An Actual FO!

This was the best photo of about 20...

Pattern: Kind of Blue by Lauren Frehel (Rav link)
Yarn: 2 skeins Malabrigo Arroyo in Jupiter
Needles: 4mm (5.5mm to bind off, to be on the safe side)
Project page
I finished something, w00t! I did work on this while I was away but didn't actually finish it until the day after we got back. And it was the only thing I worked on, so all that extra yarn I carted halfway up the country was ultimately for nothing. But it was worth it for the peace of mind, so I don't care!
This is the first big shawl I've knitted for me and I love it! It went from 44"x24" when cast off to 60"x31" when blocked, so it's big enough to really wrap myself in. I foresee this getting a lot of wear at one of the libraries I work in which is always about 5 degrees colder than outside; this will be perfect for keeping off the chill from the air conditioning. It's also lovely to look at; the garter stitch portion really shows off the slight variagation of the yarn and moves seamlessly into the lace border which is just dramatic enough to draw the eye while not being remotely difficult to knit! I particularly like the eyelet border as well.
The pattern is easy to follow; it's both charted and written and very easy to read. I nearly made one snafu; the instructions say to knit the chart three times then "work rows 1 to 5" which is then followed by 5 rows of instructions for the bind off. I nearly went straight into the bind off before I realised that it meant to knit rows 1 to 5 of the chart again. Thankfully I studied the photos carefully and realised I was missing something because I wasn't on the wrong side. Phew! I hate unknitting looooooong rows. There's also instructions for a good stretchy bind off which I'll definitely use again.
As for the yarn; Arroyo may bring me back to my one true love, Malabrigo, after the short affair I've been having recently with Madeline Tosh. The colour way is beautiful, made up of shades of red, pink and brown and the yarn itself is soft, smooth and knotless and blocks like a dream. I do love a bit of MadTosh but Malabrigo is so much more affordable for a product that really is just as lovely. I'm sorry, Malabrigo, take me back!
So to recover from such a large project, I've moved onto a hat in Malabrigo Worsted, my ideal knitting project. I'll be back when I've finished that, but I leave you with another pretty shawl photo:

It's the detail that matters

#love!

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