I finally finished my exchange shawl, and it is on its way to the swap hostess. I used Heartstrings’ Pendants Faroese pattern and 4-ply merino lambswool. That “4-ply” is the UK yarn weight description, equivalent to thin sportsweight, but the yarn is actually 2-ply. It is as soft as you would expect, and very nice to use, and being coned, there are no joins.

The distinctive feature of Faroese shawls, of course, is the shoulder shaping which gives a good fit and lessens the problem of the shawl slipping off all the time. This pattern uses the lace design itself to give the necessary increases.

That shaping would cause problems if blocking the shawl laid out flat, so it needs to be blocked while folded. Jackie says it doesn’t need pinning or wires, but I found that helped.

With that out of the way, I’ve been working on my other shawl, for me this time, and I am ready to cast it off. Two shawls finished in the same week – definitely a record for me! I probably won’t block that one until my Zonta wires arrive. 

I also finished a woven silk scarf for my guild’s annual Challenge, but I forgot to take pictures before I handed it over. I’ll get it back the weekend after next, so I’ll take pictures then.

I plan to get back to the Sanquhar gloves and another shawl (laceweight this time) and the socks I started for myself before Christmas, I think. I have a couple of ideas for the loom too, but more on those later.