Monthly Archives: April 2018

Apr 7

FO: Henslowe 2.0

Just as I had hoped, my Henslowe flung itself off my needles on hopped onto the blocking boards and voilà (casually practicing my French here), it’s done!

Pattern: Henslowe by Beth Kling
Yarn: Malabrigo Sock in the Ochre colourway

Henslowe requires 1 skein of fingering weight yarn, which is pretty great. I’m pretty sure 99% of knitters could just dive into their stash right now and come up with a pretty skein, either solid, semi-solid, or even lightly speckled would be great. There’s not too much knitting time involved in this either, the pattern is really not that difficult but has lots of fun lace to work through. Obviously all this, the speediness of the project and low yardage, does mean it is not the biggest shawl ever. If you are looking for a shawl you can bury yourself in, move on. If you are looking for a light lace shawl you can drape over your shoulders and prance around in during summer, this is the shawl for you.

I also just love Malabrigo sock. I have used it a couple of times before, also for some shawls and hats. Ironically, I’ve never knit a pair of socks out of this yarn, and to be honest I don’t think I will. The yarn is lovely and pretty and soft, but has no nylon content and I’d be so worried they would wear out in no time. But yes, for shawls I’d recommend this yarn all the way.

I’m super pleased I now also made this shawl for myself, and look forward to wearing the hell out of it this summer. And for comparison, here is a side-by-side shot of the shawl I knit in 2015 (and gifted) and my brand new shiny Henslowe shawl. I might honestly end up knitting one of these in every colour of the rainbow.

Do you have any pattern you’ve knit multiple times?

Apr 4

Knitting lately

My brain cannot fully comprehend all the changes going on in my life right now. Last week I had my very last working days at the university and in less than a month from now I’ll be moving to Paris. So right now I have one month in between to get things finished up and pack things up. But first and foremost I’m taking some time to breathe. Some time to simply sit and knit and I am loving it.

I’m mainly working on two different projects, one of which might look familiar if you have an incredible memory. This is the Henslowe shawl and I knit it once before as a gift for my grandmother 3 years ago. Back then I had a difficult time actually gifting it instead of keeping it for myself and I swore to myself that one day I’d make this shawl for myself.

This time I am making the shawl out of a skein of Malabrigo sock in the Ochre colourway. Yellow shawls are always a great idea and so far I’ve never made one. Just like last time the shawl is flying off the needles and I hope to have it done and blocked by the end of the week.

I’m also focusing on finishing up this pair of neon socks. The pattern is called Tulsi socks by Verena Cohrs and the yarn is by Koperdraadje. The pattern repeat is easy to remember so it makes for great tv knitting.

Before the big move I’ll have to sort through my entire stash and best case scenario I’ll finish a couple more WIPs so I can feel like I have a complete fresh start in Paris.