I don’t like to think of myself as a follower of trends, but I am a fan of well written knitting patterns. Every once in a while a pattern is published that persists, and is reviewed favourably (7852 projects on Ravelry!), and I like the item that it produces: then I resign myself to being a baaaaa! (as my littlest nephew would say) and knit it. While I looked for other shawl or scarf patterns for this wool (see it nestling at the back of the bag, reticently hiding its charms), none of the other shawls had the enticing combination of a stocking stitch panel to showcase the saturated colours of the yarn alongside a spot of not-too-fancy lace.
Since I’m being honest with you, I should admit that this is the fourth Ishbel I’ve knitted. The first was an experiment, the second a gift, the third because I’d given away the previous two, and the fourth because I wanted a shawl that contained a pattern reminiscent of flames, to be knitted in fiery-coloured wool.
The friend who recently celebrated a significant birthday is a smart, fiesty, funny redhead (and knitter) for whom I greatly enjoyed creating this shawl. And I’ve assured her that she wasn’t given a shawl just because she’s significantly older: I told her how many knitters wear shawls bandit-style nowadays, and she was very taken with the idea. Bandit-style, yes, that sums her up well.
Ravelled in full here.
And co-ordinating beautifully we have tomatoes, fresh from the garden this week. We’re lucky to have just the right number of tomato plants that are ripening fruit at just the right speed that we’ve not experienced a glut this year (yet). Yes, I need to work on my watering regime (it was too sporadic, hence the split fruit) but I’ve learned lots about growing stuff at home, and have enjoyed it immensely. There’s nothing quite like the flavour of a home-grown tomato: so sweet and red and perfect for reducing to a sauce to serve over fresh pasta.
Woollydaze 