Despite the number of shawls I knit in an almost habitual manner, the last shawl I actually knit FOR MYSELF was the huge Stormy Wings Alpaca Shawl. Which was almost two years ago now. When I knit that one, I had some lovely silver grey Moggy and Me yarn, and I decided I was going to knit that baby till the yarn ran out. So I did. And then I blocked it, and as alpaca tends to do - it grew. A lot.
The final result was that that particular shawl is over 7 foot wide - which makes it (on my 5 foot 4 frame) less of a shawl, and more of a blanket. Which is fine, if it's freezing cold, but when it's just a bit chilly and I just want something pretty to throw around my neck for a little extra warmth (as opposed to my own personal alpaca furnace) it kind of leaves me shit out of luck.
This week, I knit myself a shawlette - the perfect size for a little something extra when the wind picks up some. And it's in just my colours too.
The pattern is the 'Holden Shawlette' (Rav link) by Mindy Wilkes. The yarn is Wollmeise 100% in 'Spice Market WD'. (Wollmeise is a highly sought after yarn from Germany. It is high sought after mostly because of it's colours, which are super rich. Spice Market is my favourite colourway of theirs, and the WD stands for 'We're Different'. Which means it's a mis-dye - this particular batch has none of the pistachio green this colourway normally has, which doesn't bother me in the slightest. I love it's rustiness anyways.)
The knitting of the shawl took me a little under two weeks. I have had the yarn sitting there for well over six months, and I was just waiting till it told me what it wanted to be.
And then I received a parcel in the mail from Mum and Dad for my birthday, and I am not ashamed to say, the shawl virtually knit itself, to match the contents of the parcel.
They go together so nicely! That's a carved piece of Amber in the end there. I love it, and I love the shawl with it, too. Perfect match and all in the lovely autumny colours I adore.
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