No-Fuss Shade-Loving Shawl

Happy 82nd birthday to my lovely mum. I've been to see her this morning, in fact, she had an appointment at the doctors so I took her there. It's no fun at all having doctors appointments on your birthday, is it? Never mind, I took her cards and presents so that's made up for it.

One of her presents is the No-Fuss Shade-Loving Shawl by Susan Ashcroft. I started this on the very last day of May and though it was finished a while ago, it's been waiting to be blocked for ages. I used James C Brett Woodlander double knitting yarn which is 80% acrylic and 20% wool. As there was a small percentage of natural fibre I decided to wet block the shawl. This means that the garment is rinsed through then pinned out and laid flat to dry.

Here it is laid out on the bed. It's blocked in to shape, however, the edges were starting to roll.

I did what I should have really done at the start and steam blocked it. A squirt of steam from the iron is the best way to block garments made from acrylic yarn and as you can see, it sorted out those curly edges.

I really like the colour, blues mixed in with beige and cream, and my mum liked it too, she said it will go with lots of things.

It has a nice drape to it, I wasn't sure it would have as it's quite a thick shawl being knit with double knitting yarn, It sits nicely on my mum's shoulders and will keep her nice and warm through the winter months. She always feels the cold so it will be handy to grab when she feels a draught.

I've been wanting to have a go at a shawl for ages and now I've tackled my first one, I feel much more inclined to have a go at a lighter version and perhaps choose a more lacy design.