Knitting the other one and a half shawls

Lambspun alpaca, a local Colorado product available from the fabulous Lambspun yarn shop in Ft. Collins, inspired this shawl. The yarn is available large hanks -- 665 yards of fingering weight alpaca. First I bought the black, straight from the beast, no dye needed. It was so soft and smooth I couldn't resist. Then I became obsessed with the idea of mixing it with a marled twist of gray, white and black that had stuck in my mind during my first visit to Lambspun. My obsession required a second visit to Lambspun, which is about a 5 hour drive from my home. Good thing K had to go to Ft. Collins for business.


I didn't think I wanted an all-black shawl, practical though it might be. Since I was copying the Terhi-Kay modification of the Feather and Fan Triangle Shawl from Folk Shawls, I used the triple-stranded marl for the border ruffle. I didn't double the stitch count, though. The marl is fluffy enough to provide a bit of expansion without the trouble of extra stitches.

I did increase per pattern to make the tails, up until I started the border. They work just like Terhi's and Kay's do, wrapping around my waist or over my shoulders. Most times, I just let them hang or lie in my lap so I can play with them.

I included every eyelet. The black needed a little bit of patterning. Totally plain garter stitch would have left me numb. As it is, it's rather dull, but perfect for home wear. Just perfect.

To make wearable and practical shawls, I risked dullness, first with the gray Domovoi, then with this black and a little gray. Now I need an antidote. For that, there's nothing like Noro.


I'm very afraid that this one is going the wrong way. I keep knitting in very bright colors then ripping them out. Knitting a Citron is a lot of fun, though, at least until the rows get over 500 stitches on them.

For the history of the Terhi-Kay shawl, see the February and March archives of Mason-Dixon knitting.