In Which the Pirate Takes Pictures.

I actually finished the Breathe and Hope shawl two weeks ago, and I’ve finally gotten around to taking pictures of it!

The shawl took about two months to knit, although of course the actual knitting time was much less than that. I went through spurts of working on it for hours at a time, and then doing other things for a week. The navy is Cascade Heritage, and the variegated is Zen Yarn Garden Serenity 20 in the “Maltese” colourway. The sample for the original pattern had very little contrast between the solid and variegated yarns, but I wanted something a little less subtle.

I enjoyed knitting this pattern! It was well-written and the sections each seemed to go quickly. Each of the textured sections is a little different from the others, which adds a lot of visual (and knitting) interest, and the knotty stitch bindoff gives a pretty edge to the whole thing. I’d definitely knit it again – the boomerang shape works well for staying around my neck and shoulders. And I think I should be able to recreate that shape on the knitting machine!

Here’s a closeup showing some of the textured stitches. The vertical striped sections really do pull in, so I’m glad I used a larger needle (as suggested in the pattern) for those parts.

As soon as I finished it, I cast on for the Which Way shawl. It’s been in my queue for a while, so that I can use the rainbow of Mad Hatter mini-skeins that I got as a winterholiday gift. It’s going very quickly, as it’s pretty much miles and miles of plain stockinette with just a few increases and decreases to pay attention to. This is just the beginning: