Shawls: one pattern, two ways!
I found a single sock that I started knitting in 2012. It happened to be a pattern (In and Out) that began with the letter (I) that I was approaching in my A-Z sock journey for this year. (Ravelry project link)
"Aha! This is perfect," I thought. "I can finish the pair and write a blog post about what it's like to knit the same pattern across the span of 13 years."
However, I only found the sock, not the remaining yarn with which to make the second sock.
Thus began a frantic, all encompassing tossing of my craft room. "How hard could it be to find a specific ball of yarn?" some of you may be asking.
Others of you know exactly why this sounds like an impossible task. Thank you for being there with me, my people.
I did not find the yarn. I did, however, find a ton (probably a Metric Butt Ton) of finished, and unused knits. This is the story of two of them.
Two very different shawls, both knit from the same pattern: Perplexity Wrap by Tif Neilan (link to designer's website).
It is such a great pattern, friends, and I will certainly knit more.
From the designer: "The finished size of the Perplexity Wrap is determined by the yarn weight option you select. Choose to knit in fingering weight yarns for a lightweight fashion shawl or in worsted to bulky weight yarns for a perfectly cozy cold weather wrap!"
I did both! And I love both. My first was the fingering weight version, which I knit with minis I dyed based on my National Parks Week self-striping colorway.
The shawl is all garter stitch, which is so cozy and easy, but the frequent color changes and artistically irregular eyelet rows make knitting it very fun.
I think that I didn't have the recommended amount of yardage in my minis, so I had to improvise a bit with the colors near the end. But, that is super easy to do and I think it still looks great!
The pattern includes optional fringe, and I might have some regrets about not including it (and, no, I am certain I will not be able to find the yarn scraps to add it now. Thanks for asking. :-P ). But, no worries! I know another fingering weight version is in my future.
The second version I made was from handspun. I used six 3oz batts in semi-solid colors. The cool thing about this pattern is that the stitch count is the same, no matter which version you knit - but the result is dramatically different.
So big! So cozy.
It's no secret that I love winter as the best season, and now I can not wait to go for walks on a chilly day with this handspun around my neck.
I washed both shawls (and that Literal Metric Butt Ton of other woolens) and put them in my great-grandmother's (Babchi's) cedar hope chest for the stupid summer. But I will be dreaming of them until the chill returns to the air.
If you think you might want to knit this shawl, then let me tell you, friend: YOU DO! YOU DO WANT TO KNIT THIS SHAWL!
You might have fingering weight scraps just waiting for it. Or perhaps you want to spin for it during this year's Tour de Fleece (starting in July!). You can't go wrong. The pattern also includes an option for worsted weight yarn, but, as I mentioned, the stitch count is the same for all weights of yarn. So you can use any yarn you like, as long as you feel adventurous about the size of the finished object.
Until next time!
