I normally have a bit of a break from knitting over the Summer but I fell in love with a shawl pattern called Fantoosh – and to justify knitting in warm weather I said to myself “If I start now it’ll be ready for the Autumn”. I was right. A couple of weeks ago I cast off the last few stitches, its been blocked and Scott and I photographed it on the way to a country pub for lunch at the weekend.
The pattern suggested Old Maiden Aunt yarn and I stuck with this as it’s not something I’ve knitted with before; it’s always good to try something new. This yarn is hand painted in Scotland, made from UK bred wool and is so so soft. My love of all things green made Kelpie the perfect choice.
“A kelpie is one of the Scottish sidhe (fairy folk); this colourway has been handpainted in layered shades of sea-green & brown.”
I nabbed a bit of a bargain too. They had a minor studio fire and as a result some of the yarn smelt of smoke. These skeins were reduced from £17 to £12.75 – a treat to myself for starting my new job! A sachet of Soak wash included to help wash the smell of the smoke out.
Scott nicknamed this project ‘the needle breaker’. I broke two circular needles making it! The first was an aluminium needle and the glue dried up so the wire came out. The wood snapped on one of the second needles. Third time lucky.
I’m so pleased with this shawl, I can’t believe I’ve made it! As I’ve said in previous posts I’m not a very confident knitter but I’ll always give something a go. I’m okay once I’ve settled in to a project but I always have a thought in my mind at the beginning that I might not be able to do it, I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because I picked up crochet first and knitting afterwards. Progress on this shawl has been slow because I’ve been very tired lately and its mostly been knitted on public transport during my commute to and from work. Commuting turned into ‘me time’ which was nice.
^ No matter what I do with my hair it always look like I’ve just rolled out of bed! Le sigh.
I soaked my Fantoosh in the wool wash provided to remove the burnt smell. It did the trick. Once dry the wool smelt fine and had plumped back up nicely.
Now I want the same shawl in about 5 other colours!
Thanks to Scott for taking these photos of me!
Notes
- Pattern: Fantoosh by Kate Davies (£3.95 on Ravelry)
- Wool: Old Maiden Aunt (4ply)
- Wool colour: Kelpie
- Balls: 2 for large size shawl
- Knitting needles: 1x 3.75 circular knitting needle
I love it!! It’s supercute and the green is fantastic!!!
Thank you 🙂 I’m happy to wear it at last!
Your shawl is gorgeous! And the yarn looks so soft. Perfect for Autumn. Wear it well 🙂
Thanks Donna. This is going to get a lot of use over the next few months.
I love the color!
Me too Ginny. Hopefully it will sit well with most of the colours I wear.
Wow, the yarn and the pattern are both beautiful! I know exactly what you mean about not being a confident knitter. I learned to crochet first, about 10 years ago… I really do want to learn how to knit, because there’s so much beautiful stuff out there! But all I’ve managed so far are washcloths, ha.
Well those are still good things to make. It took me ages to feel ready to make something other than scarves. Although I love scarves so would be happy to knit and crochet them forever more 🙂
Such a lovely shawl, stitch pattern, yarn, color…it’s knitting perfection! Well done. 🙂
Thanks so much Lisa!
Beautiful shawl — such gorgeous lacework! And I absolutely love that color. Anything in the blue-green family is my favorite. I’ve never tried Old Maiden Aunt yarn — I’ll keep it in mind. You made it sound wonderful!
It’s lovely yarn and comes in a really nice range of colours too. I cast on some socks a few days afterwards and the yarn seemed really rough in comparison!
I know what you mean about having a lack of knitting confidence before you really get into the rhythm of a project. (only for me it happens at the beginning of *every* project, knitting, sewing, crochet, writing…)
BUT, look at the results. So, so pretty! I like how it’s open enough to be called lacy, but you can tell there’s substantial warmth there, too.
Thanks 🙂 I’m exactly the same. I think it’s because projects like this always seem to vast at the beginning and I feel like I’m fumbling around. I really like Kate Davies’ patterns though because they are very well written and easy to follow.
I was so happy to see the fantoosh because I’ve read about it and wondered what it looked like! Beautiful!
You have gorgeous hair!
Thank you Pom Pom. It never looks tidy, part of having curly hair I suppose…
Beautiful- both you and the shawl! I am in awe of your patience and skillz – I fail at knitting plain squares (try to look surprised!)
Well when we meet up I shall bring my needles and help you get on your way! When I start projects like this I get a bit of tunnel vision and find it hard to think about anything else. It can be very distracting 🙂
It’s great you got the burnt smell out of it as you put a lot of work in to it. The shawl is beautiful and the colour looks great on you.
Thanks Zena. I’m glad the smell came out too, I wasn’t sure if it would to begin with.
What a pretty shawl. The yarn, the color, and the pattern. Just beautiful. I admired your hair, too, in the pictures. ;^)
Thanks very kind Becki. It’s lovely and warm to wear.
The shawl looks beautiful on you and it’s the green colour that always suits you, although the wool is called ‘Old Maiden Aunt’ you definitely do not look like one in it it is really cute and snugly. ?
Haha! I think Chief would definitely approve of the softness of this wool. I’d like to make a pale grey one too eventually, you can never have too much knitwear…
Lovely shawl!
Just for future reference you can superglue the needle back to the cable. I had the same thing happen recently, and my husband and son used a toothpick to apply the glue and pushed the cable back in the needle and let it sit for two days. It works fine now. 🙂
Thank you for the tip Ranee! I wasn’t sure if it would make an annoying ridge but your toothpick method sounds good. I will give it a go, fingers crossed 🙂
It’s gorgeous! I LOVE that colour. I think I have something similar in stash that I bought just for the love of the colour. I’ve always wanted to knit a Kate Davies pattern. Enjoy wearing your beautiful work!
Love it!
Your shawl is beautiful and you look beautiful in it. What a pretty colour yarn. I love it. You are a very accomplished knitter to complete such a piece