Westknits Mystery Shawl

I bought the Westknits Mystery Shawl : Earth and Sky pattern on Ravelry in late July. This was my first mystery pattern purchase and I absolutely love how it turned out.

So the whole idea behind this is: buy the shawl pattern and an email will come every Monday in August with a link to the next clue, so by the end of the month you'll have knit a complete shawl.

I chose to use yarn that I had in my stash already (a goal of mine for the next 6 months). I chose Quince and Company's Tern yarn in a lovely brown and blue called Barnacle and Boothbay, and the rest of a skein of Noro Sock that I bought to finish the Sweet Jazz Scarf.

Here is Week 1 - Clue 1...

Week 2 - Clue 2

Week 3 - Clue 3

I waited until clue 4 was out before I finished clue 3 so there isn't a picture.

Week 4 - Clue 4

This shawl blocked out great! I ended up knitting the medium size and the Option 2 edging to end the shawl.

I had moments knitting this when I thought I didn't like it but now that it's done, I find myself drawn to the bold colours and shapes. It's really soft and warm! Here are a few FO shots taken during a super hot afternoon last week!

So would I do another mystery shawl?

Short answer...Yes.

It was fun!

FO - Sweet Jazz

Mary Rose on Ravelry gifted me with this pattern and I had to drop everything and knit it. So I did!

I had a skein of TFA in Deep Sea left over from my tank top and I knew this would make a beautiful scarf. Unfortunately I didn't read the yarn requirements properly and I really thought one skein would be enough, after all, most shawls on Rav are the one skein variety. Or at least the ones I've knit.

So I had to get creative and search the yarn store for something that would work. I found a skein of Noro Silk Garden Sock in a cream/beige colourway that I thought wouldn't look too terrible and really the contrast is pretty slick. I was able to knit all the lace in TFA and finish the last 2 rows in the Noro.

I've had great luck with stretchy bind offs lately and so I thought I'd try the EZ sewn bind off... If some of you  are thinking I'm crazy or if you're rolling on the floor laughing at me right now, where the heck were you when I was ready to bind off? I sure could have used the warning!

750 stitches are a lot to bind off...  to many to use this method... the yarn kept tangling, splitting, shedding and generally was a real pain in the rump.

Never use this bind off on this shawl... you will cry... especially as it took me over 8 hours to do (I'm so not exaggerating here)!

I had a bugger of a time blocking this (steam blocking isn't a very exact science) so the scarf has a ruffle. Seeing as there is a bit of a ruffle trend going on right now, I'm not overly concerned with stretching it out.

Thankfully I bought the perfect shawl pin at the Folk Festival a few weeks ago...

Also this scarf is long... really long...

Ok, so I'm complaining... but I'm finished now... it really is a fabulous thing this sweet jazz... I'm thinking of knitting another but in eye popping purple and bright green (I'm insane, must be the heat) ... it would go wonderfully with my charcoal peacoat...

FO - Arroyo

This is called Arroyo and it's a free pattern by Sarah H. Wolf. I knit this shawl/scarf from a skein of Malabrigo Sock yarn that I've had in my stash for over a year.

It always feels so good to use up stash... I try not to buy yarn without a project in mind but sometimes a skein is just too pretty to pass up and this yarn with it's turquoise, blues and earthy browns was very pretty.

It knit up into a fabulous scarf although I wish I'd have cast on for a few more lace repeats. I have lots of yarn left over.

I liked that this pattern started with the lace edging and then the body was knit after. I've never done a shawl that way and it was easy.

I did a few mods of course:

...the first was knitting the body in stockinette instead of garter stitch. I was nervous I wouldn't have enough yarn (garter stitch eats yarn like crazy) and really my first mod was using sock weight yarn instead of worsted weight (quite a large mod actually) so I was freaked out about running short.

...I also decided I didn't like the edging along the neck. The pattern has you just cast off which is fine if you did the garter stitch but stockinette will curl and this scarf needed a proper edging to finish it off, so the next mod was the eyelet row just before casting off. 

Here's what I did:
Final edge: Purl one row… next row {k2tog, yo} repeat thru to end of row… Purl one row... bind off in Jenny’s stretchy bind off purlwise….

I blocked very aggressively because I knew this scarf was on the small side and there you have it... Arroyo... Perfect for wrapping around your neck for a bit of colour and style in the office...

FO - Wanderlust

I finished something! Yay! I've been loving this pattern Wandering the Moor forever. I've blogged about it and finally I've knit the shawl.

The first yarn I tried knitting it with did nothing for me so I frogged it and put the idea of Wandering away for a few months... Then as I was stash diving one day I realized I had 4 skeins of Rowan Felted Tweed in a rich chocolate brown called Phantom. I love Felted Tweed and thought "well heck! Why I don't I just use what I already have?" So I did.

I wore Wandering to work today and love it! I'm already planning to make another. Maybe in a brighter colour this time. I'm really pleased with the way this shawl turned out. It's the perfect size and it's so soft.

If you'd like to check out my project details you can find them here.

If I can get my butt in gear I'll have another FO to share this week too! I can feel my knitting mojo coming back!

Queue Revue

Today we're taking a sneak peak into my never ending queue!

Here is another shawl pattern that's floating my boat lately. Shaelyn is a light airy triangular shawl that is knit on 5.5mm needles with a DK weight yarn. I'll bet it will be fast knitting and that makes it an almost instant gratification kind of project. I love that!




photo by EraLunaris

This is another shawl that lends itself to darker colours (or maybe that's just me). I've seen some projects on Ravelry that are bright and vibrant, and some are soft and pastel. I tend to like the heathered greys and darker jewel tones.

I really love the lace sections in this pattern. I also like how easy it is to customize the size.

So what's in your queue?