Wednesday, March 03, 2010

Mixed Green Shawl

Evilla mix green shawl (I call it monster shawl)-1

After I've finished my Haruni shawl, I went through my stash to find some yarn for my next shawl. I did not know what I wanted to knit next, but was just looking through it all, to find suitable yarn. That's when I came across some ancient Evilla yarn. It's very smelly, and really rough. I had wound a skein into a yarn cake a long time ago, and just found the second skein. Somehow I wanted to get it out of my stash, and decided to knit a shawl with it. I wound the second skein, sat down, and cast on. I had no clue what I was doing, no pattern. It's not even lace weight yarn, or fingering weight either. It's so rough, that I would not tolerate something made of it on my head, on my hands, or feet, but a shawl over clothing would be alright. Besides I liked the colorway, it's so rustic!

Evilla mix green shawl (I call it monster shawl)-3

There was vegetable matter to feed a sheep, which I picked out as I knit, some of the dry grass got stuck in my fingers, prickly little things.
Since I've knit Miralda shawl by Nancy Bush, I always wanted to use the "Gathered stitch pattern" again, and this was the time I did. I love the look of this stitch pattern!

Evilla mix green shawl (I call it monster shawl)-5
I wanted to use up all of the yarn I had, and at the end I almost ran out of yarn. I could not quite finish it, as I wanted to, but I managed to do another gatheres stitch pattern before I had to do the garter stitch section before the bind off. At least there's nothing of it left now.

Evilla mix green shawl (I call it monster shawl)-2-border

Somehow I didn't block it with pins and needles. I just soaked it in wool wash, and soaked it in water with hair conditioner in it (for the smell). It did nothing for the roughness, but it sure smelled good afterwards. I just smoothed it out on a big towel on the floor. I'll do a better job, after it's next bath whenever. It turned out huge, compared to all the other shawls I made lately, and it's warm too. I like it, even though it's nothing special, a real down to earth kind of shawl for every day use.

It's also # 2 of 10shawls2010.

Happy with Evilla monster shawl-3
And here's one more shot with my Sweety.

Here are the specs:
pattern: my own
yarn: Evilla 100% wool, color A-35, 4/2 (mixed green), 220yds/100g, used 417g - 917yds.
needle: 5mm
size after blocking: 39" x 80"
start-finish: Jan. 11-16

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I almost forgot to add this link to the most wonderful new sock pattern coming soon! For adventurous knitters only I'm sure, have a look! Flower socks by Bea

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35 comments:

Kris said...

5 days to knit a shawl - wow! I can only dream of knitting at that speed.

She sure is a beauty, even though it seems you didn't particularly like the yarn. It's hard to believe from your photos that the yarn is so rough.

Ear rubs to Biko and Happy.

momsue84 said...

What a gorgeous shawl, Monika!! Please, please consider writing up the pattern. It's just beautiful!!!! And, of course, even more gorgeous with the stunning model.

RC said...

the color is great, so earthy! it looks warm too
I'll have to check out that pattern, wonder if you could do a square instead of a triangle? hhmmm

Karen said...

Gorgeous shawl! And fabulous sock pattern.

shannon said...

lovely!

i once was knitting with some manos for my father-in-law and was smacked by the most offensive smell ever. those sheep...getting into stuff. :)

Barbara from Nova Scotia said...

LOVE the new shawl! You did a lovely job on it.

Michelle said...

Love the textural look of the shawl! And Happy seems happy with it too. :-)

Toby said...

I think you found the perfect use for that yarn. Sometimes warm/rustic is just what we need - an elegant, light weight shawl wouldn't do any good on a freezing cold day, but this one will fit the bill.

Freyalyn said...

I like 'rustic' shawls, they're much more practical than the really soft delicate ones that are so limited in where you can wear them. I need a new dog-walking one, and am thinking about what to use for it. And a gorgeous photo at the end.

Ruth said...

It does look very pretty and I bet it's cozy and warm.

Wanderingcatstudio said...

It may not feel nice, but it looks beautiful. And shawls don't need a lot of lace or complications to be nice. My favourite shawl is my Riopelle. I wear it all the time.

Cloudberry said...

Beautiful shawl!! You do knit fast :)
When it comes to our water problems, the water pipes are very deep already so I guess burying them deeper is not an option. Hubby's been talking about draging some kind of cable (don't now the english word..) we can pull through the pipe and up to the well. This cable can be plugged in the socket and it will melt any ice in the pipe.

Die Fadenwirkerin said...

Wow! This shawl is absolutely stunning. I love it.
Jule

Anonymous said...

Liebe Monika!

Da hast Du ein schönes Teil geschaffen! Ist bestimmt auch sehr kleidsam! Klasse!
Liebe Grüße,
Veronika

punkin said...

your knitting inspires me.

rosalia said...

fantastic work.

Päivi Eerola said...

Wow, it's so beautiful!

Sharon said...

Your shawl is absolutely lovely and I think Happy feels the same way.

I believe there's nothing more useful than a large shawl that can double as a lap blanket when called for.

SockPixie said...

The shawl looks beautiful. Thanks for the link to the new sock pattern.

Kathy... said...

Wow - that is just the most beautiful shawl I think I have ever seen! Love the yarn...the stitch patterns, texture! Just everything!

Mr Puffy's Knitting Blog: said...

It's incredibly beautiful! I love rustic shawls, more than any others. So glad the shampoo and conditioner made it smell good - now you and Happy can lie on it with pleasure :)

hakucho said...

Your shawl is beautiful...it will certainly keep you nice and warm on cold nights! Those socks are very unusual...very interesting :)

Jeanne said...

Gorgeous shawl - I love the texture of it. Can I second (or third) the request for a pattern?

Very nice pictures too - especially the last one!

Queen of the Tea Cosies said...

Hoorah! You are knitting again. And beautifully as always.

Anonymous said...

That shawl is simply gorgeous. And I love the last picture. :)

2paw said...

Beautiful and kind of a casual shawl!! Love you German Shepherd Accessory!!!!

Siena said...

Lovely pattern - a perfect match for this yarn and colour!

Anonymous said...

Dein Schal gefällt mir sehr sehr gut. Ich habs ja nicht so mit den total romantisch blümchenlochmäßigen Dreieckstüchern. Aber so was ähnliches wie dieses Tuch, das könnte ich mir auch für mich vorstellen.

Nur 4er-Nadeln, die muss ich mir vorerst noch verkneifen.

Grüßle, die Bea

wolltrunken said...

Schon wieder so eine wunderbare Kombination aus Garn und Muster - sagenhaft!

Liebe Grüße

von Birgit

pat said...

I LOVE this shawl Monika! LOVE it!! The soft subtle coloring and your "on the fly" design are a perfect match.

Linda said...

I love that, and you know that kind of knit is always the most wearable, its beautiful.

Anonymous said...

That came out fantastic! Yarn and pattern design r eally work together.

Beverly said...

A real down to earth gorgeous shawl. The pattern is lovely and so is the color.

You'll have all your shawls finished in no time at all.

La Cabeza Grande said...

You certainly do shawls (and socks, and ...) right! This is quite lovely.

Gloria Patre said...

I am SO in love with this shawl! Scratchy or not it's so earthy and inviting! Really really really lovely!