New York Minknit

Disclaimer: I am looking like I am great with child in this photo. I am not great with child. I am great with BLTs and not so great with sit-ups, and hence my visible paunch in these photos.

Pattern: Ella, from Knitty, by Wendy Wonnacott

Yarn: Two skeins of Fleece Artist Sea Wool. I bought mine for $28/skein from Knitty City with a gift certificate from Sarah and her mom. Thanks Sarah and Sarah’s Mom!

Needles: Size 5 circulars lace Addis from Knit-a-Way.

Project Began/Ended: I started June 26, 2007 and finished January 30, 2008, so seven months, more or less.

I was inspired to knit this shawl by Wendy’s photos on Knit and Tonic. Hers looked so good that I wanted to make one too. I searched all over for the same color and type of yarn that she used, but couldn’t find it, and ended up buying the Sea Wool instead. At the time, I didn’t really realize that if I used a lighter yarn and smaller needles, I would, technically, need more yarn than called for in the original pattern, which is made from a worsted yarn. But the salesgirl at Knitty City pointed out that I was smaller than the model in the pattern* and that two skeins (which was significantly less yardage than the pattern specified) should be enough. And miraculously, it was!

* As the pattern says, it “is the perfect compliment [sic] for any goddess,” which seems to be a euphemism for taller and larger ladies. I don’t know if larger men are called “gods,” but as a person who has a generally more elf-like figure, two 350 meters skeins of a sock weight yarn were sufficient for my shawl.

I have to admit, I originally had mixed feelings about this project. It was a triangular shawl (very old lady-ish) and knit from variegated yarn (the color of which looked disturbingly like the dead undergrowth on evergreens in the winter). Also, the Sea Wool kept puking up puffs of undyed “sea wool,” [whatever that’s a euphemism for], which made me worried that the yarn would either be too thin in places if I picked out the puffs, or have weird bits if I left them in (I did a combination of both, and I would vote for picking out). I did a bit of an internet search and it seems that though not all batches have this tufty sea wool problem, quite a few other people have also had this problem.

But it turned out great! I love it! I made the triangle version, because I was worried I wouldn’t have enough for the V-version. (Also, unless my math is off, one skein of wool had considerably less wool than the other, leading to me binding off the shawl in the middle of a motif, instead of at the end like you’re supposed to.)

It’s surprisingly warm (though, thanks to global warming, New York was strangely balmy on a February day) and amazingly light.

Also: You can use it as a cape!