I do love a shawl. I have a problem with the word ‘shawl’ though. It’s a really dowdy word and I think that’s not right. A shawl does not need to be dowdy and I quite often say ‘triangular scarf’ instead.
The good thing about knitting a scarf is that you don’t have to worry too much about it fitting you nicely: wrap it loose, wrap it tight, fit is not such a biggy. Also, it’s simple in construction, but gives you an opportunity to challenge yourself with a few new stitch sequences.

 

This is Cowboys and Angels, a shawl designed by Isabell Kraemer. I had not before worked the trellis pattern or bobbles, so that was my challenge for this piece. The bobbles were a doddle: doddle bobbles if you like, but the trellis was a bit more of a challenge. The trick is not to lose the sequence, which means you need to get your head around the pattern structure so that you know which stitch you are knitting into which of the previous row. Otherwise you won’t know if you’ve lost count and buggered the whole row up! I’ll be honest, I had to unpick a fair bit. I also wrote out the trellis sequence on a fresh piece of paper, ensuring that the instructions for each row did not follow onto a new line of text, it’s a visual thing.

The yarn is Malabrigo Rios in Frank Ochre which is lush beyond words… super soft and the marl of the hand dye gives a bit of variation to the colour.

So, what do you think about the word ‘shawl’ is it just be that’s judgy over it?

Pattern: Cowboys and Angels by Isabell Kraemer
Fabric: Malabrigo Rios: Frank Ochre