Andrea’s Shawl, designed by Kristen Kapur, found its way onto my radar through a casual search on Ravelry, and once I saw it I knew that it would be a perfect colorwork pattern to show off a few skeins of Bluetick Coonhound. The shawl offers itself in three sizes, and because it’s knit from the bottom to top, the differences in size are mostly noticeable in the edging. I chose to make the smallest size out of one skein of Pavlov and one skein of Hushpuppy, two highly contrasting but delightfully compatible colors.
The shawl starts out with a provisional cast on using the first color, the 7 stitch edging is worked to make the size specified. I found that it went rather quickly, and it was easy enough to tell where in the 4 row pattern I was at if I lost track. After the edging completion, the yarn is cut and stitches are picked up along the straight side of the edge. Once the stitches have been picked up, the lace pattern begins; although the lace looks somewhat complicated when looking at the finished project, the pattern was very simple to complete. After the border section is completed, the second color is switched in every other two rows in stockinette, decreasing until there are only a few stitches left. A final edging is added to match the bottom edging, with stitches picked up all along the body.
I found this pattern to be very fun to make because of the lace edging and the visual interest of using more than one color, and it only took a week to make. The shawl really stands out in Bluetick Coonhound because of the yarn’s incredible stitch definition, and the texture of the shawl very smooth and smooshy. It’s heavy enough of a shawl to keep shoulders covered on chilly days, yet it was light enough to wear while I was in Florida in the springtime. Plus, when there are so many great color combinations waiting to be made in our line, what’s stopping you from casting on? The pattern can be purchased here.
