Friday, October 4, 2019

waiting for rain

This is absolutely one of my favorite knitting projects I've ever done. It was a really fast knit that I did mostly on vacation, and I'm so glad I made it. This is a really special shawl for me not only because I love the color combination, the design and everything else, but also because the Koigu was a yarn I bought in Chicago when I went home for my grandpa's funeral. He and I were always very close, and we both shared a love of flamingos. I thought this particular color looked very much like all of the colors you'd find in a flock of flamingos, so I got it to remember him by.


I'd had my eye on this pattern as soon as it came out and I put it in my queue for 'someday' when I decided what yarn would suit me best. I loved the gray original version, but could see it in so many other lovely colors too. As soon as I saw the striped versions start coming out I knew I was going to do that, and after the Koigu had been in the stash a while I asked myself why not use it in this project? I went out to find a coordinating main color that would showcase but not compete with the pink and ended up with this lovely brown. There are definitely some speckles of this shade in the Koigu, too so that was great. The orange was a bit unexpected but was a leftover in my stash. The shade turned out to work great, again there are a few specks of orange in the Koigu, and I really like the unconventional combination of these three. 


The Lorna's Laces brown yarn is really soft and lightweight just like the orange madelinetosh. It bled quite a bit when I soaked it which made me sad that it was going to dull the pink Koigu, but in the end that worked itself out somehow as it dried and no issues in the finished piece. The Koigu was absolutely the right choice for the lace panels. I thought maybe the speckles would detract from or get lost in the lace but it looks amazing. That yarn is a little more robust and twisted differently than the others so the textural difference is really interesting in combination with the lace.


I've got notes on my striping on Ravelry, and I used the optional picot bind off to finish it. I think that edge really adds something to the whole look. Not usually my taste, but it totally works here. Even though it's a bit of a pain to weave in all the ends afterwards, I would absolutely recommend the stripes. I think the movement you get visually from them in combination with the lace panels is really cool and brings out the uniqueness of the construction. The overall size is perfect for me, and I've already worn it out a couple of times this fall with pride and love.

Pattern: Waiting for Rain (my Ravelry page)
Yarn: Koigu PPPM in 'P709', Lorna's Laces Solemate in 'Grand Street Ink', and madelinetosh tosh merino light in 'terra'
Needle: US 6 (4 mm)
Size: 96" across, 25" deep

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