From Sheep to Shawl

Not that I did the shearing, washing, scouring or carding, and my friend Lucy did the dyeing of this BFL (I think it's BFL - I really should make a note if there's no label to remind me).

I started with this:

 

It took me about a week to get to this:

Another day to get to here:

And then it took me five days to knit it up into this:

And a closer-up shot of the stitch pattern:

The pattern is Multnomah (Ravelry link) by Kate Elsa and is an easy pattern to knit.  There are increases on every row at the edges and every other row at the middle, the eyelets formed by the yarn-over increases separated by a five-stitch garter spine which I like very much as it's a bit different from the usual one-stitch spine and I think works well with the feather and fan bottom part of the shawlette. 

This was my first time doing fractal spinning which is where the fibre is split in half lengthwise and one half spun from start to finish so there are very long colour repeats.  The other half is split further - I split into four lengths of fibre - so that when the yarn's two-plyed together, you get a very nice tweedy effect a bit like Crazy Zauberballe.  This was also the thinnest yarn I've spun since I got my wheel (named Betty - she's an Ashford Traveller) for Christmas 2009 and I ended up with 382 metres, so I've been feeling rather pleased with myself.

Feather and fan is a pain to try to block out though!

I also finished a pair of socks this morning which I started at the beginning of February.  Shameful.

So, I've now cast on a Deco cardigan (a Kate Davies pattern - she's the lady who designed the very popular Owls sweater).  I'm using Wendy Mode DK in red and am using 3mm needles as called for in the pattern as a firmish fabric is aimed for to show of the slipped stitch pattern.

I'm still plodding away on my Shale baby blanket though - that's good TV knitting.