It's October and for many knitters that means Stephen West's Shawl MKAL. I have knitted a couple of these and, even though I am nervous about the unknowwn mystery aspect, I have enjoyed the knitting and the outcome. The major downside with these shawls is that they require a significant amount of yarn - five 100g fingering weight skeins for each of the last 3 shawls. This added to the mystery element and the "fear" of not liking this year's design meant that I wanted some sort of distraction project so that I didn't sign up for the MKAL (this does not mean that the shawl will not get knit at some later date*).
What better distraction from a Stephen West Mystery Shawl than another Stephen West shawl - to be specific Pierre. This DK weight shawl had caught my eye some time ago and based on an idea from the (on hiatus/ended) Wool Work podcast (formerly Knit British podcast) I decided to knit it in British undyed yarn.
(Apologies for the poor lighting I mainly work on this in the evening so photos are often taken under electric lights).
The yarn I chose was Fleece Jacob DK from West Yorkshire Spinners, taking the opportunity to work yarn from a breed I have never knowingly used before (although I have to say I generally am not great at tracking the breed of sheep my yarn comes from but anyway...).
This shawl relies on texture rather than zany colour combos for its feature. I'm liking how it's working up to date. The shawl should be thick and squishy, perfect for the threatened cold winter and all the other possible fun and games this winter. I think the colours may give it a rustic but wearable look. As to the feel of the yarn, at the start I thought it felt scratchy but I wouldn't say that now. I haven't had it next to bare skin (other than my hands) but I think it will be wearable and am interested to see what effect blocking has on the yarn texture.
Part of me thinks to go with the flow and let this be a long term project, that's the part that is aware of my two other WIPS, projects needing finishing and my long list of wanna makes. The other part of me wants this off the needles as soon as possible - winter is coming! We'll see how that goes. And either way I might actually rememebr to share the finished item!!!
*And it also doesn't mean that I won't cave in and cast on a MKAL shawl befoe the final clue is released
