My sister knits socks as a rule. It's not that she can't knit anything else. It's just fun to knit socks. I imagine the allure of a short but satisfying project in many unique and colorful yarns that provides immediate gratification must appeal to lots of people. Not everyone is as masochistic as those who knit interminable lace projects. However, there is always the odd infection of lace that happens. This one was not due to my knitting of lace but due to our recent trip to Stitches West where my sister picked a pattern for a lace shrug. The pattern is from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farms. The Illuminated Oriels Shrug. Designed by Zuzanna Woods and purchased at Stitches West from Ellen's 1/2 Pint Farms. If you link out to the site however, you won't find that pattern. They do have nice yarns and colorways but we did not buy yarn there for this shrug. Instead, this is knit by my sister out of yarn I spun last year. Fiber was "Tiger Eye" from Three Bags Full purchased at Carolina Homespun. Spun on my single treadle Schacht wheel at 19-20 WPI in a color I usually don't gravitate to. I think I was bored with my usual colors and broke out with this. There are nice yellow slubs in the yarn that you really can't see in these pictures. This section is the back of the shrug. Stitches are picked up along both sides and knit outwards so that the design is at a 90 degree angle to the back for the sleeves. It's turning out nicely so far. I'll keep you posted on the progress.
