Fuss Free Festival Shawl - with added stripes

I am really pleased to say that my Fuss Free Festival Shawl pattern has now been expanded to include directions for making a striped version. The original uses just 1 skein of sockweight yarn and the striped version uses this plus 25g of a contrast colour.

You could go the whole hog and use both skeins to create a larger two colour shawl - just keep going with the contrast colour. Just make sure you save enough yarn for the picot bind off if you want it to be in the main colour.

In the pattern I've allowed fairly generous yarn estimates but the pattern is very adaptable and you could easily change it to suit the yarn amounts you have.

When estimating the yarn needed for the bind off the conventional wisdom states that you measure the length of knitting to be bound off and then multiply this by 3 to give you the length of yarn you will need to finish the bind off. It's important to remember that a picot bind off uses considerably more yarn than normal and so I would probably double this number just to be on the safe side.

The pattern is available to purchase on Ravelry or if you sign up to my newsletter you can snaffle it for free for a limited time. If you are already a subscriber - check your email as you should have received an email with the update in it yesterday.

I really hope you have fun with this pattern and I can't wait to see how the different projects take shape.

All the shawls

Fuss Free Festival Shawl in yarn from Countess Ablaze 

There has been a lot of discussion over on the Everyday Knitters Facebook group about shawls and shawl patterns and I'm finding it so inspirational seeing everyone's choices and shawls in progress.

If you are looking for inspiration there is another facebook group recently started by Victoria of Eden Cottage Yarns. I know that some people aren't huge Facebook fans but there is an app - called Facebook groups appropriately enough - which allows you to not have Facebook at all on your phone or device. You can use the app to access groups but nothing else - perfect for getting your daily dose of knitting.

Anyway, there are several threads over on The ECY Garden all about recommendations for 2-colour and 3-colour shawls. Perfect if you are looking for a bit of shawl inspiration.

If you are completely new to shawls and looking for some ideas I've put together a few suggestions to get you started:

Hitchhiker by Martina Behm: a long, wrappable garter stitch shawl knit on the bias.

Knit Me by Louise Zass-Bangham: more wrappable garter stitch with a different construction.

Spindrift by Curious Handmade - beautifully simple shawl with super clear instructions.

Fuss Free Festival Shawl by Me - a garter stitch shawl knit on the bias.

Of course you are more than welcome to choose whichever pattern you want for our April shawl challenge but these are just some to start with. If you would rather pick up a WIP and work on that, that's absolutely fine. And if you really aren't into shawls then why not try a cowl instead?

There's something for everyone. The most important thing is that you pick up some fun yarn and enjoy the process.

Hurry up...

If force of will alone were sufficient this shawl would have been finished days ago. It has reached the point where I am willing it to be finished. Willing those last 20 to 30g of yarn to form themselves into neat little garter stitches just so that I can whip the thing off my needles and wrap it around my neck.

As the end of a project approaches there are usually a variety of emotions which include, but are not limited to relief, frustration, joy or pride.  With some projects you are having so much fun knitting them that the end almost creeps up on you and catches you unawares. Some you finish with a sense of relief, a sense of duty done and you can finally set it aside and work on something more joyful. But never, I don't think have I wanted to cast off a project so badly.

Not because I'm not enjoying it - it is fabulous easy and soothing knitting. Not because I don't like the yarn or the project - both are lovely and a delight to work on. 

It's just that this shawl sums up everything about this fleeting season that I love. Bright sunny days (sometimes), beautiful cherry blossom, fresh vibrant green buds and slightly grey, misty mornings. All summed up in garter stitch goodness just waiting to be wrapped around my neck.

So, armed with strong coffee and a packet of chocolate digestive I've set myself the task of getting to the picot bind off by bedtime tonight. Wish me luck...

An exciting prospect

Is there anything more exciting than the feeling when you are getting ready to add a pop of new colour to a project. Or in my case, to add some calm and soothing grey to this wonderful vibrant spring green.

I have a busy day of teaching lined up but I have my evening  (and as much of tomorrow as I can manage) planned out. I have Netflix and a hot date with this shawl to look forward to. I am determined to be able to wear it whilst it is still spring.

And to give me some ideas on how to wear it I'm  going to be using a fun Instagram hashtag starting next week. Use the hashtag #springshawlstyle and let's share some inspiration for how we wear our shawls. 

More details to follow but why not use this weekend to sort through your shawls and pick a few of your favourites to show off this spring.