F.O. The Elder Tree Shawl

I mentioned to you a few posts ago that I had purchased a skein of Clara Parkes yarn called CVM/Romeldale 2.0 in the Aborio colourway, and that I was on a hunt to find the perfect pattern that would showcase and utilize each inch of this beautiful skein. The pattern I settled on was The Elder Tree Shawl by softsweater, a Vancouver based designer who has many beautiful patterns on Ravelry. 

After swatching on several different sized needles I decided to go with 4.0 mm. The pattern itself was a joy to knit. It can be adapted for any weight  and amount of yarn you want to use.  The pattern was simple to knit but not boring at all.  Any knitting mistakes I made were quickly evident and easy to correct.

The yarn itself was so lovely to knit with that I took my time knitting this pattern, wishing that I had another skein, to make a larger shawl.  First of all the yarn smelled delightfully sheepy.  It was quite lofty, hardly weighing anything, and it seemed to be quite hardy, as it didn't seem bothered whenever I had to rip out a few rows and reknit.

My favourite part of knitting a lacy shawl is blocking it.  The shawl was quite tiny (40.5 x 15")  prior to blocking and thankfully grew (54 x23") to a perfect sized shawlette.  Here are the before and after shots.  

L-Pre blocking   R-After Blocking

Pre-blocking

I am so happy with how the lace opened up and the yarn itself softened up considerably.  This is the second yarn I have tried by Clara Parkes.(See my blog entry reviewing the first one I knit with).  Each yarn she creates is so different and I can hardly wait to see what she comes out with next. 

After Blocking

When I was on my holiday last week, driving back to Vancouver from Seattle, I did a quick stop at 88 Stitches in Langley.  On display, to my delight, were a collection of softsweater's knitted shawls.  Her designs Waiting for Rain and   The Rain Outside are very popular right now, but these earlier shawls are worth checking out too.  When viewed in person these shawls are just stunning.  I asked if I could take a couple pictures to remind myself of what I needed to add to my queue.  I have linked the shawls to Ravelry.

L to R :  Grateful Moments, Fossil & Bone, Authenticity

L to R:  Salt Water, Solarium, Grateful Moments

L to R:  Lanterns,  A Certain Darkness, Lonely Tree Shawl

Lanterns

I don't know if my pictures do them justice, but trust me when I say, if you are looking for a shawl pattern to knit you might want to try one of these.  You won't be sorry.  I, myself, love the look of Lanterns and Fossil & Bone....hmm let's not forget about Authenticity.   Actually I could knit any of these and be extremely happy.

So thank you Clara Parkes and softsweater...you made my knitting experience very enjoyable.