So sweet

I keep claiming that I never like to work the same pattern twice but I'm starting to think you might not believe me. Especially as I once again have worked the same design twice.

What: Nordic arrows / Susanne Sommer

How: Circular needle 4.0 mm

From: Qing Fibres Silky Merino Singles + PetrichorYarns Merino Single x 2, 84 + 88 + 73 g

Last summer, I knitted this amazing shawl from the first issue of Laine Magazine. I used the most delicious yarns I could think of: merino single, merino silk single and Donegal tweed. And the shawl turned out stunningly beautiful. And totally looking like it should belong to a dear friend of mine. So I gave to her as a birthday present. And that was that.

It was obvious I would need to make one for me as well. Since the yarn choices for the first version were so great, I stayed on the same path. For main color 1, I chose a pale lavender colored merino silk single with candy colored speckles from Qing Fibres. And then I paired it up with a merino single from PetrichorYarns that had the same candy speckles on an almost black base. The yarn had all the colors of the galaxy and it was just glorious. And a perfect match for the lavender. Somehow, at the same time, these yarns really match and yet, they're almost like a black and white combo.

Now, the only problem was the edge color. Since I had decided this one was a keeper, I wanted the edge to be perfect too. So, I asked the dyer from PetrichorYarns if she could dye me this galactic purple I was longing for. As an answer, I got a picture of three perfect little skeins to choose from. Pretty fast, I'd say! When the yarn arrived, it was just perfect. Had I kep describing what I was looking for and sent her inspiration images of the galactic, electric blue-purple I wanted, I think she would have dyed exactly this color.

Then, all I had to do was knit. Like the first time around, the project was a lovely knitting experience. Once you get the hang of the shawl, it's mellow knitting. I wouldn't recommend this to a brioche novice or as social knitting project (even though I once again took it to a knit night). Especially this second time around, even the triangles seemed clear and had a logic rythm to them.

And just as I remembered, the last two triangles took forever to work through. It's so deceiving to think you have only two left but they keep getting bigger and bigger.

First, you work the body of the shawl with garter stripes and overlapping brioche triangles. Once the body is finished, you pick up about a billion sts and work the edge with the third color. The two top corners have a beautiful brioche pattern on them. The edge is also shaped with short rows so that it's wider at the top corners than in the sharpest corner. And finally, the billion sts are bound off using i-cord bind off.

Sure, it took time but I loved every minute of it. I could even see myself making a third one. But this one is mine even though my sister keeps on insisting these are her colors. But hey, fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I'm not falling for the color argument again! And besides, I seem to have found my way back to brighter colors. It's a big deal if an uncolor specialist like myself doesn't hesitate to wear a galactic purple next the her face. We'll see if I'll be embracing these vivid colors in anything else besides accessories.