Entrelac Shawl

I've been cranking away on the Christmas knitting, and I recently finished another item that is for - - - - -.

(I don't divulge things like that on my blog.  It's my blog, and I like being cruel.  Bwaaa-haaa haaaa . . .)

It's a super-comfy shawl knit in the entrelac style with a wonderfully soft plush yarn called Marble Chunky, which I would definitely recommend for other bulky weight projects.  It's plied loosely, but I don't think the fibers will pill, and the color variation is beautiful and (depending on the project) self-striping in a slow, morphing sort of way.

I couldn't seem to catch the right color shading while I was wearing the thing, but this is a more accurate representation of the colors.

 

There's a bit more purple (not really any brown, as it looks somewhat tan in the photo) and lots of lovely aqua blues and teals.

Entrelac was fun to knit, after I got over the first initial frustration of trying to figure out how wide the shawl would be.  Since it's knit in squares, and then the next square is picked off the first one, it was much more agonizing for me to just "cast on" and hope it would fit correctly, as the pattern I used called for worsted (not bulky) weight yarn.  In the end I did a bit of mental math that involved percentages, phases of the moon, and roasted toadstools, and cast on a magical 128 stitches.  It's a teeny bit small for my tastes, but it works.

 

(Sorry for the up-the-nose hole shot, but I'm half Dutch, and large nose holes are a prerequisite genetic trait.)