The aforementioned shawl!

A quick post, because today was atrociously long and as a result, my attention has been rendered atrociously short. Recall how last post I made mention of a recently finished shawl? Probably not - I sure as hell don't read blogs that attentively. But here it is anyway!




This fine creation is...: Wandering the Moor, by Celeste Glassel. Knitted on a 3.75mm circular needle, out of a single 150g ball of Kauni 8/2 Effektgarn (EM colourway).

What Anna has to say: I really enjoyed working on this. I started it in the final arm-flailing throes of exam revision, when I needed something that I could just knit without thinking, and this pattern fitted the bill rather nicely. I finished the stockinette portion in a wee bit over a week (and gathered several appreciative comments from both friends and strangers who saw me knitting away in the pub while sipping on my Guinness), and knocked the lace portion off over the course of a few days. Admittedly I was a bit tired of it by the time I was working the final few long lace rows, but that's pretty much standard for shawls - for the most part this was a pleasure to knit.

I'm pretty keen on the yarn as well. The colours are just as vivid in real life as in the above picture - this shawl is very, very red. The yarn is quite scratchy, but I have to admit, I kind of like it that way. I do like the ultra soft yarns (*cough* Malabrigo *cough*), but I will admit to having a soft spot for the scratchy wools with a bit more texture, in case my obvious devotion to the Noro yarns hasn't already made this predilection abundantly clear. I really loved using this yarn, and definitely look forward to doing so again - actually, I already have a ball of rainbow coloured Kauni that's earmarked for a gift project next year.

In conclusion, I always thought that shawls were something that other people wore. For all that I do enjoy a spot of lace knitting here and there (Exhibit A: Luna Moth shawl), I was always reluctant to give into the triangle shawl craze because I doubted that I'd ever find ways to wear such an item. It wasn't until the last few months, when I actually started wearing my Luna Moth, that I began to reconsider. I'm glad I did - happy to report that I have already worn this one, and have every intention of doing so again. Repeatedly!

Potentially nonsensical...

Okay - there is a very real chance that this post will not make a great deal of sense, because approximately five minutes ago, I was asleep. Ahh, the wonder that is exam period. Mind you, why I'm bothering to nap at 11:42pm instead of just going to bed is anybody's guess...

At any rate, I'm still busy, but definitely alive and kicking. Without the kicking part though. And I am posting for a reason - it isn't procrastination alone that's fuelling me. Because behold, I finished my second Terra:

And this would be: Terra, by Jacqueline Landry. Size XS (32"), knitted with several inches of negative ease, on 6mm needles. Used 3 balls of Bendigo Woollen Mills Rustic 12ply (in colour "Red Currant"). No significant mods to speak of.

The part where I blather: I love this pattern, and I honestly don't know why more people haven't made it. It's easy, ridiculously fast, and the end product is awesome. The pattern suggests you pick a size with several inches of positive ease, and for my first Terra, that was what I did. The fit was good (and indeed I still love this jumper dearly and wear it several times a week), but because of the loose gauge, it stretched a little over time. It got me wondering about what the next size down would look like, so I figured that I'd find out.

It's always a little bit nerve racking knitting garments with negative ease, because they always look far too small before they're seamed and blocked. But this, as you can see, came out just fine in the end. It's rather close fitting at the moment, but I'm counting on it stretching a little like the last one did, so it should ease up a bit. I'm not complaining either way.


I'm very enamoured with the colour. Admittedly it does have a bit of a Little Red Riding Hood vibe to it, but red is really nice to wear in winter, and I can't quite bring myself to feel that the hood is anything less than awesome. It's lovely and warm too - I wore it out and about yesterday, and was perfectly toasty despite winter having well and truly set in. If we're being nit picky, some of seaming really could have been better - especially around the sleeves. And the armholes are a fraction too tight in this size. But I'm really having to scrape the bottom of the barrel, complaint wise. I'm really happy with how this turned out, and I plan to wear it quite thoroughly to death over the next while. Now I just need to convince myself not to order the yarn to make another. Given the fact that this is so quick to make, costs under $30AUS to make, and yields such a good result, I'm probably in severe danger on this front...

I have things to keep me occupied though. The yarn for my Sylvi finally arrived, so I'm swatching away busily on that:

That's rather a lot of yarn - I'll be busy indeed. And, you know, with exams. Those as well...