FO: Triangle Shawl

Pattern: Basic Bottom-up Triangle Shawl [Ravelry link]
Yarn: Farmhouse Yarns Silk Blend (34% Silk, 33% Cotton, 33% Lamb’s Wool) in Brilliant Violet from Sit & Knit in New Buffalo, Michigan*
Needle: US10/6.0mm
Recipient: Barbara (Daniel's wife)

This yarn has been sitting in my stash for a little while, and I couldn't quite figure out what it wanted to be. I'd tried to cast on with it once before but had not enjoyed the knitting then. I even considered selling the yarn. Am I glad I didn't!

After attending a shawl knitting class with THE Joan Schrouder I was inspired to try different kinds of shawl construction. This one is knit from the bottom up until I'd just about run out of yarn, which is pretty much what you have to do when you have just one skein of the stuff.

I used a yarn-over increase to start each row and am pretty sure the last time I YO-ed at the beginning of a row it was a mistake. Hehe But we used this increase in Joan's class, and it makes for a nice little bit of laciness at the edge, as well as a stretchy edge. I didn't want to get into a lace pattern with this yarn because I think it shows off best in simple garter stitch.

The yarn is really neat, a little bit thick and thin, a little barber pole-esque with the strands of wool, silk, and cotton, as the cotton doesn't take the dye. It is truly "brilliant violet" - a beautiful shade of purple. It is not very elastic, what with all that silk and cotton, but the garter stitch makes the fabric elastic, so it blocked out nicely. I also think this blend will make for a good year-round shawl; Barbara and Daniel live much of the year in Burlington, Vermont, but spend the winter in Florida, so I didn't want to knit her something woolly but wanted it to have some wool. I think this turned out just right as Goldilocks would say.

And Barbara really likes it, saying it's her favorite color.

*I found Sit & Knit while visiting my BFF's 2007 summer rental, which is where I told her and her husband that Nick and I had gotten back together. Ah, memories.