We have reached the halfway point in my challenge, and I now have six lovely sock yarn shawls waiting for autumn to arrive so that I can wear them. August’s challenge shawl was Heartsick by Remily Knits (Rachel Henry), and it was challenging because the construction was markedly different from all the other shawls I have knitted recently. For Heartsick, we knit the lovely lace motif edging first, all 21 repeats of the heart shape, then pick up along the straight edge and knit short rows to create a slight curve. I admit that I found it difficult to keep track of counting the short rows and placing the wraps correctly. Actually, I used the knit double stitch / purl double stitch method of wrap and turn described in the Fish Lips Kiss Heel sock pattern, and it is so effective at hiding the wrap that I couldn’t see where the previous wrap had occurred! Nevertheless, I was able to fudge adapt the pattern to suit my erratic counting; if I had been conscientious and had had all the time in the world, I would have ripped it back and knitted the body again!
I am very pleased with the result. The yarn is a lovely variegation – called Winter Sunset – hand dyed by Kirsty at Wharfedale Woolworks in her Yorkshire Rose BFL sock yarn (one day I may actually knit a pair of socks in this lovely yarn!) and it looks good both on the edge of the shawl and on the body. I imagine that it would be simple to extend the size of the shawl by knitting more edge pattern repeats and recalculating the short rows. It would also look good with a plain yarn for the border and a variegated one for the body, or vice versa. I nice adaptable pattern!
Technical notes
Pattern: Heartsick, part of the Lovelorn Collection by Rachel Henry (Remily Knits)
Yarn: Wharfedale Woolworks Yorkshire Rose BFL sock yarn, colour Winter Sunset (issued as part of the 2014 Flora Sock Yarn Club) 110g, 385m
Needles: Milward bamboo circular needle, 4.5mm
Yarn remaining: 19g, approximately 66m
Finished dimensions: 135cm at the neck edge by 31cm at its widest point.
September’s Challenge
Wharfedale Woolworks Sock Yarn Club for this year is called Colour Therapy, and the semi-solid colours have been absolutely fabulous; a rich strawberry red, a glistening pale grey, a yellow the colour of ripe corn, a grassy green aptly named Gaia, a stunning blue, and a slatey blue-grey named Panacea. I have already used Zen Garden (March’s challenge) and Shinto Gate (July’s challenge) and this month I am going to knit with Cinteotl. The named of this yarn refers to the Mayan god of maize, and it is well named; think of acres of ripe corn gleaming in the sunshine. It is a colour to lift the spirits on a dull winter’s day.
The pattern I am working is Mrs Tumnus by Mimi Codd (Eskimimi on Ravelry), another unusual construction, and a very unusual shape. This shawl is another that is worked edge-first, but instead of being a very shallow crescent, Mrs Tumnus is horseshoe shaped. The pattern was inspired by the character of Mr Tumnus, the faun in The Lion The Witch and the Wardrobe, and should really be red in colour, but I think it will look stunning in the glowing yellow semi-solid Cinteotl.
Things my grandma taught me 