Shift Shawl!

Let's sum it up, shall we?

• 1 pattern by Larissa Brown
• 5 skeins of Drops Alpaca
• 1 set of 4mm circular needles
• 25 days
• 18 hours of blocking
• gazillion alpaca fibers on my clothes

...and here it is. My Shift Shawl.

I made some minor changes to the original. I ran out of light beige yarn after 8 garter ridges (instead of 9, so I made additional two garter rows in off white, and then bound off using Jenny's Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off.
Wet blocking took almost 18 hours, but it was worth it!

I wish I had a set of blocking wires, that could help me with this weird wavy edge you can see on pic above. Luckily it vanishes when the shawl is worn! :)

This happens to be my first knitted shawl. The first one that's not a forever-WIP that is. And it is HUGE! I even convinced my reluctant husband to help me with pictures:

I'm still figuring out ways to wear it. In fact, I had to rush a bit this weekend, because tomorrow I'm going to buy a winter coat. And I don't have to tell you what will be first criterion!

Here's more detailed color info:

Garnstudio DROPS Alpaca (100% alpaca, sport weight)

A - natural white 0100
B - dark beige 0618
C - brown 0403
D - dark red 3650
E - light beige 0302

I used up most of color D, all but 2g of color E, but I should be able to knit a matching hat from what I have left.

However weird that sounds, I'm so happy about the gloomy, windy, damp days we have now. Weather like this was made for alpaca!

Have a nice (not necessarily warm) afternoon!
Gosia.

3000 stitches to go.

Two months ago I learned how important it is to read labels carefully. I was looking for a suitable yarn to make a Shift Shawl by Larissa Brown. My pick was Drops Alpaca, so I started my search for perfect color combination.  I felt so lucky, finding it in lower than usual price... and in fact I felt lucky for another few minutes, until I realized I just purchased 5 skeins of Drops ALASKA instead of ALPACA. More haste, less speed I guess. I did put it into good use though!

My second approach was successful and I managed to purchase the correct amount of yarn I intended to buy. Yay!
I started working on September 13th, and after two and a half weeks (and one train trip to Katowice) I got so far:

And I absolutely ADORE this yarn! It is so soft, fuzzy, and smells so good! Of course, I had to be greedy, trying to squeeze in one extra garter ridge in each color section. Now I'm afraid I will lose the game of yarn chicken with the light beige skein. This won't make a big difference, though. I can make the edge with off-white yarn.

My sister pointed out that colors I picked are a bit old-fashioned and grandmother-like. Well, I think the word she was looking for was "retro".

At this moment I have at least 5 more beige ridges to make, 4-5 off white stockinette stripes and edging. This is well over 3000 stitches to be made. No time to lose!

I secretly hope this winter will be colder than the last one, so I will be able to use my shawl often, without risking overheating.

Have a nice afternoon!

Gosia.

PS.: I might have ordered 10 skeins of yarn for a baby blankie yesterday... whoops.