There's nothing better than a well-written and pretty much instantly memorisable one-skein shawl pattern when you're craving the satisfaction of a quick knit.
Add to that a graphic, yet classic design and you have a double winner!
For me, that was Ambah O'Brien's Aperture Shawl, which I knit in our Merino Silk Yak Fingering base in the Aglow colourway last week.
I was first attracted to this pattern when searching on Ravelry for a contemporary one-skein shawl to knit as a sample in our Merino Silk Yak yarn base. After knitting it up, I am now also tempted to knit the larger version in another colourway, as I love my small version that much.
I knit it in one week using only one skein and the yarn was like butter on my metal needles. The yak content in the yarn lends the shawl an earthy, natural undertone due to the grey-brown coloured fibre, whilst both the yak and silk (each 20% of the yarn) give it a lovely sheen and drape, yet also mean the lace will retain its shape without shrinking back, as can be the tendency of higher merino/wool content yarns, due to the greater 'memory' of that fibre.
Finished off with a classy I-cord edge, this one ticked all my knitting boxes!
I just swatched for a very special project, my wedding shawl.
Swatching for a shawl is something I've never done before. Swatching for garments, yes, most definitely, but never previously for a shawl, since it's not a fitted garment.
Let's talk about mini-skeins, since we've just listed a few sets in the shop.
We started dyeing mini-skeins as a way of ensuring our dye baths were fully exhausted. When dyeing saturated colours (pinks and reds in particular) there can be a tendency for the dye baths to not fully exhaust, so popping a few mini-skeins in the dye pans after having dyed up our main colourways was a simple and efficient way to ensure all the dye was used up, whilst also creating some fun and one-of-a-kind minis. It's a win-win situation as far as I'm concerned, as you always want to avoid pouring left over dye down your drains.