Stillness Shawl

Today I have an FO (finished object) to share with you! And it’s one that was super fun to knit.   You’ll remember that I joined my first MKAL (mystery knit-a-long) a few months ago.  And I even surprised myself by keeping up with it the entire time.  So, in five weeks, I had a finished shawl.  Amazing!!  Helen’s Stewart Stillness Shawl MKAL was a great way to learn about MKALs.  And it may have even spoiled me a bit…..

Yarn

Though I love buying yarn (a little too much!), I decided to do a deep dive into my stash for this project.  I quickly remembered that I had a three-skein set of Madelinetosh that I’d gotten from Jimmy Beans a very long time ago.

This base of Madelinetosh is not the softest ever but it definitely got softer after I washed the finished shawl.  Ideally, I would have chosen a yarn with some silk or cashmere….

Knitting

I loved how Helen broke down the pattern and clues for this shawl.  As you alternate colors, you realize pretty quickly that you’ll see a change in the pattern with each  color change.  This kept you from getting bored.  

And I conquered my fear of the k3tog stitch!!  It helped using bigger needles, for sure (as opposed to US 1.5s).  And it made a wonderful start stitch in this shawl.  

Details

Pattern:  Stillness Shawl by Helen Stewart (Curious Handmade)

Yarn:  Madelinetosh Twist Light

Colorways: Himiko (purple), Purr (grey), Cade or Lada (variegated)

Needles: US 6 (4 mm)

Made for: me

Time to Completion: 5 weeks

This shawl flew off my needles.  It was fun, relaxing, and just a bit challenging at times (with the k3tog and slipped stitches).  I didn’t mind being on a timetable but I definitely wanted to get done with the clues on time, so there was a tiny bit of stress involved with that.  

All in all, I loved knitting this pattern.  The colors were beautiful, though the yarn wasn’t my first choice, and they came together very, very well.   As with any shawl that grows, the rows got very long near the end.  But that’s all part of the game with these shawls.  And with MKALs, you may not know what shape of shawl you’re knitting.  Indeed, I’m very glad I liked the finished product as you just never know what’s going to happen in a MKAL pattern.

I’d definitely recommend this shawl.  Helen Stewart’s patterns are all so clear and well-written….not to mention beautiful!