11 Shawls in 2011

Remember how I lost my mind and committed to trying to knit 11 shawls in 2011? Well, upon further consideration, I’ve decided it may not be such an insane idea after all! I have so many shawls in my queue, and I have a bad habit of knitting them, then not weaving in the ends or blocking them. This will encourage me to actually finish the shawls!

I’ve looked through my queue, and I’ve decided on 8 shawls that I think I’ll probably do. That leaves three for me to decide on as the year progresses.

First up, of course, is Truly Tasha’s shawl, which I’ve already started. I’m using Baby Alpaca Brush by Plymouth yarns. A lot of times, I order yarn with a specific project in mind, and then it sits in my stash for awhile and gets used for something else. Not this time! I ordered the yarn with Truly Tasha in mind, and that’s what I’m using it for!

Daybreak has been calling to me for a long time. It’s so pretty! I keep seeing FOs of this popping up all over I ordered the yarn from Knitpicks when I ordered the materials for my mother’s birthday present, and I’m waiting on it now. I got the shipping notice yesterday! I’m going to be working on it in the new Chroma fingering weight yarn in the Midwinter colorway for Color A, with Palette in either a dark purple or dark gray as Color B (I ordered both, because I wasn’t sure which one would go better).

Summer Flies is also one of those shawls that’s been languishing in my queue* for awhile. I’m going to use Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Winter White for this. It’s a nice sampler type pattern, with several different lace patterns, and I think it will be a lot of fun to work on.

The Swallowtail shawl is one of those shawls that everyone seems to be making. All of the FOs look so pretty, and I just have to have one (I want to be one of the cool kids, too!) I’m going to be knitting it in Knitpicks Shadow in a gorgeous burgundy color.

Clapotis is another one of those shawls that everyone is making. I think they look pretty cool, and I really want one too. The idea of dropping stitches on purpose is just so much fun! I’m making it in Elann Adara in a pretty mix of different shades of brown called Pecan.

Saroyan is so gorgeous, and I think it would make a great scarf/shawl. I love the leaf edging! I’m not sure what color I want this to be (green seems most appropriate, but most greens are not really my color), but I do know that I’d like to knit it in Berocco Vintage. I used the yarn on the dog sweater and fell in love with it. Next time I make a trip to the LYS I will pick up a couple of skeins.

Revontuli is one of those patterns that just looks so incredibly cool in a self-striping yarn! Self-striping yarns are always fun, but especially so on a pattern that makes waves or zig-zags. I picked up some of the fairly new Patons Lace in a blue and white colorway (I think maybe it’s called Porcelain or something?) a few months ago, and I intend to use that for this shawl.

Last but not least is Garden Pond. I only queued this one a month or so ago, so I haven’t been drooling over it for long, but it’s so pretty! I’m going to make it with 2 skeins of Arauncania Itata Multi in a colorway that kind of reminds me of blue jeans.

The best part of this is that I have the yarn for five of these shawls in my stash already, and for two of them it is currently in transit. The only shawl I’ll have to buy yarn for is Saroyan. This should definitely help me cut down on my stash some.

I’m glad I’m leaving myself some extra flexibility, too- I really don’t want to lock myself into 11 shawls now, then find a gorgeous one later and not be able to knit it! This way, I can choose three more as the year progresses.

*Also, I finally managed to memorize how to spell queue. No more “quque,” “queque”, etc. I am so proud of myself! I’m not sure why I was convinced there were two “q”s, except for the fact that it seems really weird to have four vowels next to each other.