I have tried to get up the courage to knit a shawl. One to wrap around my shoulders when a sweater is too warm. Or around my neck under a coat when a heavy scarf is too bulky.
The Spindrift Shawl by Helen Stewart is the perfect fit. (Her website is here.) Crescent shape, a little bit of lace, one skein…what’s not to love? I bought some Zauberball sock yarn earlier in the summer so I cast on for this project sometime in the middle of October.
The pattern is great and includes stitch counts at the end of each row. After starting, ripping, and restarting several times, I added a lifeline as I kept losing or dropping a stitch. You can see those in the picture below. They will be removed once the knitting is completed and before blocking.
The first 4-10 stitches at the beginning and end of each row requires a bit of concentration but after a while it’s easy enough for TV knitting.
I thought this colorway, Bunte Gasse 2310, was mostly blues, greens and a bit of yellow but it’s got some red in there as well. It will do but was not what I expected.
It’s taking me about 20 minutes to knit one row as the rows get longer the more stitches I have to knit. Mr. Aitch and I have a few trips planned and if I can get him to drive, I can knit!
That is beautiful. And that is exactly the kind of shawl I wanted to try, too. But in crochet. I don’t need the “holes” in the first few rows, can you convert a pattern?
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The holes are the increases. Knitting patterns can be converted to crochet (or so I’ve read) but I can’t do it.
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lovely! I think that is a great first shawl pattern!
Yes, the dirty secret of shawl making – the rows can get REALLY long, and if they are a complex pattern, a row can take an hour or so by the end. We won’t talk about how long binding off can take! They are such perfect garments, they are worth it. I have one draped over my shoulder right now, in fact.
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Thank you. Can’t wait for it to be finished to see the magic once it’s blocked!
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Perfect for that just a bit chilly temps!
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