Elvan Shawl

Did I already say I'm not really a shawl person? I might not wear them but I so much enjoyed knitting the Scout Shawl that I couldn't help but plan another shawl. Sticking with Florence Spurling as a designer I decided to try her Elvan Shawl pattern

This one took a bit more planning due to the number of colours needed and my wool stash not yet (ha!) being up to the task. Once everything was assembled I couldn't wait to start.

The yarn is a beautiful wool/mohair blend from Wagtail yarns. This 60% mohair 40% merino 5 ply was exactly the weight required for the pattern and there were options to purchase 25G miniskeins, 50g, 100g or 300g cones. I needed small amounts of 9 different colours as well as 300g of a main colour so the ability to get the same yarn across different sizes was a real boon and a huge cost saving.

It also happens to be the most exquisite yarn. This is how I wear this shawl in reality. Right up close to me!

The knitting was a lot of fun. My little bobbles got neater as I went and certainly "popped" nicely with blocking. What blocking couldn't do was stop the ends curling. The finished shawl reminds me a lot of an octopus: curly, sucker covered limbs. Only it feels more like cuddling a baby cashmere goat than a cephalopod.

My progress photos show me starting in late March

Knitting through April

And finishing and blocking in early May

The heated concrete slab of our renovated house is perfect for blocking and drying knitting!

I wasn't sure about all the colour combinations and when I got to the yellow and blue centre motif I did feel it was too bright for me. But, that was just about the time that Russia invaded Ukraine and to reject the yellow and blue was unthinkable.

My notes scribbled on the pattern shows I used 3.5mm needles to get gauge in stead of 3.75mm.

The colours I used are as follows: 

Main colour: coffee

CC1: Navy

CC2: Mushroom pink

CC3: Copper

CC4: Saffron

CC5: Sage

CC6: Olive

CC7: Mushroom

CC8: Slate grey

CC9: Brown