A Shawl for Summer

I made a thing! It took me absolutely ages to finish this, not because it's difficult (it isn't) but because life gets so very in the way. But...I love it. The colour is honey, the different textures of the stitch patterns really come through in the Shetland wool, and it's surprisingly soft to wear.

I've called it the Northern Summer Shawl. We are actually having a summer here in Edinburgh - though Kristen might disagree! - which is an improvement on the past three or so. (We can finally relax and let go of the thought that we might never see three days of sunshine in a row again.) You still need something to cover your shoulders when having a mojito in the garden, catching the last of the light. I'm not sure Shetland shawls and mojitos traditionally go together, but it works for me....

The pattern will be available soon. I used Bead Stitch, Cat's Eye, Fan Shell (my particular favourite: I love how it works when it meets the spine of the shawl) and a wave edging, all adapted from Barbara Walker's Treasury. It took 4.5 balls of Jamieson's 2-ply jumper yarn (a light 4-ply/fingering weight), which works out to approximately 475m/520yd. It was a pleasure to knit with the yarn. There's a good amount of texture and a bit of spring to it. The roughness you feel at first really does disappear once it's been handled a bit, and soaked (especially if you put a smidgeon of hair conditioner in the rinse).

The edging is so graceful. I love knitting on an edging: it is such a clever and easy technique. (I wish it could be done in half the time, but that's another story!)