Saturday 7 July 2012

i knit a cloud!

The Vital Statistics
Pattern: Whippoorwill by Carina Spencer.
Size: Large.
Yarn: Filatura di Crosa Gioiello in colourway 26 (30 per cent wool, 30 per cent mohair, 20 percent nylon, 10 per cent acrylic, 10 per cent cotton); 2.05 skeins. And madelinetosh tosh merino light in colourway 'well water' (100 per cent merino); 0.43 skeins, a present from Di.
Needles: 3.5mm to knit and 4.5mm to cast off.
Start to finish: 8 June to 27 June 2012 (yes, June of the same year).
Stash/recycle content: Alas, no.

Comments: I started planning this shawl at the very end of December 2010. It took me a while to get around to knitting it but once I did, wow, quick knit. I wasn't so lucky on yardage with the Gioiello though - I did need to buy a third ball for want of only about 11 yards of yarn. As it was, the third ball was a different dye lot to the first two (looks exactly the same but curiously a slightly different texture) and I knit the last of the white/gold sections from the third ball, thereby using up a little more than 11 yards of it! The tosh merino light is an absolute dream to knit with and the resulting fabric is gorgeous. As is this colourway, I definitely want to use it again. And there is just enough mohair in the Gioiello to make it sticky so when the shawl is flung around your shoulders, it actually stays there.

This shawl is a lovely design and a great shape. The instructions are, however, a bit confusing for being overly descriptive of how to make yarn-overs. Reading all the extra information bewildered me so I just started knitting and encountered no problems. Where the pattern calls for an M1 increase, I did a yarn-over and on the next row, worked into the back of the stitch.

Verdict: Llovelly. (Get it? Whippoorwill, Gioiello, Well Water.)

No comments: