Tourmaline and Moonstone Rain Outside

My gift making has slowed down significantly recently. In fact, all my yarny projects have. I’ve been dealing with my never ending cold, work deadlines and general apathy. So while I’d finished knitting The Rain Outside shawl for my friend about 2 weeks ago, I couldn’t bring myself to actually write about it or take some acceptable photos.

But it’s high time to update my blog so here we go!

Alright, let’s get back to the shawl. I saw this pattern for the first time knitted by Dana on the Yards of Happiness blog, and then on several other blogs I follow or just visit sometimes. Still, at that time I haven’t thought about knitting it. I liked it but there were always other things I wanted to knit more than this shawl. But when I bought the West Yorkshire Spinners Gemstone collection yarn in DK weight, I searched on Ravelry for the DK yarn shawl patterns and out of everything I’d found, I liked The Rain Outside the best. It seemed perfect to show off the two contrasting colours of this lovely wool.

I felt a little intimidated by the lacy short rows sections at first – but there is really nothing to fear! The short rows are super easy, there is no special technique to apply here, just turn the work and knit without any wraps, picking stitches etc. Other than these lacy sections, there are just rows of garter stitch which become very long at the end, so much so that my 100 cm long circular needles were hardly enough!

So what do I think now that the shawl is ready? I like the pattern, and I love how large and warm this shawl is. Just perfect to wrap it around the shoulders and feel really warm and cozy. Despite my worries, it’s also not scratchy! The colours make an interesting combination too. My friend specifically requested to add some fuchsia to her wardrobe so here it is – my photos are not the best, the colour in reality is a little less neon and more like fuchsia as requested. I’m not very fond of the tight upper edging and when I read the opinions of Ravelers, some loveit while others complain, so I think it is the most controversial part of the pattern. But all in all I’m happy with it and I think my friend is going to wear it a lot this winter.

So that’s all from me for now. I’m getting excited for the Dublin Knitting and Stitching Show which begins tomorrow. I’m planning to go on Friday or Saturday. Can’t wait!