Home Again

After my four pairs of socks knit in Europe, I was a little socked out. I needed a little more mental stimulation than my same 64 stitch pattern I had been working for a month. So, the night before we flew back to the states I cast-on a shawl for plane travel; easy to start because I pre-wound the yarn before I left for my trip.

The shawl I cast-on was Aureola by Janina Kallio, it was the perfect flight knitting because it was interesting but not complicated. The shawl consisted of basic garter and drop stitch portions in a main and one contrast color.

I warned the two young men I was sitting next to on the plane that I would be knitting on the flight. I don't think they really believed me until I pulled the shawl out and started working on it, their widened eyes were pretty hilarious! I then had a nice chat with the man on my left about the wardrobe his mother knit for his younger brother when she was on maternity leave. Knitting can help you make friends everywhere, even on an eight hour flight from Dublin to LA!

Anyway, back to the pattern. I thoroughly enjoyed working on this shawl. I was about halfway through and really worried that it wasn't going to be big enough, even with all of the drop stitch sections. Unnecessary worry because this knit up large and blocked even bigger! It's not a giant shawl but perfectly fit to wrap around my shoulder when the air conditioner is on in the shop.

I used yarn from stash for my Home Again shawl (trying not to buy more yarn before my big spending spree in Europe). My main color was RedFish Dyeworks Silk Sock and the contrast was Plymouth Yarn Happy Feet. You would think that these yarns were dyed for each other because they look so good together, the purples were a perfect match. These yarns were purchased at Stitches and one of my LYS, respectively. The Silk Sock so nice. I don't remember another time when I knit with a wool silk blend but I now need more in life.

If you have any wool/silk in your stash pull it out and knit with it, right now! I started another shawl in wool/silk because I was loving the blend so much. My only issues with the pattern was I did happen to run out of my contrast color so I was only able to finish two of the last three repeats, then bound-off with my main color. But don't let that deter you from making this shawl! The pattern was well written and easy to follow. A perfect palate cleanser between socks! It knit up very quickly on a US 6 needles with some lovely complementary colors or bold and wild contrast colors like in the pattern photos.