myself fiddling with two needles and a bendy cable needle, or having to pore over information to do needleless cables.

However, I'm prone to a bit of knitting FOMO, so I couldn't resist the gorgeous projects popping up here, there and everywhere. I shelved my cabling consternation and ran to my stash to pick out some lovely worsted weight yarn.

I finally settled on a gorgeous sea green Rowan Pure Wool Worsted that I picked up from my LYS Little Houndales a while ago. I thought the lofty, soft wool would be perfect for that squishy garter and lush thick cable. But, I feel this was possibly my first mistake. I tend to have a very much preferred palette of neutral tones, grey, oatmeal, cream coupled with purples and pinks. Lilac, plum, fuchsia, mauve; you name it - as long as it sits in that range, I'll wear it. I have very few clothes or knitted objects in green. I like the colour, but I just tend to steer away from it in clothing choices. 

I cast it on at the same time as my chum @karenhtodd. When we usually do a co-cast on, we have plenty of chat and waffling about our chosen project. However this one was suspiciously quiet. I think we were both struggling with the rhythm and shaping, but didn't want to put the other off. 

So, I ploughed on like a trooper. I cabled those cables and gartered that garter. And finally it was time to bind off.  But, the moment it was finished, I knew it would never be a favourite. Or even a worn shawl, if I'm honest. I hated the way it curled up and wouldn't sit straight. No amount of blocking would make it sit right for me. So it sat unloved at the bottom of my shawl chest.

I hasten to add, this is no comment on the shawl or the designer. I've seen many well-loved and beautifully made Messalina. I think my knitting tension was off, or my yarn choice was bad or maybe I just angered the knitting Gods. Who knows? Sometimes these things just happen. 

So, this was an obvious first choice when I started this project. I steeled my courage with a cuppa and pulled out that delicious Rowan worsted wool to be reused in something else.

I thought that perhaps I would feel guilty or sad, but if anything I feel lighter and refreshed. And above all, excited. Because, it's almost like free wool and who doesn't love that?

What is the Thoughtful Shawl Project?

I saw a post by Jennie of tinypaperfoxes about her 39 shawls project, it sparked something inside of me.

Like Jennie, I have an absolute wealth of shawls, but wear the same ones regularly which means that I own unloved, neglected shawls, just like Jennie.

The Thoughtful Shawl Project is my journey to reassess and explore my shawl collection and decide whether to frog, donate or keep. 

You can read the whole post about the project here: The Thoughtful Shawl Project or you can browse the other blog posts about shawls here: Previous Thoughtful Shawl Project Posts.